Need some General help on Millepora.

Dilan Patel · Dec 8, 2017

So as some of you have known I was struggling with PE on all corals. I since resolved most of the problems. The only Corals I am not getting PE from is my Millie's. i cannot figure out why I am not getting the PE I see in photos. At dark I really do not see the long PE but I always see short stubby ones that just barely peak out of the skeleton no matter what time of day. I got rid of all the fish that had caused my PE issues in the past and treated the tank with interceptor in the summer. These corals were added only a month or two ago but some of the millies were added a while ago.

I did just set my lights to be at the intensity and spectrum I want for the first time and left it alone now for about a couple weeks since thanksgiving really. I am blasting them with flow with gyre xf250's so flow is not the issue.

Could they still be acclimating to the new light setup? I have nutrients in the tank so I do not starve the corals. I do not run GFO either. ANy thoughts and what has helped you get those stringy polyps?

jda · Dec 8, 2017

The most common cause for PE issues are water quality, pests and nipping fish. Do the other acros, other than the milles, have good PE? Are you sure that the red bugs did not make it back, or there are no AEFW? Shrimp and craps can be nippers too.

Not having PE is not all that big of a deal. If everything is growing and healthy, then I would not chase this too much, but I do know that this is easier said that done.

If you have LEDs, a lot of people struggle with Millepora under LEDs, especially as they grow and not so much as frags. They are not impossible or anything, just kinda like winning a superbowl with Trent Dilfer... everything else has to be perfect. Dr. Joshi had a long post about losing his milles after he started using LEDs from MH. There are a lot of folks who lose milles under LED with small swings or changes when other stuff makes it through. This is all anecdotal, but there are a handful of threads that you can search for that discuss this.