I can't keep Wellso's! Why is that?

jbird0420

jbird0420

Active member
180g mixed reef

Salinity-.025
Ammonia-0
Nitrates-0
Nitrites-0
PH- Never checked it, could be the cause??

Calcium-420ppm
KH-8.1
Mag-1300ppm
Temp-77-78 degrees. But I did have a huge temp swing one day last week. Was at 82 degrees, do to fan failure! Yikes!!!:headwalls: Now tank is maintaining normal 77-78 temps.

All other corals seem fine, except a favia brain that's receding as well. I do have a cyano problem. I us rodi water and all filters and membrane have been changed out a month ago. I have 3x Evo 1400's in the tank, controlled by a wavemaker and 2 maxijet 1200's. So flow is not an issue. I lightly feed the tank once a day.

But, for some reason I can't keep wellsophyllia brain corals. I don't see any of my fish picking on them. The only other thing it could be is my lighting. My MH's and VHO's bulbs are @ 10 months old and I suspect the bulbs are causing the cyano problem. But even then, with new bulbs I had a wellso dying off.

I love wellso's, but I cannot seem to keep them for more than a month or so.
 
where are you placing it? They tend to like lower light and lower flow. They also like to be on sand substrate. Their tissue can be damaged if they're on a sharp substrate or if the flow is too high.

Especially with MH and VHO lighting, you'll need to make sure you don't blast them with too much light. My brain coral was enjoying my old PC lighting, so you'll likely need to shade it somewhere.
 
How are you feeding it? Wellso's put out feeding tentacles at night, and they like mysis, clam, zooplankton about once or twice a week. At night when the tentacles are out.
 
I place them on the sand substrate. I do have a lot of lighting on the tank. 3x 250w MH's and 2x VHO atinics. Lights are mounted 2ft above the water line and standard AGA. I currently have it shaded under a frag rack, but it's still sliming around dead edges.

When I feed them.. I place plastic containers around them with holes to allow flow. I do this so no scavengers or fish can steal it's food when I feed before the lights come on. I tend to do this 1 or 2x/week.


jimmy_beaner said:
where are you placing it? They tend to like lower light and lower flow. They also like to be on sand substrate. Their tissue can be damaged if they're on a sharp substrate or if the flow is too high.

Especially with MH and VHO lighting, you'll need to make sure you don't blast them with too much light. My brain coral was enjoying my old PC lighting, so you'll likely need to shade it somewhere.
Click to expand...
 
I cut up small pieces of shrimp and feed 1 or 2x/week.


Palting said:
How are you feeding it? Wellso's put out feeding tentacles at night, and they like mysis, clam, zooplankton about once or twice a week. At night when the tentacles are out.
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like you are feeding it right. I usually just target feed with a baster.

I'm a little concerned about "sliming around the dead edges". If the skeleton is already exposed, it may be too late. Are the feeding tentacles still coming out?
 
In the places where there was already die off and exposed skeleton. There's still brown slime around the living flesh, obviously it's still continuing to die. Yet, the other half of the wellso is fully open and exposed like it's healthy almost.. It's just time before the brown slime takes over.. IDK.. Feeding tentacles are barely out though.


Palting said:
Sounds like you are feeding it right. I usually just target feed with a baster.

I'm a little concerned about "sliming around the dead edges". If the skeleton is already exposed, it may be too late. Are the feeding tentacles still coming out?
Click to expand...
 
I noticed my stupid pepermeint shrimp picking off the flesh. I don't know if it's dead flesh or new flesh... Either way it's placed under a frag rack with a plastic conatiner over it with holes. Trying to keep the shrimp away from it..
 
fish nipping? What fish? I have one and it grows & expands awesome in my frag tank on a rack, 6" under water under a 250w MH, w/ low-med flow.

In my DT it is all skeleton, up high of down low??? I think my fish or shrimp are nipping. Coral beauty is my suspect.
 
Hopefully it's not dead and trying to recooperate itself. At work now, so anxious to get home and check on it.
 
It could just be the peppermint shrimp, they go rogue sometimes... What's the k rating on your bulbs, out of curiosity?
 
I have found that too low flow is bad for them too, so don't go too low. Also i made the mistake of trying to blow food down its mouth while it was trying to eat, and of course ****ed it off for a week or two. Lol don't do those things. But other than that, welso's are pretty easy to keep.
 
Wellso was the first coral I owned. About 10 years ago I walked into my fishstore and saw a wellso and asked about it. The guy told me it came from someone who moved here and everything died but it. I have had it under PC's, T5's, super bright MH and VHO. I have had it on the top of the tank perched on rock and on the sand where I have three sitting now. I would say something is picking on it and you also need to keep some nitrates or feed it twice a week. Peppermint shrimp can be a problem, I had a cleaner shrimp that almost killed my birdsnest so anything is possible.
 
I have a wellso under 2x250 and it's doing great so i don't think it's your light. My bet is that the coral beauty is nipping. Those are really hit or miss in a reef IMO.
 
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