Polyps hate my tank and I'm lost.

[DaveC]

I went from NO3 4ppm, PO4 0.05 to NO3 30ppm, PO4 0.18ppm. I dosed ammonia daily and a little reefroid twice a week. This process went on for 2 months and now the PE has improved a lot. I guess the reason is that the light intensity is greater than the available nutrient level.

I'm bringing my PO4 up, currently sitting at .064 ... NO3 is at 20

I'm only seeing lacking PE on one frag that I added 11 days ago, of the 4 that is the only one not fat & happy

 

[Biff0rz]

My money is on the angel. I have no polyp extension because of a bi color blenny. It only takes them nipping the base a time or two a day for the sps to only polyp out at night.

No polyps at night either

 

[Biff0rz]

I went from NO3 4ppm, PO4 0.05 to NO3 30ppm, PO4 0.18ppm. I dosed ammonia daily and a little reefroid twice a week. This process went on for 2 months and now the PE has improved a lot. I guess the reason is that the light intensity is greater than the available nutrient level.

I wondering if I'm experiencing this - my par meter isn't the best (seneye) which is the next thing I plan to purchase, a better one. I have a feeling my current corals are getting hit w more light than measured. I can easily raise my lights, might be worth a try for a period.

 

[Curiousbranching]

For how long did you feed that same way?

It was about 8 months until I decided on the ammonia dose. Before that, I fed the fish 4 times a day with pellet and nori, phyto and reefroid as mentioned before.

 

[Reefering1]

It was about 8 months until I decided on the ammonia dose. Before that, I fed the fish 4 times a day with pellet and nori, phyto and reefroid as mentioned before.

Interesting.., I dont have a answer but 8 months seems to coincide with a previous post saying he doesn't see pe for about that long... so now, if you add a new frag, does it show/maintain pe immediately(or relatively quick)?

 

[Curiousbranching]

No polyps at night either

If there is no PE at night, the problem is probably not related to lights.

 

[DaveC]

Is it possible that too much flow is causing a lack of PE?

 

[Toob]

My money is on those fish. Several are sus, and even tangs can sometimes be the culprits. My tangs pick at certain corals and knock the PE back.

I had this exact issue, and once I rehomed my Angel the PE on many corals started to return. Some immediately, some are still slowly extending those polyps many weeks later.

 

[Jasonak]

Heh, maybe I am expecting too much. So, to answer your question, no. Let me ask you, would you consider this pattern normal? -

Frag is encrusted on plug
Frag is 1"+, colorful, lots of PE
Place frag in tank, for ~3mo the frag starts to encrust more, color more, grow, and no loss of PE
Frag loses almost all PE for an undetermined amount of time
Frag encrust more then PE returns (maybe - some have not returned)

If this is normal.... I'll just revert to being patient. I just don't feel like this is normal as some frags have not done this.

I had PE on some corals montis mostly but none on my Acros really. Had cherub angel who I never saw picking at the corals. Moved him into another tank and slowly started getting PE. Like I said I never saw him really mess with the corals a occasional nip at one but that turned out to be my problem in the end.

 

[Biff0rz]

My money is on those fish. Several are sus, and even tangs can sometimes be the culprits. My tangs pick at certain corals and knock the PE back.

I had this exact issue, and once I rehomed my Angel the PE on many corals started to return. Some immediately, some are still slowly extending those polyps many weeks later.

I have cameras on the tank -- I can confirm with 24x7 video surveillance that the fish are not touching them.

 

[Biff0rz]

Don't place emphasis on polyp extension. They're growing.

Vermetids are only a problem if the SPS are downstream and the vermetid nets are touching them.
You might want to get a magnifying glass and look for red bugs.

On the acros. Check out Youtube. Not too likely you have them, but they're fairly easy to spot when you know what to look for.

So, some updates.

Par
My par was super high at the top, 600. I've since reduced it to 400ish.

Red bugs
I found red bugs on some acros and have been having random stn (bottom up) on healthy frags. I got some interceptor and finished a 3 week treatment a week ago

Fish
Observations via camera and constantly watching, none of them, not even the pygmy angel, nip.

Flow
I have increased my flow by adding gyre's, moving to reefcrest on my vortechs, 70-90%.

PE at night
I do have more PE at night... But some retract. For example, I gave a Sanjay leprechaun beard coral that had polyps when I got it and for a while, but have since retracted and won't even come out at night. However the coral is growing and coloring nicely.
Upper left/right = day 1.
Lower left/right = last week (3mo in)

I still do not have full PE. I'd have what I'd call half on most of the corals, some have retracted completely, some are fully extended. If this is all red bug related, I have a feeling it's going to take a while for most to recover. Additionally, I do have some frags that are essentially not growing, but those tend to be the ones that have been in the tank the longest - one in particular, arc fireworks, hasn't grown much at all in a year and never has polyps out day or night.

Not ALL of the corals are doing this.
RMF Tigers Blood
1 year of growth
Upper left = day 1
Upper right = 2 mo
Lower left = 6mo
Lower right = about a month ago / 1yr

But then I'll have something like this
Tsa Carolina reaper
Upper left = day 1
Upper right = 2mo
Lower left =4mo
Lower right = 1 week ago / 9mo

Poto evil queen
This one has encrusted nicely but polyps are gone almost. This was taken today and I've had it about 3mo

This was day 1

So while I've had some success, I've had some challenges w PE.

More frustrating is the random stn's. I've of course lost the expensive ones to that-
Bkchem fruit loops
Acrolandia
Vivids Confetti

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

[VintageReefer]

None of this looks even remotely bad to me. They extend polyps to try and absorb food and nutrients. They can be perfectly healthy with limited pe

Remember this

Growth and color > PE

They go through growing phases too, they need to encrust nice base before they start to grow vertical. They will extend polyps then they are in stages that require more energy

Corals look great, keep it up

 

[Biff0rz]

None of this looks even remotely bad to me. They extend polyps to try and absorb food and nutrients. They can be perfectly healthy with limited pe

Remember this

Growth and color > PE

They go through growing phases too, they need to encrust nice base before they start to grow vertical. They will extend polyps then they are in stages that require more energy

Corals look great, keep it up

Thanks, I'll keep on trucking. Btw, here are some pics/vid of the bugs

 

[VintageReefer]

They are a setback for sure but don’t give up it can happen to anyone and they can be beat

 

[Max93]

Look for red bugs and white bugs. If you don’t have any shrimp/crabs do a dose of interceptor anyways to see if you notice any changes you won’t harm anything in the tank, except crabs and shrimps.

Edit - just saw you found bugs