Why is my Duncan upset?

[MrLafogata]

I got him last week and he opened up really nice after a day, but today he hasn’t opened at all any ideas?

 

[Spare time]

can you list your alk, calcium, magnesium?

 

[MrLafogata]

Hi, sorry for the late response been incredibly busy.
Alk is 8
Calcium is 480

could it be my emerald crab or coral beauty? I’ve recently turned down light intensity to see if he’s being cooked it’s been 2 days since and he’s still shut like a nun.

 

[MrLafogata]

Here’s a tank pic to show all my other stoners and softies seem to be enjoying themselves.

 

[uhgster1]

Do you have any of these guys?

90% of the time it’s something swimming or crawling around that upsets mine. If your parameters are good see who’s messing with it. Btw, yes that’s his Duncan colony. The colony doesn’t freak out like it used to.

 

[MrLafogata]

I don’t have a magnesium test.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Duncans can get a tad moody and do this from time to time. Usually it's due to something annoying them like a cleaner shrimp, crab or fish swimming against them. It can also be the change in lighting intensity/spectrum that can cause them to stay closed. Give them a few days to a week and see how they behave. Watch for anything in your tank rubbing up against them or if you have fairly strong flow in the tank, if so try reducing the flow a bit to see if that helps. Duncans don't need a ton of light. They are happy in the 120 PAR range. I would suggest moving them lower in the tank but since you already have them near the bottom that's not an option. If your lighting has an acclimation mode, try enabling it and reduce the power by 20% for a couple of weeks and see if they respond to that. If your light does not have this function, you can try raising it up about 5 inches and it will do the same thing.

 

[Hercaluis]

I got him last week and he opened up really nice after a day, but today he hasn’t opened at all any ideas?

Do you have any type of wavemakers?

 

[MrLafogata]

No, I’ve been scared to get one because I don’t have a lid and my power head is pretty strong. Do you suggest getting one?

 

[InvaderJim]

Mine is also really moody and I haven't been able to find a spot in the tank that it likes yet.

 

[New&no clue]

I would vote for a fish bothering it. This was mine for the longest time, and then one day it closed up. I checked every parameter, I tried moving it to a different spot it would not open again. Occasionally I would see it start to peak, but the next time I checked it was closed again. Finally one time I saw that it was opening a little and my female clown immediately start to pick at it and rub on it.

 

[MrLafogata]

He liked it at one point, are they moody enough to switch to hating it like this?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Mine is also really moody and I haven't been able to find a spot in the tank that it likes yet.

It takes time with these guys. Because of their large polyps and lack of structural support like hammers and torches they really like indirect low to moderate semi-turbulent flow patterns with low to moderate light. When you pick a spot, it's best to leave them there for at least two or three weeks to see how they respond before moving them.

 

[InvaderJim]

It takes time with these guys. Because of their large polyps and lack of structural support like hammers and torches they really like indirect low to moderate semi-turbulent flow patterns with low to moderate light. When you pick a spot, it's best to leave them there for at least two or three weeks to see how they respond before moving them.

Great info. Thanks!