Brown polyp problem

[tetris]

I've got a couple frags that sometimes have brownish polyps. Sometimes there will be great polyp extension and the polyps will be normal colored... Other days the polyps pull in slightly and there is a brown ring around where the polyp would extend out. Here is a picture. (sorry for the quality.. taken with my iPhone)



Tank parameters:

55 gallon DT with 25 gallon sump
Salinity: 1.027 (perhaps the culprit right there?)
dKH: 8.6 (Alk/calc/mag maintained with two part)
Calcium: 430
Mag: 1500
Flow: Two MP10's, 750GPH return, 480GPH closed loop.
Phosphate: undetectable
Nitrate: undetectable
Lighting: 6x54 watt Tek T5
Temp: 76 - 76.6
RO/DI unit
very small amount of GFO
Reef Octopus 160 skimmer


Fish:

Blue Tang
2 clowns
1 fire angel
1 diamond goby

Any ideas? I dip and inspect all corals coming in.

 

[tetris]

50 views and no responses. Looks like I stumbled upon a pretty rare problem! Could this be due to too much lighting? These frags are sitting about 8 inches from the tek light system.

 

[Allmost]

please explain your problem more in dept,

no polyp extention ?

or are you saying the coral changes polyp color ?


from what I read, seems like when polyps are out u see them, and they are brown, and when the retract, u just dont see them ? check for anything nipping it ?
they look purplish in the pic.

 

[29reef]

My first thought is predator(invert,fish,RB) if those don't seem to be an issue then I would think that it's lighting or water related.

 

[tetris]

Thank you for the responses.

please explain your problem more in dept,

no polyp extention ?

or are you saying the coral changes polyp color ?


from what I read, seems like when polyps are out u see them, and they are brown, and when the retract, u just dont see them ? check for anything nipping it ?
they look purplish in the pic.

When there is polyp extension, everything looks normal. The polyps are normally colored... everything looks great. However, when the polyps are retracted, there seems to be a brown ring around the "pore" of the polyp... Very strange. I set the frag rack deeper in the water by 5 or 6 inches or so. Hopefully this will help a little. Otherwise I'm stumped since the water parameters seem to be okay. Any other responses are very welcome.

 

[mgraf]

In my limited experience, one mans purple, is another mans brown. If you are getting extension and no RTN, probably just a light/color issue.

 

[Allmost]

Thank you for the responses.



When there is polyp extension, everything looks normal. The polyps are normally colored... everything looks great. However, when the polyps are retracted, there seems to be a brown ring around the "pore" of the polyp... Very strange. I set the frag rack deeper in the water by 5 or 6 inches or so. Hopefully this will help a little. Otherwise I'm stumped since the water parameters seem to be okay. Any other responses are very welcome.

how are your other SPS doing ?

brownish rings/tracks, usually for me mean a bit raise in the nutritions.

for example, when my flouresence greens show a bit of brown into them, I know its time for a water change

that's a posibility, but wait and see how it does in the next week or so.
looks light it would grow to be a nice piece though

 

[29reef]

I'm starting to think your pH might be the issue. Do you have a calibrated probe to monitor it?

 

[Allmost]

sorry but what makes u think PH Issues ? they brow out corals ? hmmm wouldnt it just follow KH ?

 

[tetris]

how are your other SPS doing ?

brownish rings/tracks, usually for me mean a bit raise in the nutritions.

for example, when my flouresence greens show a bit of brown into them, I know its time for a water change

that's a posibility, but wait and see how it does in the next week or so.
looks light it would grow to be a nice piece though

I've only got 5 frags in there. But the other frags are doing decent. Not great color yet, but they are all about a month old. I had alk stability problems for two weeks or so, but the brown ring problem has really only come about since alk has been stabilized. I'll wait for a couple weeks and see how things are doing. I'm hoping my flame angel isn't nipping at them when I'm not looking because I really love how beautiful he is.

I'm starting to think your pH might be the issue. Do you have a calibrated probe to monitor it?

I have a pH probe indicating that the water is usually 8-8.1 pH. I calibrated it probably 3 months ago. I also have test kits from API that will measure pH. I'll try measuring with that as well.

 

[Reef Bass]

So is the problem in your mind the brown color or that the polyps are retracted?

In my opnion, the brown ring you see is formed by the tips of the radially symmetric polyp tentacles as they are drawn into the coralite. Not a problem. Polyps being retracted all the time could be a sign of a problem.

 

[29reef]

sorry but what makes u think PH Issues ? they brow out corals ? hmmm wouldnt it just follow KH ?

My thought is that possibly over the course of a day the pH or KH is dropping, or possibly rising to a point that makes the coral retract it's polyps.

It could be the light if he was using LEDs. When they would be ramping up and giving the coral too much or too little light.

Like I mentioned earlier, a simple check for pests and water quality will eliminate most of the common causes of reduced PE.

 

[SushiGirl]

So is the problem in your mind the brown color or that the polyps are retracted?

In my opnion, the brown ring you see is formed by the tips of the radially symmetric polyp tentacles as they are drawn into the coralite. Not a problem. Polyps being retracted all the time could be a sign of a problem.

^^ That.

My leathers are the same way. When they pull in the polyps, there's a brown ring. Nothing wrong with it.

 

[Reef Bass]

I had a beautiful purple stylophora which occasionally looked like it had a few dark specks on it. I got out the macro camera and it was just retracted polyps. All the retracted tips came together and made what looked like a dark spot. In your case it sounds as though you get brown rings visually.

 

[tetris]

So is the problem in your mind the brown color or that the polyps are retracted?

In my opnion, the brown ring you see is formed by the tips of the radially symmetric polyp tentacles as they are drawn into the coralite. Not a problem. Polyps being retracted all the time could be a sign of a problem.

The problem in my mind is not that the polyps are retracted; it's that the area surrounding the polyp looks brown when the polyp is retracted. But looks like this is actually pretty normal. That's a great thing to hear. However the polyps on some of my sps (the one pictured in particular) are retracted during the day. That is another problem I'll have to work on.

My thought is that possibly over the course of a day the pH or KH is dropping, or possibly rising to a point that makes the coral retract it's polyps.

It could be the light if he was using LEDs. When they would be ramping up and giving the coral too much or too little light.

Like I mentioned earlier, a simple check for pests and water quality will eliminate most of the common causes of reduced PE.

I tested with API and it matched my pH probe with a reading between 8 and 8.1. I will do extensive testing on the water today.

^^ That.

My leathers are the same way. When they pull in the polyps, there's a brown ring. Nothing wrong with it.

I had a beautiful purple stylophora which occasionally looked like it had a few dark specks on it. I got out the macro camera and it was just retracted polyps. All the retracted tips came together and made what looked like a dark spot. In your case it sounds as though you get brown rings visually.

Well I'm very glad that this is somewhat normal. I'll keep an eye on it for a while. Hopefully the polyps start to come out a little more during the day. Thanks for all the help.