Kenya Tree Dying

yes i agree you need different bulbs. i think you could raise soft corals on CPF bulbs, but your kelvin is for plants corals need a higher kelvin such a 16,000 k , although i would i would just get led if i were you. there a little pricier than hot5, but i like them because you can adjust the daylight and the blues, and there no need to change out the bulbs every 9 months. a lot of people have corals or fish for a month or 2 and think they must of be doing it right because they are still alive. but like the other guy stated, it was probably slowly starving itself to death. my advice is you got the water down pat, go get better lights
 
I have literally had Kenya trees flourish in shady spots under arches in my tank as well as a few inches under 8 T5 bulbs. They have done well right in front of an MP40, and in areas with little flow. They have also been tolerant to high nitrates and phosphates, and even survived a crash many years ago where I lost nearly everything. I once bought a rock with a half inch branch on it, and it seriously went absolutely crazy in my tank and spread everywhere. So much so that I would have to cut it back at least every other month, and remove the little "seedlings" that would show up everywhere every couple of weeks.

Under the proper spectrum lighting, I have seen these corals thrive under just about any condition like I mentioned. That said, when I first bought my biocube, it was set up as a freshwater plant tank with a CF bulb similar to what you have. It may have been the exact same bulb. When I put cuttings of the Kenya Tree into it after it was cycled, they looked ok for a few weeks, and then withered down like yours looks. I changed the bulbs to the 50/50 CF bulbs, and it perked up within a week.

I honestly think it is your lighting. None of your fish would harm it, but I have seen or heard stories of a Peppermint Shrimp (or one of the lookalikes such as a camel) eating corals from softies, LPS, zoas, and SPS. There is some debate on whether they are actually eating it, or cleaning up when one is dying, but the possibility is still there.

I would first change your bulbs, and keep an eye on the shrimp. Most of the reports I have heard said they were caught eating a coral at night, so you may want to check with a flashlight after the sun is down.
 
Oh, and what is your temp? Mine hated me when our AC went out a couple of years ago, and the temp got up to about 82-84. They shriveled for a week after even though the temp spike was short lived.
 
I'm willing to accept that my lighting is the cause of the problem, but before I go and invest in new lights (I have to re-rig my entire hood) - I want to make sure.

The attached picture shows a mushroom (toadstool?) coral doing fine under the current lighting setup, in the background is the kenya tree moved to a higher spot in the tank, it's now folded over and drooping mostly downward (the flow was keeping it up there temporary)

I should mentioned that my tank actually gets sunlight for a few hours a day, which is probably why my low tech lights have worked as well as they have. It's caused some algae problems, but I've been able to manage with manual labor and my skimmer.

Is this still indicative of bad lights with that mushroom doing ok?
IMG_1875.jpg
 
Mushroom and toadstools are two completely different species.

Your Kenya Tree is enough proof of your lights being your problem. If you don't plan on getting any corals and don't want to get new lights then you're find for fish only. The choice is yours.
 
Mushroom and toadstools are two completely different species.

Your Kenya Tree is enough proof of your lights being your problem. If you don't plan on getting any corals and don't want to get new lights then you're find for fish only. The choice is yours.


Thanks, no I'm ok with getting new lights, just wanted to make sure that's the actual problem because another coral is doing fine under the lights. It was a hitch hiker. Can you look at the picture above and identify it for me?
 
Mine shrinks up and looks like it's dying one day, then after a couple days it puffs back up again. It can be testy, but I just leave it alone and it comes back around. Hopefully yours is just being moody like mine and it'll be dropping babies in no time.
 
my Kenya tree is at the top of my tank which has 4 AI SOLs. It's higher than some of my SPS and grows like a weed ... it's lights ...
 
Thanks, no I'm ok with getting new lights, just wanted to make sure that's the actual problem because another coral is doing fine under the lights. It was a hitch hiker. Can you look at the picture above and identify it for me?

It's just a typical red mushroom. Be careful with them as they can take over a rock. May be a while but when it happens it happens faster than you will like, unless you like having them.
 
you should be able to grow Kenya tree in a five gallon bucket with a Coleman lantern....I don't necessarily think the lights are your issue

Agreed that lights might not be the complete issue. You will however need better lights if you want to get more serious with corals. I have seen mushrooms flourish under standard household CFL bulbs.
 
you should be able to grow Kenya tree in a five gallon bucket with a Coleman lantern....I don't necessarily think the lights are your issue

See this is what I've always heard, which is why I selected it as the first for my tank till my lighting was setup, and yet it's still drooping, grayish purple and generally unhappy, it's going on 7 days now.

Would fraging it into smaller pieces be helpful, or make it worse?
 
I would test your water and leave it alone, work on getting a new fixture but I think your issue is chemical,
or its shedding...I'm starting to think its just shedding
Also ,a lot of corals especially your mushroom will "reach" for light if they don't have enough...easy indicator
 
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I would test your water and leave it alone, work on getting a new fixture but I think your issue is chemical,
or its shedding...I'm starting to think its just shedding
Also ,a lot of corals especially your mushroom will "reach" for light if they don't have enough...easy indicator

I've been testing my water, is there a specific test that I should be watching other than the ones showing normal in this thread?
 
you should be able to grow Kenya tree in a five gallon bucket with a Coleman lantern....I don't necessarily think the lights are your issue

Or they will just die for No Reason. But as said before when they start to die If its not a water quality issue you will end up with Kenya tree everywhere..
 
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