On yumas... what do you think?

[chrisstie]

Okay without a picture this is hard to describe but let me give it a go.

(NOT yuma vs. florida.. I'm talking yuma vs. yuma here)


For those of you who are very seasoned with ricordea yumas you have probably seen what I am talking about so if you do please try to help out

There's your yuma, typical healthy bumpy, not so concentric tentacles...

Then there's another yuma with the same basic shape, but the mouth doesn't quite protrude the way it does on the other yuma.. it's more even with the rest of the polyp or even sunken in. The color difference is there but it just doesn't "poof" out the way a big healthy yuma can. The tentacles are almost more translucent than colorful and fleshy. I don't think its a stressed version of a yuma- these can be VERY BRIGHT and the weird wicked neon colors, and quite possibly the ones that do fine in a tank and suddenly decline rapidly.

Do you think that a) this difference really exists and its not just the fact its almost midnight on a Saturday night for me and

B) assuming these are two different animals so to speak, is there a reason why the one is so much healthier and does better than the other?



I grabbed some pics real fast..

here's a normal example (note how the mouth protudes up off of the disc)

Now here's the super crazy bright colors with the sunken mouth and not as healthy looking tentacles

 

[Jimbo327]

I know exactly what you are talking about. my yuma is acting in the same exact way. It would seem deflated and the mouth will protrude. I'm not sure what to do about it either. And the sexy shrimps dancing on it doesn't help either.

only a certain color yuma is acting like this. And I saw some slime on the foot as well.

 

[currentking]

there hasto be different species. I have several andsome have big mouths and some have very small. one is almost 7" wide while my pink is kind of shriveled. not sure

 

[BigScott]

hey chrisstie verry pretty pics..


scott

 

[Azurel]

They can be the same species but diffeerant traits from one line to the other, just like some have white lines in them and some don't.

 

[Jimbo327]

Has anyone seen clear slime on the foot of the ricordea yuma? Mine is doing that now. It is not melting, but you can see this clear slime on the foot of the ricordea. I just use a turkey baster to suck it up and get it out of the tank. I'm really worried about this yuma.

 

[chrisstie]

Jimbo in regards to that.. They do get a bit slimey if stressed out.. is there anything nearby coral or otherwise that could be bothering it? maybe not physical stingers but posisbly something chemical as well?

Maybe try running a little carbon in case something is a bit off with your water? those would be the first things i'd try for if i couldnt' see anything really obvious bothering the coral

 

[Jimbo327]

I run carbon 24/7 with phospahte remover. The yuma has been in tank for 6 months+. And in my previous tank for 2-3 years. It is just weird. It doesn't look good, the slime continued, and the mouth is gaping. The baby yuma released itself from the rock. I'm confused. Nothing has changed in my system. All very stable. Might have some nitrates from overfeeding, that's about it. Nothing I can do but water changes.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I have two large yumas, sometimes one will shrivel up for a day or two then be back to normal.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I personally feel that the amazing colors and squat appearence are actually a sign of stress and bad health. It's just like Sebae Anemones. Even though a white Sebae with purple tips looks gorgeous in our eyes doesn't mean that it is healthy. After all, they will then turn to a dull brown when healthy. For example, a lot of pink Yumas really scare me. Half of them have a noticably compromised density of zooxanthallae algae in them, but they tend to be the most pleasing. For example, the last picture you posted, Chrisstie, the colors are amazing, but the actual yuma looks stressed, slightly bleached, and even burned on the tips of a few vesicles.

I, for one, will purchase a healthy Ricordea over a not-so-healthy one no matter what the colors are. As bad as I want a pink yuma, I'll take a brown one over an unhealthy pink yuma. Well, unless they give me the unhealthy yuma at dirt cheap prices. I'll attempt to recover it.

 

[Jimbo327]

Yes, I think the color shift from red to pink in my yuma is a sign of stress. And this was preceded by it spewing brown goo from it mouth the night before. Like I said, this is a big yuma 5"+, healthy, and established in my tank for over 3 years. And nothing significant has changed in my tank besides normal maintanence and stocking.

I'm really at an loss. This is only affecting my pink yumas though. The baby has released from the rock and they look deflated the whole day now. The mouth are gaping even wider. It is a sure sign of death. I'm going to try a few things, but most yumas do not make it when this happens. None of my other yumas are showing this symptom...

 

[RAY TERRANELLA]

I've had a lot of expierence with yumas.Ive seen them display these symptons right after shipping and still make it.Ive seen their mouths gap and they still survive some dont.Moving them can somtimes affect them.Aged bulbs can also change the way they look.They can be very tricky to keep.It is possibe for them to bleach and then take many months to color up again.I had a problem w a pink one I kept for 2 1/2 years and had a friend put it in his tank to stabilize it.So far it is fine and plan moving it back to a new tank I set up.