Light Bulbs getting old?????

[Lee_Bay]

Could this be a reason I am losing polyp extenstion during the day???

Polyps are out big with lights out. I even turned the lights off in the middle of the day yesterday and polyps were out in full force shortly after. Turned lights back on and within minutes they went back in again.

They are 250W 14k Hamilton about 6mos. old (maybe older). Not all corals are showing this type of behavior, just a few but has been going on for a few weeks now. I've done water changes and checked chemistries.

The only thing that jumps out at me is lights on=no polyps, lights off=polyps.

 

[hurleycr]

there are loads of corals that are nocturnal.... by nature. It takes a while for them to come out in our tanks.

I have the same bulbs and my are going strong 12 mos or so. 6 mos shouldn't be enough time for bulbs to get old. Is there anything picking at it?

 

[Lee_Bay]

There is nothing that I can see that is picking at them. Polyps were out during the day for months. All of a sudden, a few of my acros stopped extending during the day, but not all of them.

 

[coralreefer]

Hamiltons at 6 months still have a lot of life left so they're fine.

This is a shot in the dark since I don't remember the signs but you might want to check for red bugs. I keep thinking lack of polyp extension is one of the symptoms. It's probably something else but wouldn't hurt to rule them out.

A general fwiw that I imagine you know... many/most sps have greater polyp extension in the dark.

 

[Lee_Bay]

I've thought about the bugs. Can't see any of them though. (doesn't mean they aren't there).

 

[coralreefer]

Magnifying glass?

 

[Lee_Bay]

Still don't see any bugs, but I have been doing some reading. Seems that this is pretty normal behavior when a fish is picking at the corals. Lights go out and the fish hide (stop picking). I have been watching and the only fish that seem to even pay attention to the corals in question are the yellow tang and the hippo tang. I have seen both nip at or VERY near these corals. They don't seem to bother the other corals. Anybody have any experience with acro-craving tangs??

Here is a list of fish in case anyone has seen or heard of problems with these fish.
Blue-Green Chromis
Blue Spot Jaw Fish
Maroon Clowns
Bartlett's Anthias
Yellow Tang
Blue Hippo Tang
Bangai Cardinal

I kinda feel like I'm taking a shot in the dark, but I want my corals back the way they were. I haven't added anything new in months. Wait, I did add that orange plate coral, but no new fish.

 

[Lee_Bay]

oops

oops

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12225531#post12225531 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hurleycr
Is there anything picking at it?

Guess I should have paid more attention. Didn't realize this was already suggested.

 

[hurleycr]

Yellow tangs can aggrivate corals from time to time. Get it a sheet of nori and clip it to a rock or the glass. Give it something else to pick at or another area. It will more than likely quit in a while once it decides there are better pickins else where. It's not (more than likely) picking at the coral unless you have some crazy extension, even then I doubt it. Unless it is under fed.

I would be more concerned with bugs of some sort. Since you just added a monti I'd go looking all over for montipora eating worms. Worse case (hopefully not) you could have the Acro ones which are extremly hard to see. Take the coral out and examine it, or get a close up pic and let some one look at it from here. There are people who can really spot those things. I'm not one of them. Also look for those little starfish things that pop up out of nowhere, which are usually hitchhikers, some argue they only pick on coral that are already in trouble. However they will aggrivate them eating them or not.

Lastly did you change the flow in your tank, if so it may not like what you did and it as easy as finding it a new home or changing your flow.

It could unfortuantly be a list of things. Best thing is to get a pic of it, and make a list of all water parameters and what you feed, and post it in the forum for the diagnose of coral problems or the SPS forum. You will get more support there.

 

[firefish2020]

One of the questions that should have been asked was are these wild caught colonies or tank raised. This can be quite normal behavior in some WC colonies. PE can also be linked to flow, and turbulence in a system. Just because you have "enough" flow many not mean it is the right kind of flow.