Chalice Mouth

[Rx79394]

Hello,

I just purchased my first few chalices not too long ago...

<a href="http://imgur.com/7X4a0vc"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/7X4a0vcl.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

However this was on Sunday.

This morning, he was not looking too well. He started to look like he was bleaching and his mouths receded. Is the mouth's recession typical behavior of chalices?

 

[Rx79394]

Well, since I can't edit the post...

Here is how the chalice currently sits.

<a href="http://imgur.com/xlsIO93"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/xlsIO93l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

 

[BenA]

i would try to cut the healthy part off to try to save it. I have had chalices do this for no reason

 

[ExpensiveHobby]

chalices prefer low light and will color up much better in low light. I'd move to a shaded area with low flow and wait a while to see what happens. Everything happens very slowly with chalices, growth and recession.

 

[Rx79394]

chalices prefer low light and will color up much better in low light. I'd move to a shaded area with low flow and wait a while to see what happens. Everything happens very slowly with chalices, growth and recession.

Yesterday I did move him to a darker area of the tank and dropped/shortened my photo-period to hopefully allow for him to regrow.

 

[SloppyWhenWet]

Feed him!

 

[Scorpius]

Feed him!

Agreed. A happy chalice is an aggressive eater at least in my experience.

 

[Rx79394]

Agreed. A happy chalice is an aggressive eater at least in my experience.

Tried feeding him last night... using Rod's Foods Original.

Didn't really see much progress as there were no feeder tentacles out. I even put some where the mouths used to be to entice them to come out -- not much luck. Ill have to try again on Monday!

 

[m0nkie]

Water parameter? Low mag sometimes cause chalice to die off.

Also be careful on inverts, they could pick on the dead tissue and the nearby live tissues on the chalice at night

I feed my chalices mysis shrimp weekly.

 

[RainbowReefer]

I would not frag it, I would move it to low light. I would also be curious what your mag is as well. If everything else is doing fine I doubt it is your ALK or a ALK swing.

 

[Rx79394]

Water parameter? Low mag sometimes cause chalice to die off.

Also be careful on inverts, they could pick on the dead tissue and the nearby live tissues on the chalice at night

I feed my chalices mysis shrimp weekly.

Went to the fishstore so they can test the water. I am sitting at the following parameters:

1.025 Salinity
390 Calcium
1020 ppmMagnesium
6.7 Alkalinity

I did purchase a magnesium test kit, as I have both CA and ALK kits in the mail.

I personally tested it at 1350 the first time, but I think there was an error with how I tested it, as I used different parts of the plunger for the before and after markings (the instructions are not clear with the upper/lower plunger ordeal).

I did it two other times, using the same location of the plunger (closest to water), and both times tested out to 1130. With that being said, I ended up dosing 70 ppm worth of magnesium and giving the tank a few hours before I re-test.

 

[Rx79394]

I would not frag it, I would move it to low light. I would also be curious what your mag is as well. If everything else is doing fine I doubt it is your ALK or a ALK swing.

I am also battling a few other issues at the moment, I have a rhodactus that hasn't been opening up for a few weeks and my older acans/lobo have been spewing their guts.

However the acans/lobos issue it probably from a pretty big mistake I made the other day! I was feeding the corals and I realized I used the same syringe as Aptasia-X before and that residue may have ended up on the food. Since then, they haven't been happy -- but they are making a comeback.

 

[RainbowReefer]

Whats your mag and ALK?

 

[RainbowReefer]

I would try and get your mag up in the 1300's. What brand salt do you use? Also judging by going to the fish store to get the test done Im guessing you dont test yourself regularly?

 

[Rx79394]

I would try and get your mag up in the 1300's. What brand salt do you use? Also judging by going to the fish store to get the test done Im guessing you dont test yourself regularly?

I typically have the fish store test the water for me on a near weekly basis. I had a person there that I actually trusted and became friends with. He however, left for college in Arizona. Now I can't trust them as far as I can throw them.

With that being said, I purchased a CA/ALK kit from the local reefers and it is in the mail, and yesterday I picked up a MG kit so I can conduct the tests myself.

I tested 1130ppm MG yesterday night vs. 1020ppm that the store had, so one of us is off... However, I ended up dosing 70ppm worth of MG last night and after about 2.5 hours of addition, I noticed it increasing by about 10ppm. This morning I retested MG and it is now at about 1160ppm. Which I have now dosed another 70ppm and I will retest once I get home from watching Michigan Football Practice! :bounce2: I am currently using the BRS 2-part solution to make any adjustments to the MG -- it appears that the MG mix is a combination of Magnesium Chloride and Magnesium Sulfate.

According to the numbers that the LFS gave me, it seems that all of my parameters are just slightly low from what I have read. However, with the discrepency in the Mg, I don't know if I can trust the Ca/Alk numbers until I can gain better fidelity on what is truly going on.

As far as salt and water changes are concerned... I have a 30g tank with a sump. I would estimate I have a total water volume of 35g. I change 5 gallons every week pretty consistantly. Each week I swap between Instant Ocean and Aquavitro Salinity. Once those buckets run out I'm just going to run Reef Crystals from here on out.

 

[Rx79394]

So I went ahead and retested the Mg now that the practice is over, It still is at about 1160ppm.

So in total I have dosed what should have been nearly 140ppm worth of mag, and yet there has only been a change in 40ppm? The second time it didn't increase at all.

What gives?

I'm going to create a new thread over in the chemistry department as well, to figure out what I am doing incorrectly.

 

[Sir JRAD]

Looks great!