Cause for unhappy/droopy Torch corals?

[serbusfish]

I have two Torch Corals which I have had for quite a while, one was a frag which I got around five months ago and the other had three heads which I got around three months ago. They have both done fine, fully extending and looking really big. The frag had one head which turned into three, and the second developed a fourth head.

However recently they have both taken a turn for the worse. The frag Torch lost a head (it seemed to have been ejected from the skeleton as it was dangling out of it) and the remaining heads wont extend much.

The other Torch lost two heads due to it being in too high a flow (my fault) but once I moved it the remaining two were fully extended and looked very happy. But for the last couple of weeks they have been droopy and much smaller, I tried dipping it in Seachem Dip for fifteen minutes but now it only has one head left which is still drooping.

My parameters are all within 'reef' requirements and my other corals are all doing great (everything from Birdsnest, Acros and Montipora to Bubble, Elegance and Goniopora's).

Any help would be really appreciated. At the moment one Torch is in low flow and the other is in medium flow so I think I can rule out flow causing the problems.

 

[snulma1]

What are your parameters?

 

[serbusfish]

What are your parameters?

Calcium 420
Mag 1400
Nitrate 0.5
Phosphate 0.03
KH 9dkh
SG 1.025

 

[Dkuhlmann]

All Euphyllia (torch, hammer, frogspawn) usually need to be low light and low flow so placement on the bottom of the tank. Low flow means gentle sway.

Your corals dropping heads is called polyp bailout and they do this when they don't like where they are. A picture of a full tank shot would be helpful as well as pictures of the sad corals.

Those parameters look fine

 

[Mark9]

I move new corals the instant they show unhappiness.
Waiting until polyp bailout and head dead may have been too long.
That being said, i've found torches to be quite touchy on placement.
If you are confident your water is good, try finding it a happy place.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I've been having a hard time getting my two new 800 gph powerheads adjusted for my Euphyllia's. LOL 1600 gph plus the return pump in a 40 is hectic to say the least But I think I have it set now so we'll see how they do today.

You can use rocks to block flow or to change the flow so you can put corals where you would like them to be, just have to get creative.

 

[serbusfish]

Here is a slightly old tank shot, I have highlighted where the Torches are now:



And a pic of the droopy one before it lost its third head:



The one above is in very low flow but still droops, the second is in medium flow, it doesnt droop but it doesnt really extend very much. I have had them on rocks for months without issue so I dont know why they are now acting unhappy.

 

[Silly clownfish]

Just a thought: Have you added any new corals recently that could be engaging in chemical warfare? Of course euphyllia is more likely to be the aggressor than a victim.

 

[serbusfish]

Just a thought: Have you added any new corals recently that could be engaging in chemical warfare? Of course euphyllia is more likely to be the aggressor than a victim.

Only a Goniopora. I run carbon to combat chemical warfare as I have a toadstool leather.

 

[Daniel62]

You might want to try a bacterial type of medicine for a dip, I use erythromycin. also could one of your fish be picking on it ?

 

[Heatherabel3]

I would try moving them all the way to the bottom and in a small amount of shade if you can. They look stressed to the max right now, this may give them some time to perk back up then you can slowly move them up to where you want them. I have found that all the LPS like this are super picky about where they are. It's not going to matter if you can't get it to recuperate though.

 

[Docdiggy]

I've never seen them do that before. Weird.