Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board  

Go Back   Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board > General > Reef

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10-11-2013, 03:24 AM
LeanneP LeanneP is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Kelowna
Posts: 245
LeanneP is on a distinguished road
Default Need Help with Fox and Bubble Coral

I bought a bubble coral and a fox coral about 3 months ago at the same time and added them too my tank. Both looked very healthy when I got them but they are both on a slow decline and shrinking in size.
My tank is 2 years, 90 gallon with 10 gallon sump. I have 2 x 250 watt mh lights that are due for a change. I run the mh for 6 hours a day.
My parameters are:
Salinity 1.025
Alk 7.7
Ca 450
Mg 1350
Nitrate 0
Phos 0
I do a 15 gallon water change every 10 days. I had coralline algae growing like crazy a month ago and my alk and mg were a little low but it is stable again and the coralline has slowed down.
I find every few days a lot of my corals look like crap and then they will be fine the next day. I started running some carbon as I thought maybe I was getting a little chemical warfare but it hasn't made a difference.
I moved the bubble and fox last week but they did worse and I moved them back to their original spots. They are at the bottom of the tank in low flow and I wasn't sure the fox was getting enough light but now I am thinking that maybe my tank is too clean. I have been feeding the bubble about once a week and now I am wondering about feeding the fox coral too.
Should I be running my lights longer or is this a feeding issue? I am at a loss as to why they are both not doing well. If I feed the fox coral what is the best to feed it since it has such small mouths. I also notice that they will be open and when I turn the mh lights on they close up and the bubble looks almost swollen but then the next day it is fine. Is this normal?
Any advice much appreciated.
Leanne P
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-11-2013, 03:29 AM
Slyguy00's Avatar
Slyguy00 Slyguy00 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Abbotsford
Posts: 1,141
Slyguy00 is on a distinguished road
Default

My bubble coral has a mind of its own. Somedays its huge, other days its fairly small. I dont think its anything to really worry about unless it looks like its dying. When they get rid of there waste they shrink up and kinda look like they are dying to. And i dont really feed my bubble anything, it just sorta takes stuff outta the water that i feed my fish. It has probably doubled in size since i got it and i keep it in high light high flow. Good luck
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-11-2013, 03:31 AM
eli@fijireefrock.com's Avatar
eli@fijireefrock.com eli@fijireefrock.com is offline
Vendor
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: calgary
Posts: 1,758
eli@fijireefrock.com is on a distinguished road
Default

it could possibly be due to too much light,only from my experience I have 3 mother colonies of fox corals and doing great on the bottom of the tank with LEDs same as a large colony of bubble coral,I don't directly feed the corals but do feed the entire tank with a mix of micron food.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-11-2013, 03:41 AM
LeanneP LeanneP is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Kelowna
Posts: 245
LeanneP is on a distinguished road
Default

I don't think it is too much light as both of them are partly shaded under rocks. I was actually thinking they may not have been getting enough light. I do realize that the corals close up periodically but the bubbles on the bubble coral don't seem to be as big and full as they were when I got it.

Leanne
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-11-2013, 03:47 AM
Slyguy00's Avatar
Slyguy00 Slyguy00 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Abbotsford
Posts: 1,141
Slyguy00 is on a distinguished road
Default

it took my bubble coral a month or so before it fully adapted to my tank. Id just give it time, it will probably come around.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10-11-2013, 06:20 AM
neoh's Avatar
neoh neoh is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Ladner
Posts: 375
neoh is on a distinguished road
Default

fox corals do best shaded with very little flow. If the flow is too high for it, try moving it to a better location.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10-11-2013, 12:40 PM
hfp75 hfp75 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: calgary ab
Posts: 431
hfp75 is on a distinguished road
Default

Some lps like some nitrates.....

All my hammer/frogspawn/octo spawn/ torches are thriving and my no3 is 40-60

My Aussie gold torch isn't happy so I'm gonna try dropping my no3 and see if it gets happy
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10-11-2013, 01:06 PM
saltyair saltyair is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Kingston on
Posts: 77
saltyair is on a distinguished road
Default

+1 they need low light and turbulence water flow. Mine do best in those spots. Also fox coral take most of the nutrient from the water. Maybe your tank is not dirty enough? Try some reef fuel - it works wonders - just don't use a lot.


Quote:
Originally Posted by eli@fijireefrock.com View Post
it could possibly be due to too much light,only from my experience I have 3 mother colonies of fox corals and doing great on the bottom of the tank with LEDs same as a large colony of bubble coral,I don't directly feed the corals but do feed the entire tank with a mix of micron food.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10-11-2013, 01:07 PM
saltyair saltyair is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Kingston on
Posts: 77
saltyair is on a distinguished road
Default

Fox coral need higher flow - they are naturally found on reef cliffs with turbulent water

Quote:
Originally Posted by neoh View Post
fox corals do best shaded with very little flow. If the flow is too high for it, try moving it to a better location.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-11-2013, 03:51 PM
SeaHorse_Fanatic SeaHorse_Fanatic is offline
Gold Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Burnaby
Posts: 4,880
SeaHorse_Fanatic will become famous soon enough
Default

6 hours seems like a very short photoperiod. Most of us run our main lights 8-10 hours I think.

Both my fox and my bubbles like lower light, protection from full blast of flow.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 05:22 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.