Toad Stool Leather - just can't keep them ( 2nd one in three months )

Velocity · Aug 13, 2015

Well I bought a leather about 3 months back, he was shipped and looked good coming out but never took off - figured it was just a bad one

Then Saturday I bought a beautiful one from a LFS and I had watched it for two weeks almost every other day before I purchased it Saturday.

I placed him in the sand bed in open area - I noticed him Tuesday not doing well so I turned up my LEDS a bit for more light

It did stand up in the tank by Saturday night and again Sunday however it never developed the tentacles I guess they are called - you could see the pores start to open where they come out from but never did. Yesterday it never stood up and this morning the trunk had come off the rock.

Could this be lighting ? place in tank ? water

?

I have a bubble tip, Christmas Tree, Red Chili, two Yellow Gorgonians plus a couple different brains all doing great.

143MPCo · Aug 13, 2015

I have one that had a similar issue until I placed it in an area of higher flow, and it took off... it's so big now that corals under it are suffering.

Velocity · Aug 13, 2015

143MPCo said:
I have one that had a similar issue until I placed it in an area of higher flow, and it took off... it's so big now that corals under it are suffering.

It might be to late for this guy but least I know now...Thanks

ilovereefing <3 · Aug 13, 2015

Are you using any chemical filtration other than carbon? I lost one leather in my tank, so I got another one. It did well for about a week, then it closed up and lost color. I had read that PhosGuard can leach aluminum into the water, which I happened to be running, so I removed it as soon as I found out. Within 2 days (and after a larger water change than normal), my leather opened back up and has been open every day since. It is slowly regaining its color, and looks much better now. If you are running PhosGuard, I'd remove it.

Velocity · Aug 13, 2015

ilovereefing <3 said:
Are you using any chemical filtration other than carbon? I lost one leather in my tank, so I got another one. It did well for about a week, then it closed up and lost color. I had read that PhosGuard can leach aluminum into the water, which I happened to be running, so I removed it as soon as I found out. Within 2 days (and after a larger water change than normal), my leather opened back up and has been open every day since. It is slowly regaining its color, and looks much better now. If you are running PhosGuard, I'd remove it.

only the bio wheels from a hang on back refug ( has carbon too ) - my sump has nothing but sand, LR and Skimmer

ilovereefing <3 · Aug 13, 2015

Velocity said:
only the bio wheels from a hang on back refug ( has carbon too ) - my sump has nothing but sand, LR and Skimmer

Hmmm...not sure then. What kind of carbon are you running? Any water params off?

Velocity · Aug 13, 2015

ilovereefing <3 said:
Hmmm...not sure then. What kind of carbon are you running? Any water params off?

I let a buddy borrow my test kit and ran out of strips for PH

ilovereefing <3 · Aug 13, 2015

Velocity said:
I let a buddy borrow my test kit and ran out of strips for PH

I'd start by either getting your test kit back, or get a new set of tests and make sure your params are good. Leathers are typically quite hardy, so if there is something off in the water, correction of that may help it get back on its feet. If you have a coral QT, you might try moving it there while you figure out what may be going on in your display. I do hope it recovers, it is a beautiful piece!