crazykrammm
New member
i had a little head spike in one of my tanks and some of the zoas and palys got bleached. whats the best way an fast way to get em back
bleached z's and p's
- Thread starter crazykrammm
- Start date
Not being funny, but what is a little head spike?
DUR !!!!!! Where's my DUNCE hat, LOL. Thanks Crazy, I wasn't thinking, DUR again !!!
Wow, sorry to hear the bad news. I would really seek to rectify the root cause of that spike first and foremost.
1. What size is your tank?
2. Type of lights?
3. Take a piece of white typing paper and tape it to the right side of your tank. Make sure your lights are on, then walk to the other side of the tank and look through the water and tell me what color is the paper.
4. How bleached are they and how many polyps? Bleached corals are not dead corals and you can bring them back. You will need to place them in direct line with current but not overpowering. Heat spike is one of many reasons for bleaching. The heat spike triggered a mass expulsion of zooxanthellae, the single cell algae which gives them their color and sustains them.
5. If they are indeed bleached, and void of their zooxanthellae which feeds them as well as providing coloration, they are nutrient deficient. According to E.B, "Without the proper number of zooxanthellae in their tissues, corals must rely almost entirely on dissolved nutrients uptake and heterotrophic feeding to meet their energy needs". I experienced some mild bleaching back in 2000 due to a hardware malfunction. It was very slight, but I also added some Cyclop Eeze, as stated above, I feel this added food source help them while they repopulated the zooxanthellae which was expelled during the heat spike. The added food source and the current will greatly aid in their recovery. It will take time so you will have to just place them and not move them. It could take 3 months to a year, but I have seen recovery in as little as 5 months.
6. Bleached polyps are also vulnerable polyps. Susceptible to disease, predation and starvation, so keep your eyes on them and watch for inverts and fish which might think they are dead/dying and go after them. I would ever consider inverting a plastic reef safe type of covering which allows light penetration and food to enter but keeps fish and large inverts out. Just a thought to consider depending on the severity of the bleaching and how widespread it is.
7. But I would really focus on correcting the heat issue to insure it doesn't happen again my friend.
Have a few more things to add but I would really like to know the answers to those questions up top. Hope this helps, good luck.
Mucho Reef
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crazykrammm
New member
lol ya guys well this is how it was my i was messing in my skimmer and the pump for the chiller got disconnected for a few days it went from my normal 76 to 84. lol is that a spike haaa or what. i'll try to get some pic tonight
crazykrammm
New member
i have a 90gal with 30gal sump with a 7bulb t5 aquatnics constellation.
Hello Crazykrammm, did you see the four questions in post # 5?
crazykrammm
New member
white paper
white paper
i'll try the paper thing tonight. what does that do?
white paper
i'll try the paper thing tonight. what does that do?
crazykrammm
New member
heres a pic. my gf took for me i got home to late the lights were off. so i'll try your paper trick tonight.
