Dying Ric

[Copacetic]

Hey All,
I have one ric that has lost a lot of it's color, is smaller in size, and just looks unhealthy overall. It's more of a grey than a purple ric. I've moved it around and given it a few days to get back to normal but still looks unhealthy.

Salinity 1.023, pH 8.4, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10ppm. I don't dose with anything, just a 1 gallon water change every week for a total of 4g/month (~20%/month). I rotate between feeding mysis, prime reef (includes squid, shrimp, and a bunch of other stuff), cyclo-peeze, and spectrum thera a pellets. Right now I only have 52Watt of PC lighting, dual daylight and dual actinic. I plan on getting MH in the next week 175W MH and I don't want to stress my ric more than it already is.

Any opinions as to what it could be and how I might be able to save it? Thanks in advance.
-Raz

 

[kiknchikn]

What type of ric is it? Do you have any pictures? How long did it take to lose its color? What exactly looks unhealthy about it? Just the coloration?

It's hard to gauge what could be wrong without a few more details like those.

Rics can change color over time and/or fade, due to adaptions to a new environment and new lighting conditions, but these changes probably won't happen quickly unless the ric is sick.

 

[Copacetic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8285803#post8285803 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kiknchikn
What type of ric is it? Do you have any pictures? How long did it take to lose its color? What exactly looks unhealthy about it? Just the coloration?

It's hard to gauge what could be wrong without a few more details like those.

Rics can change color over time and/or fade, due to adaptions to a new environment and new lighting conditions, but these changes probably won't happen quickly unless the ric is sick.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure exactly what type of ric it is. I have a picture in my gallery:
It took about two weeks to gradually lose its color. It went from that brilliant reddish orange to a very dull orange to almost a grey. The color change is what initially worried me but then it started to detach from the rock it was on. I then put it higher up in the tank and it seems like it's reattaching though I'm not quite sure.

The tank at LFS had them near the bottom of the tank under MH. I have them near the top of the tank with PC. I plan to switch over to MH within the next two weeks. Hope I've provided some information you're looking for. Thanks again for the reply.

 

[kiknchikn]

Yeah it sounds like it is in some distress. Hmm it might have just needed to be higher up under the PCs. Shame it bleached like that, its beautiful in that picture. Hopefully it it will recover and eventually show the same colors as before. Let us know how it turns out. I would think you'll be able to see in a week or two, maybe less, whether or not it is going to make it.

 

[Tallinu]

A very beautiful Ricordea Florida. They are very hardy and all is not necessarily lost. Now that you say it's bleached I recommend feeding it if will allow you to do so. A bright colored Ric Fl like that one may have come from a well lit supplier/dealer, friends tank, and your wattage is actually probably fine for the tank you have, but the Florida is most likely not used to it. As Kiknchikn noted, light is probably one of the conditions of note here. The Xooxanthellae are probably adapting to the light change. It can take some time for Xooxanthellae to recover. You may want to take up the slack and feed. Your future 175w MH wont' be a bad thing I use the same bulbs. 6.5k - 14k they like them all. Your water stats are great for keeping Floridas. The Nitrates you listed are not a great cause for concern in keeping them. Hows your water temp? If your on the high end of whats considered safe maybe slowly lower it a degree or two. 78 degrees F is great.

If your coral is bleached but still expanding I recommend you feed some marine snow. Blow the debris off and out of the pores of the live rock so that it clouds your tank a bit. Or maybe stir some off the top layers of your substrate if you have some. Do not stir your substrate deeply. Over an inch deep is not necessary and could be harmful if you go to deep to much. If you have a lot of current turn some of it off for a short time while the debris settles and floats down. If your Ricordea Fl swells and cups even slightly then things are most likely going to be ok given time.

On a further note the intensity of coloration may shift and it may never look the same as you have shown us in that wonderful picture. It could wind up paler or varying shades of the same colors you have shown us. They are very hardy and do not melt easily like Yumas do.

Tall

 

[Copacetic]

Thanks all for the great replies, sorry for my absense from the posts.

kiknchikn, thanks for the help and advice.

Tallinu, thanks for the wonderful information. The 175W has been put up and I think it was definately the lighting that was stressing the ric out. Oddly, the ric detached from the rock it was on and is now floating round, yet looking HEALTHIER!!! Some reason that in itself amazes me. Hopefully it will find a new home on its own, if not I will probably attach it to a rock myself. Thanks again.
-Raz

 

[jbittner]

ammazing creatures and beautiful ric. When it settles down and has babies maybe we could swap. Good Luck