my ricordea florida is shrinking

andiesreef · May 1, 2021

my ricordea florida is getting smaller and smaller. it used to be big, but a few days ago it shrunk. it seems to be a bit more open after moving it to the bottom of my tank. these are my parameters:

salinity: 0.025 SG
alk: 7.8
calcium: 330
magnesium: 1200
ph: 8.2
temp: 81 degrees Fahrenheit

it used to be placed in the middle of the rockwork. i got it 3 weeks ago.

Suohhen · May 1, 2021

Your tank is filled with air...0.025? ;Panda jk
It is totally normal for softies to shrink up as they adjust to your tank. I've even had rocodria shrink to 1/50 of their size and look black but come back fine after a few months so the best thing you can do is leave it alone. If you think it was getting too much light on the rocks and that is why you moved it you may be correct, but it can adjust to higher light given enough time. It is always recommended to start freshly added coral in lower light and slowly moving them higher.

andiesreef · May 1, 2021

Suohhen said:
Your tank is filled with air...0.025? ;Panda jk
It is totally normal for softies to shrink up as they adjust to your tank. I've even had rocodria shrink to 1/50 of their size and look black but come back fine after a few months so the best thing you can do is leave it alone. If you think it was getting too much light on the rocks and that is why you moved it you may be correct, but it can adjust to higher light given enough time. It is always recommended to start freshly added coral in lower light and slowly moving them higher.

oops it's 1.025 haha. and thanks for the info, i was confused because it was doing fantastic in higher light and all of a sudden shrunk back?

Suohhen · May 1, 2021

They are strange, a lot of time they will look fine for the first few days or week but then shrink. There are so many variables and as long as they don't bleach they usually adapt but it can take a while. They can definitely take quite a bit of light as well so depending on your lighting I wouldn't leave it in the sand for too long.

Uncle99 · May 1, 2021

andielehman said:
my ricordea florida is getting smaller and smaller. it used to be big, but a few days ago it shrunk. it seems to be a bit more open after moving it to the bottom of my tank. these are my parameters:

salinity: 0.025 SG
alk: 7.8
calcium: 330
magnesium: 1200
ph: 8.2
temp: 81 degrees Fahrenheit

it used to be placed in the middle of the rockwork. i got it 3 weeks ago.

I did not see a posted level of phosphate, which is a nutrient (in addition to nitrate) which corals need in a trace amount or they shrink (starve) till they are gone.

Shade or indirect (low) lighting.

andiesreef · May 2, 2021

Uncle99 said:
I did not see a posted level of phosphate, which is a nutrient (in addition to nitrate) which corals need in a trace amount or they shrink (starve) till they are gone.

Shade or indirect (low) lighting.

my phos is under 0.25 ppm, but present. nitrates are at 15ppm.

andiesreef · May 2, 2021

Suohhen said:
They are strange, a lot of time they will look fine for the first few days or week but then shrink. There are so many variables and as long as they don't bleach they usually adapt but it can take a while. They can definitely take quite a bit of light as well so depending on your lighting I wouldn't leave it in the sand for too long.

thanks, i'll see how it does in the coming week or two and if it looks better i'll slowly move it back to its spot on the rocks!

KrisReef · May 2, 2021

Is it splitting?

monkeyCmonkeyDo · May 2, 2021

Looks good to me
D

Smirkish · May 2, 2021

Mine closed up quite a bit when I had them up higher, too. They were a third of their full size or less. They do it whenever they seem to be irritated. They’re all pretty much at the bottom now, and massive. It does look to be splitting, but I think it’s fine.

Not the greatest picture but you can see where mine are here. They are below the gyre, in fairly low flow. I had one tucked around the corner a bit and it was in a bit of a dead zone and it shrank then, too.

andiesreef · May 2, 2021

KrisReef said:
Is it splitting?

it seems to be splitting. it has 2 mouths and a deep "wall" dividing it in two down most of it’s body

andiesreef · May 2, 2021

Smirkish said:
Mine closed up quite a bit when I had them up higher, too. They were a third of their full size or less. They do it whenever they seem to be irritated. They’re all pretty much at the bottom now, and massive. It does look to be splitting, but I think it’s fine.

Not the greatest picture but you can see where mine are here. They are below the gyre, in fairly low flow. I had one tucked around the corner a bit and it was in a bit of a dead zone and it shrank then, too.

holy crap those are some gorgeous ricordeas! they look like galaxies haha. so is the constriction a result of splitting? after 2 days on the sandbed, it seems to be opening a little more each morning.

Smirkish · May 2, 2021

andielehman said:
holy crap those are some gorgeous ricordeas! they look like galaxies haha. so is the constriction a result of splitting? after 2 days on the sandbed, it seems to be opening a little more each morning.

Thanks! The Yuma on the left is actually in my profile banner. It does look like a galaxy!

I think so, but I’m not an expert on ricordea- mine looked like yours when it developed the “lip” through the middle, and it has slowly drawn up more so it now looks much more ridged than the others. So it does seem likely.

I think you could probably raise it off the sand as others have said above, as long as you do it gradually. Mine didn’t seem to care for the sand before I moved them to the lower rockwork.

andiesreef · May 2, 2021

Smirkish said:
Thanks! The Yuma on the left is actually in my profile banner. It does look like a galaxy! I think so, but I’m not an expert on ricordea- mine looked like yours when it developed the “lip” through the middle, and it has slowly drawn up more so it now looks much more ridged than the others. So it does seem likely.

I think you could probably raise it off the sand as others have said above, as long as you do it gradually. Mine didn’t seem to care for the sand before I moved them to the lower rockwork.

thanks, i'll try moving it up on the rocks a bit tomorrow.

Uncle99 · May 2, 2021

andielehman said:
it seems to be splitting. it has 2 mouths and a deep "wall" dividing it in two down most of it’s body

Congrats, your a father, or mother.
Love when these split, there not cheap in my area.

andiesreef · May 2, 2021

Uncle99 said:
Congrats, your a father, or mother.
Love when these split, there not cheap in my area.

I believe mine was $20-$25, so not bad. I'd really recommend trying to find one online or something, they are such beautiful creatures.

vetteguy53081 · May 2, 2021

Splitting.
Assure nitrate in safe zone. Temp is a hint warm ) 77-79) and CA low (440 desired- but wont affect shroom) Nice color on these

andiesreef · May 2, 2021

vetteguy53081 said:
Splitting.
Assure nitrate in safe zone. Temp is a hint warm ) 77-79) and CA low (440 desired- but wont affect shroom) Nice color on these

temp is warm as an attempt to speed up the life cycle of ich which is a whole other beast, but it's usually at 78 degrees. I'm dosing to get my CA and alk up, and my nitrates are <20ppm.