frogspawn heads falling off

[garygonzales]

has this happened to anyone else...i have a frogspawn with about 8 -10 heads,and recently 3 heads just fell off. detached from the skeleton... i was able to find them and now put them in a container with some rubble to see if they would live....is this a form of reproduction or whats going on ...thanks

 

[2OceanLovers]

I had this happen when a tank of mine crashed. I think it is a form of desperation for them. They are trying to find a better home so they ditch the skeleton. What are your params, tank size, and inhabitants?

 

[garygonzales]

my params are good 46 gallon bow and everything else in tank is doing good..like my torch coral galexea coral cabaage coral ..ive had this coral for about 2 years now with no probs.until now..and i dont think any is bothering it either it been in same spot for said years too

 

[pwoller]

I had a friend that was struggling with a torch coral, it dropped a head and I talked them into giving it to me. I glued it to a peice of live rock. Mine is still alive it hasnt done much but its maintained its size for over a year.

 

[garygonzales]

nobody else has seen this before??

 

[ILoveReefer]

It's called "polyp bail out". It usually and indication of bad water chemistry. If im not mistaken it's usually caused by high nitrates but I may be wrong. The frogspawn polyp's are trying to find a new home before they die. Last ditch effort to survive.

 

[bulfraw215]

Many years ago (15) I had this happen. It was caused by very high nitrates

 

[garygonzales]

best way to lower nitrates?? are you thinking water change or is there something better for this?

 

[hiendmusic1]

Check your water again .

 

[akindbro4u]

to lower your nitrates. You should first do a water change if you havn't done one in a while. Next i would be lloking at the cause. Have you changed anything lately. Have you been feeding heavier? Is the temp in your tank elevated. Is your return lines a little clogged reducing flow, and creating dead spots?

 

[garygonzales]

yes done a recent water change...and checked nitrates there are little over 5 i think thats pretty good..............

 

[Sk8r]

Check your alkalinity and doublecheck. They will do this in low alk. I just had a problem with this.

The good news is, there may be life deep inside the skeleton: I lost all the heads on one and kept it merely as a future anchor-point for other corals. Now it's budded more heads than it had before.

 

[garygonzales]

really no kidding hey..the hesds just grew back..wow...dont have a test for alk right now but will get one soon ...and what the best way to raise alk...thanks

 

[Lotus99]

I also had this happen when I was having problems with low alk. I had problems keeping the alk good for several months, and I lost five of the six heads on my torch.

There are many products to boost your alk. I use a two-part system (B-Ionic) to balance alk and calcium.

If you're not measuring calcium, get a test kit for that, too. Both alk and calcium are essential for coral health.