Leather Coral looking funky

[LouDou11]

Hello everyone, I recently put a leather coral into my tank and it looked great the first day but then the next day it began to get covered in these white splotches. I know shedding is normal for these coral but I havnt seen a picture that looks like mine, ontop of that I have a GSP on the sand bed that has now suddenly stopped opening. I checked my water parameters and everything looks normal. Im not sure what to do from here.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Leather corals need to shed, and seeing it lay down like that makes me think the flow might be too soft, Leather corals need good flow to help them stand up and to shed debris and old skin.

If the flow is fine, then maybe give us more details about your tank; type of lighting, water parameters ("normal" means nothing), tank age, what type of filtration, etc...

 

[LouDou11]

Leather corals need to shed, and seeing it lay down like that makes me think the flow might be too soft, Leather corals need good flow to help them stand up and to shed debris and old skin.

If the flow is fine, then maybe give us more details about your tank; type of lighting, water parameters ("normal" means nothing), tank age, what type of filtration, etc...

The stem is still strong and isnt really laying down, it just looks like it is because of the way its placed on the rock behind. In terms of my system, I have the hipagero Aqua knight A029, it’s a ten gallon tank and it’s been going for about two months now. Ammonia is 0 nitrites are 0 nitrates are around 8 calcium is at 440, magnesium is 1350. I have a fluval hob filter with carbon media in the basket and a 425GPH power head. Should I maybe try moving it? Or just wait and see what happens?

 

[Lavey29]

The stem is still strong and isnt really laying down, it just looks like it is because of the way its placed on the rock behind. In terms of my system, I have the hipagero Aqua knight A029, it’s a ten gallon tank and it’s been going for about two months now. Ammonia is 0 nitrites are 0 nitrates are around 8 calcium is at 440, magnesium is 1350. I have a fluval hob filter with carbon media in the basket and a 425GPH power head. Should I maybe try moving it? Or just wait and see what happens?

what is your alk and salinity? Leather corals need time to acclimate. Leave it where it is for now and assess again in a week. 2 month old tank is very unstable and typically results in high number of coral losses especially over the course of the first year ugly phases which you will experience

 

[MnFish1]

Additionally - maybe it's the photos, but the water looks a little cloudy - as others have asked - what are your parameters. As to the GSP - at times leather corals can release terpenes (a chemical) - which can irritate nearby corals. This may be irritating your GSP. The good news is that both corals are very hardy (I had a leather that did not open for over 2 months). GSP can also remain closed for long periods if irritated. I would consider activated carbon in case there is a toxin issue. How old is the tank?

 

[LouDou11]

what is your alk and salinity? Leather corals need time to acclimate. Leave it where it is for now and assess again in a week. 2 month old tank is very unstable and typically results in high number of coral losses especially over the course of the first year ugly phases which you will experience

My all is 9 and my salinity is 1.026

 

[LouDou11]

Additionally - maybe it's the photos, but the water looks a little cloudy - as others have asked - what are your parameters. As to the GSP - at times leather corals can release terpenes (a chemical) - which can irritate nearby corals. This may be irritating your GSP. The good news is that both corals are very hardy (I had a leather that did not open for over 2 months). GSP can also remain closed for long periods if irritated. I would consider activated carbon in case there is a toxin issue. How old is the tank?

It’s a 2 month old tank, I posted my parameters earlier in the thread. Is it possible its some sort of critter or something doing this?

 

[Lavey29]

It’s a 2 month old tank, I posted my parameters earlier in the thread. Is it possible its some sort of critter or something doing this?

It's just a coral responding to a 2 month old unstable biome. This is why you were smart to start with cheap easy soft corals because most of them will struggle until maybe the 6 month point. Very experienced reefers can have success with corals in new tanks but the average hobbyist will struggle greatly early on.

 

[LouDou11]

It's just a coral responding to a 2 month old unstable biome. This is why you were smart to start with cheap easy soft corals because most of them will struggle until maybe the 6 month point. Very experienced reefers can have success with corals in new tanks but the average hobbyist will struggle greatly early on.

I see, definitely will hold off on adding new corals for a while then, with that said do you think these corals will make it or you think they are probably on their way out?

 

[Lavey29]

I see, definitely will hold off on adding new corals for a while then, with that said do you think these corals will make it or you think they are probably on their way out?

Well soft corals can handle a lot of issues and are fairly hardy. It's ok to try some or some inexpensive LPS like a duncan but don't spend to much because they may not survive. I kept my lights off the first 4 months to let my tank establish microfauna and biodiversity. I then added some easy corals and still struggled until around 8 months. After a year the tank became much more stable and predictable and the corals thrived. Keep up with your weekly water changes. Test regularly to focus on stability. Rent a par meter to confirm your light levels. Low or low moderate flow for soft corals. Make sure you have good surface ripple for gas exchange for your fish.

 

[LouDou11]

Well soft corals can handle a lot of issues and are fairly hardy. It's ok to try some or some inexpensive LPS like a duncan but don't spend to much because they may not survive. I kept my lights off the first 4 months to let my tank establish microfauna and biodiversity. I then added some easy corals and still struggled until around 8 months. After a year the tank became much more stable and predictable and the corals thrived. Keep up with your weekly water changes. Test regularly to focus on stability. Rent a par meter to confirm your light levels. Low or low moderate flow for soft corals. Make sure you have good surface ripple for gas exchange for your fish.

I ended up adjusting the flow in the tank a bit and putting in a fresh charcoal filter. A lot of that white stuff seems to have flaked off of the leather and the GSP has started to open up again.