Porite Xmas Tree Worm Rock - Is it Dieing?

[smaier6]

Hello All,
I would like to know if my Porite Xmas Tree Worm Rock is dieing? I just recently looked back at the first photos that I took of the rock porites which were a golend brown. I had around 15 worms growing on the rock when I first received it about 3 months ago.

Tonight I noticed that porite rock is loosing its color from golden brown to almost a yellow to white color on it. I have additional worms that are growing on the porite rock from 15 to 20. Therefore, I am concerned that it may be not doing well because of the way the color looks on the porites. I have been doing small water changes twice a week about 6-9 gallons at a time with ocean water. Lighting 7 hours a day 2x150 MH and run 2x 10K PC for 1 hour. My nitrates are about 30 ppm, nitrites and ammonia 0, calcium 400ppm, PO .03, salinity 1.020, PH 8.3

Any Help or advice will be appreciated!

 

[smaier6]

Porite Xmas Tree Rock with Worms - Pictures Added to my Gallery

Porite Xmas Tree Rock with Worms - Pictures Added to my Gallery

Hello,
To make it easier to help me I have included to pictures of the Porite rock before and now. Hoping someone can provide guidance or insight on what is happening with this coral rock.

 

[SuperNerd]

what is alk?

 

[AquaKnight]

It's mostly like the Porties is dying/dead (the pics are too small). They are a very tough coral to keep alive. Most "XMas tree worm rocks are sold with the Porties already dead. Don't worry, it doesn't affect the worms at all.

Additionally, that's a pretty low SG, 1.025 minium usually and the nitrates are high.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

i was gonna say the same thing about the parameters...seems weird that you are using NSW and getting values like that..

 

[55gSW]

Actually if the porites dies so will the worms.

Before the hurricanes wiped out my reef tank I was having good success with these guys. My porites was spreading well and although some of the worms died off there were a couple new ones too.

Things to do: Bring your salinity up to natural levels. Use a mix if need be.
Take the porites off the sand. They do not like being buried and will die when covered. When you move this, try not to touch the actual coral. They do not like the oils on our hands so either use gloves or pick it up carefully from the bottom.
Placement is paramount. They like a decent flow but not blasting. They like lighting but not too intense. Because you have MH's you might want to place it where the lights are not quite reaching as well. I also wonder why you are only running your lights 8 hours out of the day?? You really should be going for a longer photoperiod...10-12 hours a day instead.
Nitrates will not bother it.
Even a bleached out one like yours can recover so there is hope!

Good luck and I hope this helped!

 

[AquaKnight]

Really? I know saltwaterfish.com sells their X-Mas rock labeled with the Porties already dead.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_1...ategory=4&category_search=62&root_parent_id=4

 

[dendro982]

Can you post a bigger photo, 500 pixels long?
If gallery doesn't accept this size of photos, you can place it on a free image host, like Photobucket, and if there are no suitable software, the freeware IrfanView will do the job. If any details will be required, I'll can post them.

The salinity is unusual, as was said, I have 1.026, and my porites on Xmas tree rocks doing not bad for more than year in much lower light, no new Spirobranchus so far - you are doing better in this. But: I have artificial salt mix in the tap water...

From the first photo it seemed to me, that it is the rock with very fine beige colored porites, like one of mine:

on the other - like it is bigger polyped brown, like this:

Different porites on the Christmas tree rocks side by side:

The big brown are pretty hard to kill, and they recover well after bleaching, caused by the death of some toxic inhabitants, that killed all other sps:

and later photos are above.

The beige one, IMHE, requires more finer food, then it starts grow at the edges.

Only my tank is small (10g + 7g sump), the light is lower - 72W 50-50 PC (3x10,000K to 1x actinic) and direct sunlight from southern window for a few hours, tank is fed by any fine food I can find, including homemade, at least twice a day with filtration off.

Sorry for too big photos - they are already in Photobucket, lazy me

 

[Rue]

Wow! Nice to see pics of other people's Porites...I just have one small rock...it's one of my favourites...gotta luv the worms popping in and out...

I need to get new pics...my coral was very light when I bought it, but it browned (and greened) up dramatically in my tank...exept now I have a few lighter spots on it...I though maybe more worm tunnels being developed and it will brown over later?

 

[SuperNerd]

How long have you all had your porite-christmas tree worm combos? Do you feed the porites or worms anything special?

 

[Rue]

...I don't...but I do feed the entire tank phytoplankton every 2 days or so...

...here's a pic of mine...sorry I couldn't get a close-up with my camera...

I've only had it about 1 month or so, but as I said it went from a very pale beigy colour to this dark green/brown...I HOPE this is the colour it's supposed to be!:lol:

 

[dendro982]

Nobody died recently, no ammonia in water?

Hard to say, my experience is limited to what I had shown earlier. It took a month-two to recover from dead white to shaded brown...
And mine are at least twice large rocks with very few worms. Father duster on them are popping here and there all the time. I was almost sure, that it is some kind of larval stage makes impossible to spirobranchus to reproduce and that there are no asexual means to do so.

If the bleaching progresses too far, you may try to change it position - it can be downwind from some corals, that expelling something. It shouldn't be the light - mine greenish was under 27W 6,500K for a couple of months, it's just grew out longer polyps to catch the food

Can you give some summary of your tank, more, than in a signature:
- size, depth, amount of LR,
- location of the flow outlets and gph (or L\hr), photo of the tank with powerheads (or outflows visible) will help,
- what filtration (or skimmer) does it working all the time (there was suspicion, that skimmer is removing most of the reproductive material from the water),
- is your tank BB or DSB (sand or not),
- water is natural saltwater, right?, what parameters it has (I may try to make the same with artificial salt mix), including alkalinity,
- maintenance routine, anything else, that we should know to have the full picture,
- is phytoplankton alive, which brand and amount given, how the whole tank is fed, including the frequency and amount of the food,

When you will have time for this, of course.

You see, I'm trying to make the Chrismas tree worms to reproduce, no success. Bought different rocks, with different worms, including the corals, were worms were before, so it should be a suitable substrate to attach to...

Share as much details, as you can, please - not much people have the worms reproducing.
Thanks.

Mine Christmas tree rocks are: 1.5yr old (greenish, no worms alive ever), 1 yr (brown, bleaching was in November), 8 months (beige), 2 months (not pictured pavona with green spirobranchusi (sp?)).