Not Happy Acan lord

Sh333 · Oct 16, 2023

Hey Reefers!

Just wanted to give you an update on my 13.5-gallon EVO tank. Everything's looking good except for my Acan lord coral. It was doing great at first, all spread out, but now it's getting a bit shy with its tentacles.
It used to be larger than Blasto:

Instead of a skimmer, I'm using a sponge and floss setup for filtration. But I'm having a bit of trouble with low Mg and Ca levels. I switched to Crystal Reef (orange cover) salt mix a few months ago for a boost, and I've been dosing Mg and Ca, but they're still on the low side.

Here are the current stats:

Mg: 1200
Ca: 200
Alkalinity: ~10.2
Nitrate: ~10
Phosphate: ~0
Salinity: 1.025
By the way, my Acan lord is looking tiny next to the Blasto coral.

Is it possible that Japanese snapping red pistol shrimp or yellow watchman goby are messing with it? Although I tried to put the Acan on a rock, it was there for a month but still did not open its tentacles like it used to.

Or is it just about parameters?

If you've got any tips or suggestions, I'd be super grateful!

Thanks, and happy reefing!

Mr. Mojo Rising · Oct 17, 2023

So you feel its not doing well because you don't see the feeding tentacles? It looks perfectly fine to me, I see no reason to be concerned.

CasperOe · Oct 17, 2023

I'd be more than happy to take them Acans of your hands if you're not happy with them!

All looks good to me! Continue to keep an eye on them if you're not happy but be careful changing things!

acananoreefer · Oct 17, 2023

Looks happy and healthy to me. Feel free to target feed it anything from small particles like reef roids to brine shrimp or other meaty foods. If it doesn't poof up over the next few days maybe be concerned. My acans routinely change how they look based on time of day and if they have eaten recently.

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

Mr. Mojo Rising said:
So you feel its not doing well because you don't see the feeding tentacles? It looks perfectly fine to me, I see no reason to be concerned.

The video is about how Acan is now. In comparison with the picture that used to be more fluffy, I think there is sth wrong with the Acan. It is much less fluffy and it is like this for months. I cannot find what is wrong.
Acan looks like this now:

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

CasperOe said:
I'd be more than happy to take them Acans of your hands if you're not happy with them! All looks good to me! Continue to keep an eye on them if you're not happy but be careful changing things!

Thanks for the offer! Loolllll I'll definitely keep an eye on them and be cautious with any changes. I just want to make sure It is thriving.

Cichlid Dad · Oct 17, 2023

Just wondering if the parameters you listed are what you normally keep your tank at.

ajremington68 · Oct 17, 2023

Sh333 said:
Thanks for the offer! Loolllll I'll definitely keep an eye on them and be cautious with any changes. I just want to make sure It is thriving.

Question where did you find those Mega Acan and Blastos? how much as well if you bought them as a colony already.

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

acananoreefer said:
Looks happy and healthy to me. Feel free to target feed it anything from small particles like reef roids to brine shrimp or other meaty foods. If it doesn't poof up over the next few days maybe be concerned. My acans routinely change how they look based on time of day and if they have eaten recently.

Thanks, The video is taken when other corals are at their maximum volume.
The picture is for the time when it was fluffy.
I do not feed my Acan very often, every two weeks with reef roid and brine shrimp. Do you think that it can be the cause of it?

ajremington68 · Oct 17, 2023

Sh333 said:
The video is about how Acan is now. In comparison with the picture that used to be more fluffy, I think there is sth wrong with the Acan. It is much less fluffy and it is like this for months. I cannot find what is wrong.
Acan looks like this now:

I'll be honest blastos look AMAZING, but the acans for sure have seen better days, with shrimps scurrying over them, I don't think it would make them retract for more than like 10 minutes. Calcium at 200 is concerning for a acan that needs calcium to grow and maintain a skeleton.

rhostam · Oct 17, 2023

In between the acans and the blasto colony I see what appears to be a strand. I had acans that were like this all of a sudden. There were some vermetid snails settled in near by. I reminded them and they puffed right back up after a day or so. I didn’t realize I had such an infestation.

Just a thought.

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

Cichlid Dad said:
Just wondering if the parameters you listed are what you normally keep your tank at.

yeah, except Ca that is a typo. The ranges are:
Ca ~ 300-340
mg ~ 1200 - 1240
Alkalinity ~ 9.5-10.4
Nitrate ~ 5-15

Ca and mg are usually on the low side. I use Reef Crystal salt.

ajremington68 · Oct 17, 2023

Sh333 said:
yeah, except Ca that is a typo. The ranges are:
Ca ~ 300-340
mg ~ 1200 - 1240
Alkalinity ~ 9.5-10.4
Nitrate ~ 5-15

Ca and mg are usually on the low side. I use Reef Crystal salt.

Have the parameters been stable throughout the process of your acans not opening?

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

ajremington68 said:
I'll be honest blastos look AMAZING, but the acans for sure have seen better days, with shrimps scurrying over them, I don't think it would make them retract for more than like 10 minutes. Calcium at 200 is concerning for a acan that needs calcium to grow and maintain a skeleton.

Hey, thanks for the heads up! Calcium was a typo (I cannot edit it ughhh) is usually around 300-340 still on low side

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

ajremington68 said:
Have the parameters been stable throughout the process of your acans not opening?

yeahhh it is been 5 months that the parameters are stable

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

rhostam said:
In between the acans and the blasto colony I see what appears to be a strand. I had acans that were like this all of a sudden. There were some vermetid snails settled in near by. I reminded them and they puffed right back up after a day or so. I didn’t realize I had such an infestation. Just a thought.

Thanks for the feedback. I have some bumble bee snails to eat vermetid snails, and I cannot see any vermetid snails near Acan

Sh333 · Oct 17, 2023

ajremington68 said:
Question where did you find those Mega Acan and Blastos? how much as well if you bought them as a colony already.

Someone was shutting down his tank, I bought them from him as a colony both blasto and acan for 300$

ajremington68 · Oct 18, 2023

Sh333 said:
Someone was shutting down his tank, I bought them from him as a colony both blasto and acan for 300$

Peanut Butter and Jelous. I think and this is just me with them being LPS I would try to buy some calcium concentrate and start slow and dose every day or every other day and try to get your Calcium between 400-420 and see how that does you, and then go from there.

Sh333 · Oct 18, 2023

ajremington68 said:
Peanut Butter and Jelous. I think and this is just me with them being LPS I would try to buy some calcium concentrate and start slow and dose every day or every other day and try to get your Calcium between 400-420 and see how that does you, and then go from there.

lolll, Thanks for the advice! I'll give the calcium concentrate a try and aim for that 400-420 range. Hopefully, it'll do the trick.
But still do not know why other corals are doing well except Acan

kevgib67 · Oct 18, 2023

Sh333 said:
lolll, Thanks for the advice! I'll give the calcium concentrate a try and aim for that 400-420 range. Hopefully, it'll do the trick.
But still do not know why other corals are doing well except Acan

I would also dose up your magnesium to 1350-1400.