Pipe organ coral problem

[Kial]

so I’ve had a pipe organ coral sitting in my tank for a couple of weeks now. Originally half of it came out and I noticed there was something living on it, which others have said it could be a bristle star on my other post.
Does anyone have any experience with these corals because all of it is staying closed now without any sign of getting any better..
it’s currently in the sandbed bed with medium flow. I’ve tried it higher up also but no luck

 

[John3]

Do you have a pic, there are different types. Some like different flow. I have had one for over a year now and it has grown a lot. I find it is similar to gsp in its needs and hardiness.

Do you have any algae growing on it? How much light is it getting? What are your nutrient levrls(nitrate and phosphate) mine likes higher nutrients just like gsp.

 

[Kial]

Do you have a pic, there are different types. Some like different flow. I have had one for over a year now and it has grown a lot. I find it is similar to gsp in its needs and hardiness.

Do you have any algae growing on it? How much light is it getting? What are your nutrient levrls(nitrate and phosphate) mine likes higher nutrients just like gsp.

This is what it was like in the shop and what it is now in my tank.

Nitrates 5
Phos I cant quite remember but it wasn't high.
No algea growing on the coral.

Its bugging me because before I dipped it for a 2nd time half of it would come out and now nothing [emoji35]

I've tried it on different levels of the tank with high medium and low light and flow but just doesn't want to show

 

[John3]

What did you dip it in? I had some issues with mine early on and I would do a peroxide, coral rx, and iodine dip. That would get rid of algae and the polyps always looked good after.

It is important to make sure the polyps are retracted for the dipping.

Mine is a diff type but similar. Mine likes lower flow and medium light. I think your issue might be too low nutrients. Mine likes nitrates 10-20. Did you ever test the stores water to see what is was used to and doing good under?

 

[John3]

One of my magazines has s whole article on pipe orgsn corals. I’ll see if I can dig that up and give you some more info.

Here’s a pic of mine top down under blue light.

 

[reefwiser]

Looks like it is getting a bacterial coating not a good sign. A dip lugol’s you want it tea colored for 5 minutes with a couple shakes. It might save it. Pipe organ can be very delicate coral.

 

[John3]

If you google “wallflowers of science knop” you will get to the magazine article I have. I think you have tubipora species 3, though I didn’t really see an exact match to the pictures in the article.

Also, like gsp these corals can get poop and debri trapped between closed polyps which can encourage algae and cyano growth. So you do want some flow. I sad low flow before but I will say slow-low medium is a better description. If you read the article the way the pinnules look will tell you what kind of flow this coral is used to getting in the wild.

 

[reefwiser]

If you google “wallflowers of science knop” you will get to the magazine article .

You mean this article by Daniel Knop
https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2018/01/02/wallflowers-of-science-the-genus-tubipora/

An every reef hobbyist should subscribe too Coral Magizine.

 

[John3]

Yup, I get Coral Mag and love it!

 

[Kial]

I dipped using seachem Reed dip. I'll have a read of that article now.
How long do I leave it In the tank if it just doesn't come out

 

[John3]

As long as you see the purple colored section it is still alive. When it dies you will see some skeleton underneath that.

 

[Kial]

As long as you see the purple colored section it is still alive. When it dies you will see some skeleton underneath that.

It seems a few of the stem bits don't have any polyp on them anymore.

 

[John3]

Yeah that is bare skeleton. Mine was very hardy and went through some tank trials. It reversed back 2-3 times while I was still under the heavy learning curve. It can still come back as long as you see tissue so don’t give up.

 

[Kial]

Tried it In a new spot today so will see how that goes but I just can’t see it ever opening up it’s been weeks now

 

[Ginabez]

Same! Only one section of a pretty decent size frag that I have is opening. It was beautiful for months. The Hermit crabs love to sit on it, but I still have polyps that open simultaneously. . Could that be an issue? I definitely have some bare skeleton. Just seems less and less are open. I hear mixed advice to shake it off, (which I do periodically) Re-dip it? move it? It even looks like there might be some algae on it. Is it better to get it off the sand bed? Its in moderate light and flow. The front right corner of a 14g peninsula. same side as pump. Thanks for any help!