rgentry123
Member
i have a coral frag that has almost completely bleached, i know that means the zooanthela(or however the heck it's spelled) bacteria has died but does that mean the coral itself is dead? does it have a chance to come back?
coral bleaching
- Thread starter rgentry123
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Aquarist007
New member
depending on what frag it is ---you can frag the small piece that is living away from the dead part.
the other question is why the coral is bleaching--how close is it to the lights and what is the level of phosphates in your tank.
the other question is why the coral is bleaching--how close is it to the lights and what is the level of phosphates in your tank.
rgentry123
Member
very close to the lights, the frag is about as high as it can go in the tank and the lights are only about 2 months old. im not sure as to the level of phosphates as i dont have a test kit for p04 yet. all of my other corals seem to be fine and are not bleaching whatsoever. im not sure of the exact name for the coral but it is some type staghorn.
rgentry123
Member
thing is it's not a new frag, i've had it for about 6 months now.
Aquarist007
New member
whats your water chemistry parameters---nitrates, salinity, alk, mag, calcium and pH?
Peter Eichler
New member
But your lights are new... Did you acclimate your inhabitants to the new lights?
Aquarist007
New member
good point Peter----in all new coral purchases it is a good practise to introduce them low in the tank and gradually raise them up every 3-5 days
brettblackwell
New member
what would increased phosphate levels do to the corals
Aquarist007
New member
cause the tips of sps corals to brown and die
BuddhaKiss
Active member
What are your alk levels? I had a blue tort bleach out when my alk level was at 6.
Peter Eichler
New member
It wouldn't cause them to bleach or lighten... On the other hand if you were to add a bunch of granular ferric oxide (phosphate remover) you could certainly have some issues with bleaching. What light did you go from and to?
BuddhaKiss
Active member
That's what happened to me, added too much gfo and caused my alk to drop
Bleaching is an imprecsie term sometimes used interchangably by some aquarists to describe two different conditions.
With sps the sloughing of tissue leaving a white skelton is often called bleaching. In this case the coral is dead if all the tissue is gone.
Bleaching also refers to the lightening of color toward a pastel or translucent shade. In this case the coral has expelled zooxanthelae and may survive and recapture zooxanthelae levels over time.
What kind of coral is it? Has it lost tissue? Is it completely white or just lighter in color.
I agree new lighting may be the problem.It should be gradually introduced via shorter photo periods for the first week or two, raisng the new light higher off the water and gradually lowereing it and/ or using screening material on the tank and gradually removing it.
Excess organic phosphate, the PO4 species, will inhibit cacification and thus stress and ultimately kill corals. Stoney corals are particularly sensitive. Excess phosphate will also fuel nuisance algae.
With sps the sloughing of tissue leaving a white skelton is often called bleaching. In this case the coral is dead if all the tissue is gone.
Bleaching also refers to the lightening of color toward a pastel or translucent shade. In this case the coral has expelled zooxanthelae and may survive and recapture zooxanthelae levels over time.
What kind of coral is it? Has it lost tissue? Is it completely white or just lighter in color.
I agree new lighting may be the problem.It should be gradually introduced via shorter photo periods for the first week or two, raisng the new light higher off the water and gradually lowereing it and/ or using screening material on the tank and gradually removing it.
Excess organic phosphate, the PO4 species, will inhibit cacification and thus stress and ultimately kill corals. Stoney corals are particularly sensitive. Excess phosphate will also fuel nuisance algae.
