Hammer Bailed Overnight & Duncans Are Closed

[heyjanie]

I haven’t been having much luck with the two Duncans that I have. They don’t seem to want to open at all. They were fine for a couple of days and then just closed up. Sometimes one will open a little, but the other stays closed.

Then sometime between last night and this afternoon, one of my hammers bailed completely. It was totally fine the day before and I checked the tank right before I went to bed around 1am. The other two hammers seem fine, but now I’m super paranoid. I didn’t see any brown jelly, and the skeleton is totally white. I took it out, but is there anything else I can do? Or is it just a loss at this point?

Any idea of what can help my Duncans? I’m afraid they might not last at this rate.

30 gal BioCube (just using the stock lighting)
Salinity 1.026
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
Alkalinity 12.1
Calcium 400
Magnesium 1350
Phosphate 0.05

 

[P-Dub]

Personally, I would lower your Alk to no higher than around 8.5 with the calcium at 400-425. Can't say that is the root cause but you definitely have an imbalance in your system.

 

[heyjanie]

Personally, I would lower your Alk to no higher than around 8.5 with the calcium at 400-425. Can't say that is the root cause but you definitely have an imbalance in your system.

I stopped by the LFS to get everything tested again and when those results came back they suggested I wait on a water change (which is what I was thinking of doing) to let the Alk come down? They said it sometimes doesn’t read right away and to let the corals absorb more. I’m a newbie, so I honestly don’t know one way or the other so I just listened. Do you think that’s the best course of action? I don’t want anything else dying overnight

 

[P-Dub]

Seems like sage advice as any drastic change in the Alk levels could spell trouble for other inhabitants. I recommend you invest in quality test kits like Hanna for Alk, ULR Po, and RedSea for Ca and Mg. I think a small 10 % water change wouldn't hurt so long as the Alk levels are less than what you already have in your tank.

 

[Kynzo]

As long as you're not changing like 50-100%, I don't see the harm in a water change. Water changes are almost always the first thing people will suggest when something drastic like die off happens. Especially since your numbers don't sound too far off. Alk is a bit high but most likely isn't the cause of your problems. I'd keep a close eye on things for now but running carbon and changing a bit of water would be my next course of action.

 

[Kynzo]

Seems like sage advice as any drastic change in the Alk levels could spell trouble for other inhabitants. I recommend you invest in quality test kits like Hanna for Alk, ULR Po, and RedSea for Ca and Mg. I think a small 10 % water change wouldn't hurt so long as the Alk levels are less than what you already have in your tank.

This ^ it all starts with having reliable test kits

 

[rhostam]

Duncans apparently (and anecdotal evidence seems to confirm this) are good indicators of water quality as balance.

What is your pH?

When mine are closed something is definitely up.

 

[heyjanie]

This ^ it all starts with having reliable test kits

I’ve got the ULR Pro, but not the other 3 hence the reason I scrambled over to the LFS. I go there once a week and pester them to help me check lol. The Alk was definitely the next purchase on my list, so I’ll swing back by this week and get that one and the others.

 

[heyjanie]

Duncans apparently (and anecdotal evidence seems to confirm this) are good indicators of water quality as balance.

What is your pH?

When mine are closed something is definitely up.

Ah sorry just realized I missed that one. They marked me at 8, so I think that’s normal?

 

[rhostam]

Ah sorry just realized I missed that one. They marked me at 8, so I think that’s normal?

Yeah. I mean that should be fine. They are definitely hardy creatures.

Did you let them acclimate to your lighting and flow before placing them?

 

[heyjanie]

Yeah. I mean that should be fine. They are definitely hardy creatures.

Did you let them acclimate to your lighting and flow before placing them?

Yep. They were fine for the first few days also, but then slowly started to close up and have just stayed that way.

 

[heyjanie]

For the hammer that bailed, should I be worried about my others? And should I just toss the skeleton?

 

[Shirak]

For the hammer that bailed, should I be worried about my others? And should I just toss the skeleton?

Did you actually find the heads bobbing around the tank? There is still a lot of tissue around the skeleton. I am not sure they bailed. Usually when that happens there is nothing left on the skeleton. What do you have for fish and inverts?

 

[heyjanie]

Did you actually find the heads bobbing around the tank? There is still a lot of tissue around the skeleton. I am not sure they bailed. Usually when that happens there is nothing left on the skeleton. What do you have for fish and inverts?

Yeah that picture was from right when I noticed. The LFS said to remove it from being close to the others and by that time the tissue was pretty much all gone. The moment I lifted it, they fell off completely and so it’s totally naked now.

2 clownfish
1 tiny blue hippo tang
1 bicolor blenny
1 pincushion urchin
1 coral banded shrimp
5 hermit crabs
4 margarita snails

 

[Shirak]

Yeah that picture was from right when I noticed. The LFS said to remove it from being close to the others and by that time the tissue was pretty much all gone. The moment I lifted it, they fell off completely and so it’s totally naked now.

2 clownfish
1 tiny blue hippo tang
1 bicolor blenny
1 pincushion urchin
1 coral banded shrimp
5 hermit crabs
4 margarita snails

Sorry I should have been more specific. A bailout is when the whole polyp comes off the skeleton intact as one piece. It looks like the centers of yours were torn apart. Is it possible the coral banded shrimp decided to pull them apart looking for food?

 

[heyjanie]

Sorry I should have been more specific. A bailout is when the whole polyp comes off the skeleton intact as one piece. It looks like the centers of yours were torn apart. Is it possible the coral banded shrimp decided to pull them apart looking for food?

Ah I see what you are saying. The center was all off in one piece in the tank, and then that last remaining ring came off together on removal.

I’m pretty positive it wasn’t my shrimp as it shows very little interest in the corals aside from lightly walking over them at times. Really it prefers to pick at the seaweed clip I have out for my tang lol.