Bleaching Cap Help

[dhayden]

So I bought this nice piece of pinkish/orange Cap. at my LFS. The guy said i didnt have to worry about aclimating it to the MH lighting in my tank. So like a dope I listened. 1 days later the poor thing has bleached out about 1/2 inch around the top facing the lights. So I moved it away from the middle of the tank and towards the back. The bleaching is about an inch in some spots now. I can move it to the bottom. Will it stop? You thnk the thing will survive?

 

[bkiba]

need some info on parameters. How much light do you actually have? How big is the piece? It is not un common for a large piece to bleach or otherwise stressout when put into a new system. They just don't get the same environment over the whole piece they had in the old system (if they grew in) or in the wild.

 

[dhayden]

Its a 20g high. I have 175w 20k MH, and 2-24w Atinic pc.
Battling a Magnesium, Alk, and PH stability prob at moment.

Amon/NO2?NO# - 0
Ca - 450
PH - 7.8
Mg - 1150
Alk 15 dKH

I got a trumpet frag and torch frag at same time, they are doing very well. I have only 1 other SPS, and Pink Polli. It looks fine as well.
The Cap frag is a square about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide, in a slight arch.

 

[dhayden]

It is kinda of a large piece for my tank, should I break off the bleached area? and see if they come back?

 

[bkiba]

I wouldn't mess with it, although I'm no expert. Touching it and moving it about will just **** it off. If it is under more lights in your tank that it was before, back off on the lights, more flow always helps, your tank could be having temp swings or SG swings. It is probably one of the latter and moving it wont help at this point. How are you topping off?

 

[dhayden]

I have an old Kent drip doser. I put about 1/2 gal on RO Water in there at least once a day.

 

[bkiba]

Something changed drastically that is why it bleached. Cutting off the bleached part isn't going to solve anything, try to figure out what is different and fix it, other than that I wouldn't do a thing.

 

[fijiblue]

I would break a small piece off and put it in a different place in the tank. It is much easier for a frag to grow to it's new surroundings than for a colony to adapt. This way if the colony goes you still have another piece. Just my .02

 

[dhayden]

Thanks. Tis what i was thinking

 

[Cody Ray]

Don't mess with it, that is the worst thing you can do for it.

 

[dhayden]

You think it will just work its way out of it?

 

[dhayden]

bugger its almost all bleached Never had a piece do this, do they recover? Or is it future coraline now?

 

[bkiba]

sounds like a goner, maybe it was too stressed. Maybe it just got to the store and couldn't take another move... who knows. Monti's are usually pretty good. Don't give up yet it may recover, but don't get your hopes up either.

sorry man