Devil's Hand Dead?

O

Olgranddad

New member
I haven't seen any polyps on my Devil's Hand for a couple of weeks. I've tried moving it to every combinations of low/medium/high flow and light. Now what? When do I throw in the towel?
 
hmmm....it took a few weeks for my devil's hand to expand and show polyps. i would try medium/high light and medium flow and just wait.
 
Like many leathers, Devil's Hand periodically retracts and builds up a waxy layer, which it then sloughs off. This is normal behavior. Moving it often is also likely to induce this behavior, so you may be best off simply moving it back to its "last known good" position and wait.

Try touching it very lightly with your (gloved) hand. If the fingers feel firm, then it's likely OK. If it feels soft and mushy, it may be on its way out.

How are your other corals? Is the DH near anything that might wage chemical warfare?
 
All my other corals are good. The DH is firm to the touch. I moved it higher on the rock and more into the flow of the pump. Today I saw the polyps raise a bit. They looked like pimples. They weren't extended all the way. At least I saw life in it.
 
That's great news! Lobos are pretty hardy, so unless it's melted or necrotic it should be OK.
 
The DH is looking good today. Polyps are fully extended. I think I found it's new spot. It's getting a lot more light and more current now. I feel much better :)
 
I have a small one that has a cycle of doing that. It closes up for a few days, opens for a while, closed up again. They seem to be VERY temperamental. The slightest thing annoys them and they close up for a few days.

But as long as they like the spot they eventually open back up. Weeks is a bit long, and since moving it worked, sounds like it just didn't like its old location a whole lot.
 
The DH is still going strong. It was a case of it didn't like being on the sand bed with little flow. It always stands up with the polyps all extended.

I did notice that it was going through cycles when it was in a spot it didn't like. It would be happy for a day or two and then close up for a week and shed mucus. Since the new location it has opened every day and that's 8 days in a row. I haven't seen that before :)
 
Yes the shedding can be quite frustrating. Mine seems to go in cycles where it will look goof for a few days and then waxy for a few. I have noticed that every time it has grown. At this rate it should be HUGE LOL!
 
You think that's frustrating, try having a cabbage leather that has gone from one small section to 5 or 6 sections (it looks like one big coral), so that virtually every day at least one of the sections is shedding! :lol:
 
I guess that is ultimately what we want is an ecosystem that resembles the ocean as much as possible but it is sure no fun to look at :).
 
I purchased a leather a week ago. the first few days it was doing great. It looked better thanwhen it was in the store. the last few days it has not been doing so well. I havent touched it since I put it in the tank. it just stopped extending pollips and looks lifeless. it been a few days like this. any idea what I should try? Thanks
 
Yedgy said:
Like many leathers, Devil's Hand periodically retracts and builds up a waxy layer, which it then sloughs off. This is normal behavior. Moving it often is also likely to induce this behavior, so you may be best off simply moving it back to its "last known good" position and wait.

Try touching it very lightly with your (gloved) hand. If the fingers feel firm, then it's likely OK. If it feels soft and mushy, it may be on its way out.

How are your other corals? Is the DH near anything that might wage chemical warfare?
Click to expand...
 
Here's a new question about DH's. The DH has been in the same spot. Since that day it has opened everyday and been happy until...a few days ago. Then only one finger of the coral did not open. The rest of the coral...80% opens just fine. I've been watching the 20% to see if it opens at all and it hasn't for about 3 days. I am watching to see if the patch is getting larger. At this point I can't tell.

If the patch seems to be getting larger, do I frag this piece off to keep the rest of the coral happy? Is this normal? Does this mean the one finger is going to grow soon? Will only the one finger produce the waxy mucus and shed it?

I don't know what to do, so I am watching...

Temp 80
Salinity 1.0255
PH 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Alkalinity 7
Ca 360

Not dosing yet...looking to start soon
 
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