Is my little guy a goner? (supposedly a torch)

[Dakota_reef]

Within days, a dark spot appeared, and now the whole perimeter is darker, and it won't open up
I did an iodine dip, but I'm not comfortable with my water parameters.
Also, I've seen them melt away, bleach out, but not go dark like this (it's also been a awhile since I've had a Euphyllia but that looks like a hammer to me).

Pic on the left is a couple days after putting it in the tank. other two pics are from today, 9 days later.

Tank is ~4 years old, but the LR and mushrooms are from 2006 from a smaller tank I upgraded to a 20gal cube.

Salinity: 1.026
Tmp: 77-78
Alk: 11 (high)
pH 7.9-8.1
Ca: Just above max reading, must be >500 but I'm not dosing?
Mg: 1450
Nitrate: 1.5-2.3
P04: .04

I'm mixing more salt for a water change today just because.

 

[Ryde]

Might be a calcium thing if it's too low to read.

 

[Dakota_reef]

Might be a calcium thing if it's too low to read.

It's too HIGH to read, not too low, sorry for confusion. Salifert test kit takes 1ml of reagent to turn purple, which is a couple drops away from changing.

 

[Ryde]

It's too HIGH to read, not too low, sorry for confusion. Salifert test kit takes 1ml of reagent to turn purple, which is a couple drops away from changing.

All good. Have you look at flow and light? It should be flowing back and forth; it should not be held in the same spot due to flow. And might want to try getting your cal in a readable range.

Also, I'm not sure I'm seeing the "dark spot/ring your tanking about. But your torch doesn't look like a goner yet, I've seen them bounce back form much worse.

 

[JGT]

Looks fine to me. Don’t see the dark area you are referring to. The darker tissue over the skeleton is good. It’s not receding and looks healthy. Make sure you have in moderate random flow.

 

[Lavey29]

Looks like a hammer more then a torch though and they do not need as much flow as a torch typically does.

 

[Gtinnel]

That's a hammer and not close to a goner but definitely not happy looking. As for your calcium test just fill the syringe up with a second 1ml and continue the test then just add 500 to whatever result you get from the second syringe.

ETA- haha I just realized I accidentally called it a torch when it's a hammer. I fixed it.

 

[Reefing102]

I agree the first pic looks more like a hammer but I also agree definitely not a goner. Are you dosing anything? The big 3 (alk, Ca, and Mg) all seem high to me which may be part of the issue. Otherwise how strong of light and flow is it getting? Usually moderate light and flow is sufficient

 

[Dakota_reef]

Thanks so much for the responses. I REALLY super appreciate it.

The tank doesn't have crazy flow, and the LED is a 20 watt i think, maybe 30. I did move the little guy lower in the tank thinking my light was hurting him.

Hopefully my water change will bring alk/ca/mg back in check. I'm only dosing Alk right now as Ca is high.

there IS a change in the fleshy part from first to last pic so it has receded a little. Truth be told it looks a lot better today than two days ago. I just finally thought I'd add some variety to the tank and afraid I'm killing it

 

[Reefing102]

Is there anyway to run an acclimation setting for your light or turn down the output a little bit? That may help some after getting parameters in check

Perhaps test your water change water to see where their level is (see if your salt is naturally high in the big 3)

 

[Gtinnel]

What type and brand of light do you have? A 20 (or possibly 30) watt light seems kinda low for LPS corals even on a small tank. Maybe the coral isn't getting enough light?

 

[Dakota_reef]

What type and brand of light do you have? A 20 (or possibly 30) watt light seems kinda low for LPS corals even on a small tank. Maybe the coral isn't getting enough light?

This has crossed my mind (and I confirmed it's 30 watt). I had it placed near the surface where it would be brighter. It extended more when I moved it after 3 or 4 days of not opening. Not sure if I misread that sign :\

I want to upgrade that light anyway, so I guess now is a good reason to if it's still a problem. Kessil 160 (40w) still be too little for an 18" cube?

I wonder if might just still be angry over the reef dip?

 

[Dakota_reef]

Looks fine to me. Don’t see the dark area you are referring to. The darker tissue over the skeleton is good. It’s not receding and looks healthy. Make sure you have in moderate random flow.

I took another picture under a 10K MH so it shows the coloration a bit more.

 

[JGT]

That’s cause it’s not fully extended. The tissue is bunched up at the skeleton giving a darker appearance. Usually water quality, lighting or flow needs adjustment

 

[Dakota_reef]

That’s cause it’s not fully extended. The tissue is bunched up at the skeleton giving a darker appearance. Usually water quality, lighting or flow needs adjustment

oh, that's good to know. I might need more flow over it so I'm going to move a powerhead.

Thanks so much.

 

[JGT]

Not direct. You want indirect so the tentacles sway and random so it sways in all directions.

 

[Shirak]

You have only had the coral for a few days?

 

[Dakota_reef]

You have only had the coral for a few days?

10 days.

 

[Shirak]

10 days.

Ok so still pretty new. Has a good amount of flesh down the outside of the skeleton so that's good. I don't really see any tissue recession. Just very upset coral. Sometimes our tanks are quite a bit different and they can take a LONG time to adjust.. weeks or longer. Water parameters are pretty easy to confirm they are in the usual range of what most people have them at. Alk I think is the one to watch and would cause the most stress on an acclimating coral if it's from a tank that had been running a significantly different alk of several points. Flow is pretty straight forward as long as it's tentacles are moving around but not tearing the coral to pieces your good. Light would be the next big thing to look for. Closed up for days on end, particularly when during the main light cycle says to me too much light. Do you notice it extending better during the night or at the beginning or end of the light cycle if you are running a ramp up and down?

40w kessil 160 on an 18" cube is probably fine. Really depends on how far from the water and where the coral is located in the tank as far as depth and orientation to position of the light.

 

[Dakota_reef]

Ok so still pretty new. Has a good amount of flesh down the outside of the skeleton so that's good. I don't really see any tissue recession. Just very upset coral. Sometimes our tanks are quite a bit different and they can take a LONG time to adjust.. weeks or longer. Water parameters are pretty easy to confirm they are in the usual range of what most people have them at. Alk I think is the one to watch and would cause the most stress on an acclimating coral if it's from a tank that had been running a significantly different alk of several points. Flow is pretty straight forward as long as it's tentacles are moving around but not tearing the coral to pieces your good. Light would be the next big thing to look for. Closed up for days on end, particularly when during the main light cycle says to me too much light. Do you notice it extending better during the night or at the beginning or end of the light cycle if you are running a ramp up and down?

40w kessil 160 on an 18" cube is probably fine. Really depends on how far from the water and where the coral is located in the tank as far as depth and orientation to position of the light.

Yes, that makes sense. It comes out the most during the day through the lighting period. 3-4 days ago it was practically closed shut all day/night completely.