Torch dropped a head?

[sturner91]

My torch just recently lost a head. I woke up this morning and it literally disappeared. I found it laying in the sand bed. Literally looks like an anemone now. What happened? I don't have water parameters at this current moment, I had to rush out of the house this morning.
Disregard the dirty glass also. Today is cleaning day.

http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/57fa86d96bc12/20161009_134349.jpg?


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[sturner91]

You can see I moved the head back onto the rock. Not entirely sure if I should leave it or take it out.

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[inurmind]

Do you see and brown slime on the head or skeleton?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

It's called polyp bailout. They do this if they don't like the conditions where they are. it's a survival of the species kind of thing. If you put the head in a glass jar with open top and leave it in your tank it might grow a skeleton. I've heard of it working but it hasn't worked for me.

Even if the water parameters are good if it doesn't like the place due to too much current, or too much lighting or lack there of either then they do this. What are the conditions of where you have it placed and yes your parameters.

 

[j_mazzy]

it would have to be a very shallow jar or there will not be enough flow and it will die. I tried this with a plate coral and the flow was too low and it disintegrated

 

[sturner91]

Welp my torch gets good flow. Not to the point if it being overwhelmed. It's been in the same spot for a month or so. It's in the mid section of my tank, gets good light. My lights only run to about 80% so it's not getting roasted. The only changes that occurred recently was the coral got knocked so I had to reposition it back in the rock. I changed how it sat this time. I also added vibrant to attempt to help clear some algae problems.

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[Dkuhlmann]

Torch's like slow random flow and med light. The flow should only make them gently flow back and forth not always in the same direction and again it needs to be gentle flow. There is a reason that your torch dumped a head and you need to figure out why or it will dump others.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

it would have to be a very shallow jar or there will not be enough flow and it will die. I tried this with a plate coral and the flow was too low and it disintegrated

There is a big difference between the flow requirements of a plate and a torch coral. Yes the plate likes much more aggressive flow and the torch likes it slow and random.

 

[j_mazzy]

I still stand by the jar being more shallow

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[sturner91]

So my water hits them pretty well and generally pushes one way. I have other powerheads that intercept and allow for them to get alteration in their flow. I did just finish testing my water. Parameters seem a bit iffy gotta see what's up there.

Sg: 1.026
Dkh: 15.1 (very high compared to normal)
Ph: 8.5 (due to windows being open?)
Calcium: 469ppm
Mg: 1440ppm
No2: 0ppm
No3: 20-40ppm
Po4: .25ppm (been struggling hard to bring this to 0)
Ammonia: 0

I may need to relocate my torch to get them more out of flow. However my frogspawn is not out as much as it used to be either.

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[sturner91]

Just realized I did clean my kalk reactor the other day and added fresh kalk. That's probably why some of my readings are high.

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[j_mazzy]

gotta be the alkalinity

 

[sturner91]

I'm thinking it's time to drop the kalk reactor and to switch to a two part doser for alkalinity and Calcium.

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[sturner91]

Bringing back this thread. Another head is in the midst of dropping. Tested water, alk is back down to 11.8dkh. Everything else is perfect and on point minus my PO4 which has been stuck at .25ppm.
I just put in an algae scrubber in hopes to tackle this, so we'll see where that goes.
I also did relocate my torch as of this noticing of another head dropping. I moved it to less flow in hopes that the head will change its mind and go back. Odd that this started happening though, that coral sat in the same spot for a good couple of months. Why is it dropping now?

 

[sturner91]

Bringing back this thread. Another head is in the midst of dropping. Tested water, alk is back down to 11.8dkh. Everything else is perfect and on point minus my PO4 which has been stuck at .25ppm.
I just put in an algae scrubber in hopes to tackle this, so we'll see where that goes.
I also did relocate my torch as of this noticing of another head dropping. I moved it to less flow in hopes that the head will change its mind and go back. Odd that this started happening though, that coral sat in the same spot for a good couple of months. Why is it dropping now?

Couldn't edit the post, but I forgot to mention since the last head dropped its been living under some rock. Cant tell if its surviving or not, it isn't getting hit by any light or much for that matter. It did recently hitch a ride on a starfish and I haven't been able to find it since.

 

[Sk8r]

No light = no survival. If you can use a turkey baster to extract it, and catch the new bailer, put them in a shallow glass bowl that can protect them from current and keep them in the light, they may be able to regrow skeleton starting from a small crust on the 'foot' of the head: this is a stress method of reproduction, but it doesn't work well for them under tank rockwork.

 

[sturner91]

No light = no survival. If you can use a turkey baster to extract it, and catch the new bailer, put them in a shallow glass bowl that can protect them from current and keep them in the light, they may be able to regrow skeleton starting from a small crust on the 'foot' of the head: this is a stress method of reproduction, but it doesn't work well for them under tank rockwork.

I'm going to try. The ones that bailed and pushed under rock work still show color and swelling, almost looks healthy. But as you said, no light no life.

Now I had yet another drop occur. I was just cleaning my glass when I noticed my wrasse is going for my torch. That explains why the heads are dropping. Can anyone confirm this guy is reef safe? The LFS I got it from said he was. I don't recall the type of wrasse otherwise I'd look it up.

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[sturner91]

Let's see if it will recover. Sucks because the one head just split the skeleton was growing outwards and that's one polyp I lost. I have 3 of the 5 can't find the other 2.

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