torch - never seen this before

[swisha]

I've had my torch for a little over 5 months and every night since i've had it some heads shrink down and the mouths open and expell some brown substance. Tonite i noticed it was going through this usual ritual but the mouths seem to be more open than usual

My question to you torch owners and LPS experts is this; Is this a normal procedure? and if not then why does it happen every night and the torch is back to normal in a few hours? Should i be concerned?

Params

Salinity 1.026
Ph 8.2
Nitrate 0
Phos 0
Ca 420
Alk 3.5

I switched the 250w 10k in my sig to XM 14k everything else is the same

 

[saltycreefer]

Probably waste product or excess zooxanthellae.

 

[swisha]

Thanks saltycreefer for your response. I thought since i've never seen any ill effects from it happening that it may be a 'normal' processs. Being new to the hobby, a little reassurance from experienced hobbyists goes a long way

 

[danch]

Curious: how often are you feeding? Are they in a bright part of the tank?

 

[swisha]

i dont target feed the torch at all. It wont take food such as mysis but i do feed DT's phyto. It's in the center of the tank between the two MH.

 

[Hormigaquatica]

Its likely just releasing waste; they will do that every once in a while. As long as the polyp is back to normal looking within a couple days youre likely fine.
For what its worth, DTs is too small to be captured and used by Euphyllias. Mysis or Cyclopeeze would be a better choice if you want to boost the growth of your torch.