Can't regain polyp extension
 

Hi,

I have an acropora that was very shaggy with extremely long polyps but since the Kent contaminated charbon there is practically no polyp extension and it seem to be getting worse rather than getting better. I did like 7 water changes after the event and it was looking better and better but now I stopped doing the water changes because the analysis on my water showed no more trace of copper or heavy metal but why is it going worse?

Should I keep doing 30% water change even though the copper is gone?

Anything else I can add to the water that will help polyp extention?

I just bought 2 new frags and they are millepora and have great polyps extension even after being a week in my tank.

It lost a lot of color but it is not bleached completely. So sad, that acropora looked like it had fur before.

Here is the before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=2QYr-SDz6XM

and here is now :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOzFJ...yer_detailpage

I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Once something agitates them, they can take a few weeks or more to come back. Adding things is just creating more change, so I'd avoid that for now. If the others are fine, just give it time.

If you have no more trace of contaminants I would cut back on the huge water changes and return to your regular pre-kent routine. If it worked before then chances are it will work again - with a litlle patience. Good luck.

Ok I will leave it for now. I dose with Zeovit amino acid as I always have done, and of course the 2 part from BRS as always.

The new frags have great polyps extension, to the max I would say, and great color so I guess it is not something in the water but rather that the shaggy acropora is still in shock. Strange, it's been 3 weeks since that event.

Have you looked at the acro at night?.... Does it extend when the lights are off?

+1 for Brad's advice.

I had a temp probe fail and my system dropped down to 71f. It took 3+ weeks for corals to recover.

Cheers,
Tim

Yes and at night only the polyps at the end are coming out, nothing else is even coming out. During the day the other polyps are coming out a little but bearely and the polyps at the ends are hidden.

What worry me is that the coral has some filaments out like if it was still attacked. When I put in Kent carbon it was full of these filaments for a few days.

This hapened on February 9 and it's been 3 weeks and half and things seem to be going down hill instead of improving.

Can the coral still have heavy metal in its flesh and be dying from it? if so what can I do?

Not good
 

Some part of my sps have started to RTN, and yesterday evening I could see lots of filments out, this morning there was absolutely zero polyp extension, so the coral will probably die from the poisoned carbon and never managed to recover from it :(

Another casualty to add to my list of dead corals from this carbon :(

Since the polyps look better at night with lights out I would try to shade the coral during the day.

No, that's the thing. there is absolutely zero polyp extension at night.

There was a little bit at they end of the day before the light went out, but at night even the tip polyps were retracted.

Also I took a frag and the skeleton seam very fragile, very brittle and break easily. Is it possible that then heavy metal poisoning have affected the coral internal structure?