Is it expelling it's algae?

[Cutiewitbooty]

Today i noticed that it's not as extended as it normally is and it's spitting stuff out of it's mouth. Is it expelling it's algae? All three heads are doing it. I don't know what could cause this and if it is expelling it is it to late to save it? All my other corase are fine excapt 1 head stalk of xenia is shrivled all funny. Here are a few pictures of the stuff it's spitting out. Please help

tank prams

amm0
nitrites0
nitrates10-15
ca 450
phos, i have no idea but i'm sure they are a little high.

In this pic you can see the stuff is tangled around the snail

Here is another head with the same stuff starting to come out of the mouth.

 

[bjonesjr1]

My condy does that when it gets small and grows again, I think its juts taken a dump...

Its coming from the mouth right ??? thats where it comes from too on my condy, It just usaly floats away from him and my HOB filter always sucks it up.

 

[bjonesjr1]

Someone may correct me though, But thats whats happening to me.

 

[Stormtrker]

Don't know if frogspawn does this but, my torch expells waste like this couple times a week then comes back to normal shortly afterwards. If anything it comes back bigger each time.

 

[Sk8r]

We didn't define what coral you're talking about---I'm assuming frogspawn. If it looks happy, and it does, I wouldn't worry. If it keeps doing it, move it lower in the tank or into a shaded nook.

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

the stuff it's expelling looks almost ike red slime. It's already pretty low in the tank (it wasn't happy up higher) Hopefully it is ok, i just have never seen a coral expell somehting that looks like red slime before.

 

[MiddletonMark]

Way to keep an eye on the tank :thumbsup:
Watching for anything odd can often help correct problems before they affect the coral too much.

I'd check the water parameters.

Have you changed the lighting? New bulbs? Just start running carbon? I've seen this from a few corals often when the water got clearer, lighting changed, or water parameters got wacky.

I'd guess it's expelling some zooxanthellae [brown snot-like stuff] ... likely not all, but it's very good to note. Too often, I'd get concerned - now + then rarely, I wouldn't stress it.
Could be expelling waste, I guess I've never captured the stuff and bought a scope to check it out.

The corals still seems to have color - they're generally pretty hardy and TLC can do some amazing things in my experience. I'd double check water parameters, keep an eye on things.

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

I haven't done anything new except i toped off with tap water lol, but it was only like a gallon and i used that stuff that makes the water safe. I doubt that could be it. The coral does look more limp, smaller and darker than normal, but it still has ok color. Like i said i also have a xenia that is all shrunken, but the rest are fine.

 

[MiddletonMark]

What's the yellow fish you have?

Have you had the frogspawn very long?

 

[Sk8r]

Don't use the tapwater. The 'be-safe' stuff only removes the chloramine and chlorine, but not the polyvinyl-whatevers and other things we wish we weren't drinking either. Some of that stuff is poisonous to a tank even in tiny amounts. If you're in a pinch, get some ro/di from the supermarket or Wallyworld. The corals will tolerate a mild rise in salinity more than they will some of the stuff that resides in tap. (I worked it out where it's actually cheaper within one year to get a ro/di unit and keep it in filters, rather than get ro/di at the market.)

 

[MiddletonMark]

Have you checked Alkalinity?
I would.

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

no i don't have a test for that.

As for the tap water, my husband woke up this morning at 5am and told me that my tank was full of bubbles. I forgot to top off my sump, woops and tap was all i could do at the momment.

I have had the frogspawn for a couple months and the yellow fish is a yellow candy hogfish. Here are some pics of it.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=787880&perpage=25&pagenumber=8

Ok anyways here is what the frogspawn looks light right now. It' doesn't look that bad, and the mouths have closed up, so it's looking better.

Here is 3 stalks of xenia, you can see the one in the back isn't looking good either, even the one to the left is looking a little off. I'm going to do another water change probally tomarrow.

 

[Sk8r]

Here's what you need to do, with what you've got, a bit of expense now, to save bundles.
1) get your own ro/di unit: it's cost-effective and means no more carrying water bottles. You can hook it to your washing machine.
2) get 3 test kits: Salifert alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. If you can only get 2, get the first two. Test them every day for a while, until you know how your tank behaves. WRITE DOWN your results in a small notebook and keep it and your tests and supplements all in one box.
3) also check temperature and salinity, the first daily and the last at least once a week or whenever warranted.
Never mind ph and all that. If you test for those main few things, ph will take care of itself and your corals will tell you how they're feeling.

If you do those things, you will have a pretty healthy tank and all you'll have to worry about is the eternal question of placement under the lights.

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

Well my tank isn't very big so i buy pre-mixed SW and Ro/Di from my LFS or distilled. I live in an apt so i don't feel like installing a unit. If i had a bigger tank i would.
I do have a Ca test i haven't gotten around to getting the Alk yet, but i do plan on it.
My temp gets down to 78 at night and get up to 80 with the halides on, salinity is 0.25 and i do have some tropic marin to make sure that it stays that way (sometimes buying premixed it can be a little off, my LFS premixes with tropic marin too.) my PH stays stable at 8.3