I think my goby killed my toadstool.

[Jl330]

He threw sand at it. I brushed some off but it's been shriveled like this for about 24 hours now.

 

[madweazl]

Provided there isn't another contributing issue to the coral closing, it will be just fine.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

If it turns white or black and starts to shrivel more it is dead, right now it just looks very upset to me.

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Note that they can stay closed for quite a while (several days), especially if they are shedding (which they can sometimes do in response to sediment getting on them). Keep an eye on it, but it really doesn't look bad right now. If you start to see the edges of the disk flaking off or otherwise eroding, then you might need to intervene, but I wouldn't do anything right now.

 

[Jl330]

Note that they can stay closed for quite a while (several days), especially if they are shedding (which they can sometimes do in response to sediment getting on them). Keep an eye on it, but it really doesn't look bad right now. If you start to see the edges of the disk flaking off or otherwise eroding, then you might need to intervene, but I wouldn't do anything right now.

Cool, I might add another base rock and lift this up off the sand bed higher than the goby ranges. I'm starting to hate that little guy as fun as he is to watch.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Cool, I might add another base rock and lift this up off the sand bed higher than the goby ranges. I'm starting to hate that little guy as fun as he is to watch.

What kind of goby?

 

[Jl330]

What kind of goby?

Golden head

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Golden head

I completely understand now, they should be called dirt tornado gobies, they are very neat to look at though.

 

[Jl330]

I completely understand now, they should be called dirt tornado gobies, they are very neat to look at though.

Yeah pretty much anything less than 6" off the sand bed is greeting dusted. He actually buried a pretty large rock I had planned on mouthing frags to. Now I'm building up my aquascape to get stuff away from him.

 

[Jl330]

Update, I think it's dead.

What would cause this?

 

[madweazl]

It's not dead but it certainly isnt happy. What is the flow like in that area? They typically like a low to moderate flow with the same in regard to lighting (anything over 200 PAR and my toadstools will close).

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

It's got a ton of sediment on it, so is probably going to shed. Here's a good summary of what seems to be happening:

https://www.thespruce.com/why-and-how-leather-corals-shed-2924476

 

[Sea MunnKey]

How long have you had the toadstool in your system? It may a while before it acclimatizes and as long as it's not showing any signs of black or breaking up, it's all good.

If you think the goby keeps "sand shower" the toadstool, I'd move it elsewhere with some flow passing through it as well.

 

[Jl330]

How long have you had the toadstool in your system? It may a while before it acclimatizes and as long as it's not showing any signs of black or breaking up, it's all good.

If you think the goby keeps "sand shower" the toadstool, I'd move it elsewhere with some flow passing through it as well.

Right at a month. It was doing great for about 3 weeks, then I bought the goby and then 3 days later this.

I'm going to raise it up but my lights are bright up there, that's why I kept it low. I have 2 black box 165w LEDs.

Im trying to cure some rocks right now to lift a couple things up but it's taking longer than I expected and I need to test them for copper before I add them.

The flow is slow there, it's under a power head do it's indirect.

 

[themcnertney]

Please list your water parameters. My guess is something is off and your goby isn't the main issue.

 

[Sea MunnKey]

Toadstool are pretty sensitive coral ... they do not react well to being touched or moved. A toadstool frag that I had acquired took months to finally extend it's polyps ...

 

[madweazl]

Right at a month. It was doing great for about 3 weeks, then I bought the goby and then 3 days later this.

I'm going to raise it up but my lights are bright up there, that's why I kept it low. I have 2 black box 165w LEDs.

Im trying to cure some rocks right now to lift a couple things up but it's taking longer than I expected and I need to test them for copper before I add them.

The flow is slow there, it's under a power head do it's indirect.

What intensity are you running the lights on? I'd suspect too much light long before not enough so moving the coral higher up in the tank will likely exacerbate the situation. In regard to flow, when the coral was open, did the polyps gently wave? If not, you'll want a little more flow and if they were really moving, it would likely need slightly less flow.

 

[Jl330]

Please list your water parameters. My guess is something is off and your goby isn't the main issue.

It's been zeros across the board but ph has been a little low, I'm still trying to resolve that. It's a sumpless 55 gal with a skimmer.

I'll run some tests later, but my water has been near perfect. I do weekly 10 gallon water changes.

My other soft corals have had noticeable growth, my lps are wide open and growing, zoas are happy, but this guy closed up after he got covered in sand and hasn't opened since.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Looks good to me. Its a Leather, and they are finicky, and will tend to pout if something ticks them off. Having sand thrown at them will do that. Brush him off, and leave him alone, he will pop back up when he's ready.

 

[Jl330]

What intensity are you running the lights on? I'd suspect too much light long before not enough so moving the coral higher up in the tank will likely exacerbate the situation. In regard to flow, when the coral was open, did the polyps gently wave? If not, you'll want a little more flow and if they were really moving, it would likely need slightly less flow.

It was wide open but they barely moved. I'll try to get it into a higher flow spot. I think I know the perfect spot but I'll have to add a couple rocks to make it happen.