New Corals died...

[SaltyNewb]

Havent really put anything in the tank since it's been up, so i figured i'd go ahead and stock up on some stuff.

I went to the LFS last night and got a brain, candy cane, and frogspawn. All looked great. Put them in the tank and they immediately emitted a mucus substance. Later that night, it seemed the tissue was coming off the brain and the candy cane. This morning they were skeletons pretty much. all the tissue had come off, and on the candy cane it was almost all off.

My first thought was that I did not acclimate them to my lighting. I have a 58g with 2x250 10k halides and 2x36" vho actinics. They sit 12" off the water. Could this be the reasoning? I thought the LFS had some pretty intense lighting at the shop, so I didn't think about turning the lights off or at least some of them. My water parameters seem fine.

Calcium 420ppm
alkalinity 9dkh
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ph 8.0
Temp 80 degrees

I've had the same fish in my tank for a while now with no deaths of them or the corals (xenia, zoos, or mushrooms).

I don't have pics of the corals before or after, but here is a pic i just took of the tank I want to stock up.

Any info is appreciated

Thanks!

 

[KlassicKrab]

What is that little red fish with black stripes? He's a cutie.

 

[artful-dodger]

Sorry to hear about it. I would guess that it was an acclimation issue, but not necessarily the lights although that is possible. Did you do water acclimation?

It is normal for corals to shed some mucus when their environment changes, but a slow introduction to tank water will minimize it. It is also normal for the corals to retract for awhile after a change, but actually ejecting tissue is NOT normal. Having them all self-destruct so quickly is very troubling.

Raising the lights, placing the new corals low in the tank initially, putting several layers of light filters over the tank and gradually removing them are all helpful.

I'd suggest going slow and introducing one at a time. The candy cane or frogspawn are reasonable first choice. I'd personally wait to introduce many "brain" corals, but sensitivity will vary by the species.

 

[SaltyNewb]

Thanks,

I did water acclimate them but i was in such a hurry I could have done a better job.

I had kept a flower pot coral, hammer coral, and others in my old 29g for a long time with no problem, then again I only had PC's on that tank.

I guess I was too hurried to get them in the tank I did not take care to acclimate them well. Shame on me

 

[integlikewhoa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6773287#post6773287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KlassicKrab
What is that little red fish with black stripes? He's a cutie.

That's a Flame Angel.

I too would have to say acclamation problem. But even that's crazy. For them to die within hours is pretty uncommon I would say. Especially all of them. What's the salinity at? With them dying so quickly I would have to say it was a big change for them to quickly. Candy are fairly hardy too. I can see then closing up for a day or to or something like that. But for them do just up and die in a few hours wow. Care to talk about how you acclimated them? How long and what method?

 

[SaltyNewb]

I keep my SG at 1.025 - 1.026

I did not water acclimate them at all, only floated the bags. Maybe when I floated the bags the halides were too intense at that moment, even though it was for only 10 minutes?

On my old tank i never acclimated corals...not sure what the sudden change could have been?

 

[reefD]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6773601#post6773601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SaltyNewb
I keep my SG at 1.025 - 1.026

I did not water acclimate them at all, only floated the bags.

bad! bad! bad! lol! seriously that was the shock! if you did not water acclamate them. even if you have done this before without harm still major no no!

 

[Johnsteph10]

Ouch.

No acclimation to either the water conditions or lighting!

They both take time. Do a search on acclimating...it is very important.

 

[cato]

Yeah you gotta acclimate everything to give it a fair chance. I'm finding that with halide lighting I need to be super careful not to burn up items new to the tank. Almost lost a $200 brain coral due to the lighting being too intense.

Someone here gave my the idea to use mesh fabric over the top to block some of the light intensity but allows enough through to keep things alive. I bought 3 yards of it at a fabric store and cut it into 1 foot squares. Laid them on top of the egg crate top in layers. Every few days I'd take a layer off. After a couple weeks it was full light intensity and it works awesome!

 

[dnjan]

That doesn't really sound like a lighting issue - rather a chemistry issue. I would guess that there was a major chemical difference between the LFS water and the water in your tank. You need to acclimate for both temperature and water chemistry.

 

[SaltyNewb]

well the LFS said salinity there is 1.026, mine is 1.025 via hydrometer, i'm gonna bring my water tomorrow to see if it tests out differently there than my own kits. I don't think there was a temp drop though, i did at least float the bags.

 

[weaver5]

I always try to add any new livestock more toward late evening when he lights are off. I was told by my LFS to get them into the tank after acclimating them with the lights off. Not really sure it has to be that way but has always worked for me sorry to hear about your loss. Scott

 

[thereefmaster]

Definitely water acclimate them next time. I think that was the cause. You have a beautiful tank BTW, and I like that sailfin tang.

HTH

Nate

 

[SaltyNewb]

thanks nate, i appreciate it. I was looking forward to starting to stock up, since i havent really added anything since its been up (since august).

I'm gonna have the store test my water and compare my hydrometer to the SG of theirs. even if everythign checks out, maybe it was just the acclimation. I'll keep ya posted.

Thanks again!

 

[CeeGee]

I hope I don't sound like a jerk but I have a hard time believing that you could have a tank that is looking as good as yours is looking so far and lose those corals in the blink of an eye the way you did.

I would say that you just learned an expensive lesson. Do yourself a favor and buy a refractometer.

Those corals you mentioned are all pretty tough maybe not the toughest but if mine are still alive they can't be too difficult.

 

[integlikewhoa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6773601#post6773601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SaltyNewb
I did not water acclimate them at all, only floated the bags.

Well atleast we found your problem. Sorry we found it this way tho.

 

[SaltyNewb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6774547#post6774547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CeeGee
I hope I don't sound like a jerk but I have a hard time believing that you could have a tank that is looking as good as yours is looking so far and lose those corals in the blink of an eye the way you did.

I would say that you just learned an expensive lesson. Do yourself a favor and buy a refractometer.

Those corals you mentioned are all pretty tough maybe not the toughest but if mine are still alive they can't be too difficult.

Are you saying that the pics I posted aren't of my own tank? I thought about it while i was doing it, and said hey i'm gonna take a chance and just throw these corals in there. And they died. Well it's my own fault i'm not denying that. Maybe my hydrometer is off...i mean i've been using it for 2 years and havent had a reason to buy a refractometer yet...maybe it's that time. I'm gonna go to the LFS tomorrow and see how off it is, if that is indeed the case.

Other than that, yes it is an expensive lesson. Within 10 minutes I knew something was wrong with them...i'll have to figure out exactly what

 

[miztic]

I wonder if your hydrometer might be off, the corals and fish you have got accustomed to your salinity, just popping the new corals in would have been a huge shock.
I wouldn't expenct them to die that quickly if your salinity was that close to the lfs.

 

[CeeGee]

No I am not saying that the pictures are not of your tank. I am saying that if I saw a pic of your tank I would say to myself "man this guy know what he is doing. That is going to be really nice soon."

I have a hard time believing that this happened. You seem to know what you are going for by the looks of your tank. I am sorry that you had this happen. I would definitely spend a little more time on your next go round and acclimate the specimens properly.

Also it might be a better idea to find a local reefer that has a nice frogspawn and get a frag from them. As I understand it the wild ones can be a little finicky.

 

[SaltyNewb]

Well i went back to the LFS, my hydrometer tested SG at 1.025 and at the LFS with a refractometer it tested at 1.031, do you think this much of a jump could have melted my corals?

Everything else tested great as far as other parameters.