Leather coral not extending polyps

[Sonam]

Hi All,

We've had this leather for well over a month. The guy at the LFS said it would have yellow polyps once placed under stronger light.

We've tried different locations and we've never seen more than occasionally some pimples.

Our other corals are doing fine. We have some elevated nitrates (around 30ppm) but that's been stable for a long time - since the our uograded tank went through a mini-cycle in October after going from a 90 to a 125 gallon.

It actually seems to be growing despite not extending polyps...

Ideas?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hi All,

We've had this leather for well over a month. The guy at the LFS said it would have yellow polyps once placed under stronger light.

We've tried different locations and we've never seen more than occasionally some pimples.

Our other corals are doing fine. We have some elevated nitrates (around 30ppm) but that's been stable for a long time - since the our uograded tank went through a mini-cycle in October after going from a 90 to a 125 gallon.

It actually seems to be growing despite not extending polyps...

Ideas?

What lighting do you have it under?

 

[Sonam]

AI Hydras x 3 for a 6ft tank

 

[Crabs McJones]

AI Hydras x 3 for a 6ft tank

And how far away from the lights is it? And did it have polyp extension at the store when you bought it?

 

[Sonam]

It never had polyp extension. The guy at the store said it hadn't opened there either but said it was probably because they don't have strong enough lighting at the store.

It's located at the mid-level of our tank which is a 125 gallon.

The closest we've seen is pimples with a faint hint of yellow but never like our others.

 

[Bradw18]

I have a green leather that didn't open for months and one day he started showing polyps and been fine ever since I'd leave him be unless he starts looking limp

 

[Sonam]

Thank you. It looks healthy otherwise. Even seems like it's grown.

 

[dbraun15]

Remember that leathers sometimes will shed their outer layer before polyps start to emerge. Almost gets a shiny look before shedding. Looks like it should shed first and then polyp up.

 

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

It looks healthy, despite the lack of polyps. Your nitrates aren't a problem with leather corals. Definitely don't be moving it around any more; let it settle in its current location. Have you looked to see if the polyps open at night?

 

[A Toadstool Leather]

Looks fine to me, just be patient with it as leathers can be fickle. The only warning sign to worry about is if the coral starts to droop over.