Issues with Milli's and Digi's

[i Tuna]

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to keep either of these types of coral alive for very long.

They both die in the same way though... Polyps being to retract, tissue seems to get thinner, then slowly waste away to become grey.

What stumps me is that my param's are all good and stable, and I have a number of different species of acropora that have great color and growth...

Any idea's?

 

[REEF SMAC]

Are these millis and digis ones that have been grown in captivity for a while in someone else's system? Or wild caught/maricultured?

Are you dipping them to death with something first?

Are they just not acclimating to your lights and flow?

 

[Nano sapiens]

Acropora millepora (aka 'Milli') are typically quite hardy and adaptable (for an Acro) as is Montipora digitata. I'd expect that if these two were having issues, so would the other Acros.

I have both these species and I noticed that they do best when my tank is fed well. From your description of gradual wasting away, they are quite possibly not be getting enough nutrient (energy). I'd try spot feeding them more often and see if that helps.

 

[i Tuna]

Are these millis and digis ones that have been grown in captivity for a while in someone else's system? Or wild caught/maricultured?

Are you dipping them to death with something first?

Are they just not acclimating to your lights and flow?

Both were purchased as frags, off of captive grown mother colonies.

I generally don't dip my coral, so it can't be that.

Well they didn't bleach and I placed them both on the sand bed initially. Flow, they aren't getting hit by any direct flow as I have an MP40w on a 60g cube, however I have significant water movement so I don't think it's that either.

Acropora millepora (aka 'Milli') are typically quite hardy and adaptable (for an Acro) as is Montipora digitata. I'd expect that if these two were having issues, so would the other Acros.

I have both these species and I noticed that they do best when my tank is fed well. From your description of gradual wasting away, they are quite possibly not be getting enough nutrient (energy). I'd try spot feeding them more often and see if that helps.

Hence why I am stumped... The two, supposedly hardiest sps in my tank are the only ones that aren't doing well.

Next time I get a Milli / digi I'll spot feed them, however I feed my reef an hour after lights out daily with brightwell's phytochrom.

 

[i Tuna]

Bump

 

[Vanquishxxxx]

How many times u feed per day? And besides the phytocrome do u feed anything else for corals? What's ur lighting and alk? And ur nutrient levels?

 

[i Tuna]

How many times u feed per day? And besides the phytocrome do u feed anything else for corals? What's ur lighting and alk? And ur nutrient levels?

I consider my tank heavily fed, here's my feeding schedule though:

Daily:
Feed fish 2-3 times w/ New Era flakes and New Life Spectrum pellets.
Nightly feeding of Phytochrom approx 15 mL.

Weekly:
Once a week I feed two cubes of frozen spirulina brine, mysis, and squid, as a replacement for fish food.

I don't feed the coral anything else. From information I have gathered, heavy feeding of fish alone is usually enough to supply the organic nutritional requirements of most sps from consumption of fish waste. However, I feed the phytoplankton for the pods, crocea clam, and other micro organisms and filter feeders that inhabit my reef.
I do eventually plan on feeding with zooplankton. However I'm havn't found a good local source for zooplankton yet, nor have I had the time to learn how to culture it.

Lighting:
I use to run a gen 1 Radion xr30w with custom settings which break down to a 12 hour photo period consisting of: 4 hours total of dusk/ dawn time when only RB and B led's are on at 50%, 4 hours of intermediate ramp up / ramp down time going from 50% to 100% in a period of two hours in custom 20k settings made to replicate the spectrum of a 400w Radium, and a 4 hour period of the same 20k setting @ 100%. Unfortunately though, the fan stopped working and I'm currently waiting for my replacement module to arrive from the states.
Currently and for the past 1 month I've been using a Kessil A350 (B 100%, W 50%), and a Kessil A150w 14k. 10 hours a day with both lights on and two with only the a150w.

Alk: 7.8-8.1 dKH
PO4: 0.03 mg/l (ELOS)
NO3: Undetectable (API and ELOS)