Tri-Color Acro bleaching need help

[Jeremy1988]

Hey everyone, so I have never kept any Acros before...I have other SPS that do fine. I bought one from a LFS...it seemed to be in great condition under T-5 lighting. I brought it home to my 90 gallon with 2 kessil tuna blue lights. I put him a bit high, and he started bleaching fast! I have a yellow clown goby that seems to be chewing on the acro as well...which I read is actually not too uncommon. I have tallish tank so I moved him down about 8" I think...maybe less. I have other SPS that were around the same area as the acro that do fine with the lights and no issues...personally I think the Acro Frag was use to dimmer lights than mine, and I just kind of shocked it. My question is, once the bleaching starts, and then you move it, do the effects continue on for a day or so before the bleaching stops. I noticed it continue to looks like its still bleaching.

Parameters
ALK 9, stays constant run dosing pumps
Nitrate-10 or below at all times
Temp-79-79.5 usually never fluctuates .1-.2 degrees.
Salinity 1.026
Phosphates 0
Cal-410
Mag1400

 

[Mr.Fishtank]

It is most definitely the kessil's. They do not put out a ton of par but the pur is way higher then t5's. When you get a new coral you should alway keep them on the sand bed for a week or two and let them get used to the lighting that you use. Especially if they are LEDs.

I think lowering the coral as fast as you did should help keep it alive. Just put it on the sand or as low in the tank but still getting full light and let it recover. Hope it makes it.

 

[Jeremy1988]

Thanks for the response! Well I have to admit...I probably waited too long...it looks like it does have some good spots left but I would say half the frag is white now...I moved it down about 2 days ago. It was exposed to the high light for about a week and a half before I took action...inexperienced in dealing with bleaching corals. Never had to deal with it...I just assumed because it was an acro it would be fine...my how I was wrong...hopefully it bounces back, I put it on the sand bed...and maybe the goby will stay off it more in the spot I put it in. Time will tell, now its a waiting game. I could put my lights on a acclimating setting...I usually do it, just didnt with this one. It also bleached from the bottom up...

 

[outssider]

that yellow clown goby will constantly harass acropora. If you want acros, he's got to go !! I had one that ate nothing but my acro colonies. It took me a couple years before I caught him. funny how they eat them too.....they bang their head into the skin until the acro slimes then they eat the slime.....I hate those little basterds......

 

[Jeremy1988]

that yellow clown goby will constantly harass acropora. If you want acros, he's got to go !! I had one that ate nothing but my acro colonies. It took me a couple years before I caught him. funny how they eat them too.....they bang their head into the skin until the acro slimes then they eat the slime.....I hate those little basterds......

Yeah...well he fortunately does not really bother the other corals....I dont think...I question him around my meteor shower coral as well, I know those are slow growing but it seems it lacks good polyp extension as well. Is this where the bleaching is coming from you think...he's eating the coral causing it to not bring its polyps out there fore bleaching it....the beaching seems rather random as well and on different places. He hasent messed with the mid branches just the base area and about halfway up...I hate to get rid of him...although he has developed some slight aggression towards my tanaka pygmy wrasse only during feeding time. And he also has been in the tank for quite sometime and I do consider having a rather close relationship with him emotionally...he does have good personality.

 

[Jeremy1988]

Hey guys...well I actually caught my yellow clown goby and put him into my quarantine tank. The pareters were pretty close, minus the nitrates. Some difference there. Anyways...catching him was rather easy. He sometimes enjoys sticking to the glass stationary, so I slowly just put the net towards him and got him, while having my gf on speaker discussing where to go eat dinner. I think he had minimal stress. I quickly did a 8 gallon water change on my 10 gallon quarantine, (with rocks and PVC pipe to hide), so hopefully I can figure out what to do with him. I told my gf that I just cant justify owning a 10 dollar fish that is disturbing hundreds of dollars worth of SPS...I know its him too...I visually seen him picking at the acros, and my pocillopora. It was really hard for me to remove him...because I like him a lot...but sometimes tough decesions have to be made...maybe I will keep him in the quarantine and try to reintroduce him once the corals get going good again...idk...I'm pretty bummed about it. I even once when he jumped into the overflow when I first got him...he was in there for 2 days and I finally found him, and it took me 2 hours to get him out, next time I'll just siphon the overflow lol.

 

[SawCJack00]

Good job getting the clown goby out. They're cute but aweful on Acros. You mentioned that parts of the coral are white. Is the skin gone, or is there still skin, but the pigment is gone? Bleaching means that the coral has expelled the zooxanthellae so the coral will become very pale. If the skin is gone, it's actually STN or RTN depending on the speed, and is very dificult to stop. The coral can potentially recover from bleaching, but RTN means death, and STN can mean a slower death often times due to water conditions.

 

[Jeremy1988]

Good job getting the clown goby out. They're cute but aweful on Acros. You mentioned that parts of the coral are white. Is the skin gone, or is there still skin, but the pigment is gone? Bleaching means that the coral has expelled the zooxanthellae so the coral will become very pale. If the skin is gone, it's actually STN or RTN depending on the speed, and is very dificult to stop. The coral can potentially recover from bleaching, but RTN means death, and STN can mean a slower death often times due to water conditions.

O boy...please bare with me on this...I'm a bit new to acros...so I will say this. The parts that are "white" are solid white from what I can tell...the other parts that are not "White" seem to have decent coloration...however are a bit lighter in color than under the T-5 lighting from the store I bought it from...I took the Goby out earlier this morning and the polyps which are green on the acro are still "retracted" from what I can tell. I have taken my notebook and wrote down some marker spots, as for tomorrow I will look at them and see if the white area has encompassed them. Excuse my ignorance...but I think the "skin"...it looks like its a coating over the skin...if that makes sense...like basically if you were looking at a circumference of a half inch branch, and you put a coating over it, it would still look thick...but if you too that same half inch branch in circumference and shaved some of it, it would look skinnier...the acro does not look skinnier on the branches....it still looks "thick" not sure if that was a good description. I am worried about RTN and or STN though. The "bleaching" has continued thru out each day though...slowly getting worse...now weather or not this was from the goby or not, it has slowly continued. I would like to think the Goby just continued to stress the coral and that is the result.

 

[crawlerman]

It sounds like STN. Usually when they STN from the base it is from an alk swing. But you say yours is very steady. Might have just been the stress from acclimating to your parameters compared to the stores, the dipping process, high light and the goby. Did you dip it? What did you dip in? Seems like bayer is the preferred method now.

 

[Jeremy1988]

Well...I have to be completley honest...I have always dipped every coral I had, and always ran my lower light acclimation setting with my kessils...and to be honest this time I didnt. I one totally forgot to dip it! Just totally forgot...I guess I still could. I also just assumed...o its an acro, you have other SPS that require much more light. My lights cant be that much more intense or what have you than the stores. Both poor decesions clearly, I should have known better. Cockyness. Anyways...I took a flash light to it this morning and it seems like the STN has spread a bit more...I think...from what I can tell. So who knows...now we wait I guess and see the outcome. I do think that overall taking the goby out was the best thing to do for my other SPS corals.

 

[Jeremy1988]

It sounds like STN. Usually when they STN from the base it is from an alk swing. But you say yours is very steady. Might have just been the stress from acclimating to your parameters compared to the stores, the dipping process, high light and the goby. Did you dip it? What did you dip in? Seems like bayer is the preferred method now.

You know I had read that ALK swings will cause STN. Well I use Red Sea test kits and I dose about 10ML of ALK through out the day on BRS drews dosing pumps on timers. I think I probably am running my ALK higher than what the pet store had. I run it at 9. So the frag has 2 branches...the one from where it starts to branch of at the base dosent seem to have any STN going on, should I cut the good part and just place that good piece somewhere...or does this STN once stabilized go away. I have zero phosphates and keep nitrates around 5 to 10 at all times as well. Thanks

 

[crawlerman]

I have never had it just go away. I've also never had a frag from a dying acro survive. But you have to try. I would frag a piece and put it on the sand bed. 9dkh shouldn't be a problem unless you are running ULN. But with Nitrates of 5-10, you wouldn't fall into that category. Maybe next attempt start with a green slimmer or birdsnest. They seem to be a little hardier.

Just curious, how are you checking your phosphates. I was using API and thought I only had trace. Bought the Hannah Phos checker (low range, ppb) and I maxed it out.

 

[Jeremy1988]

I have never had it just go away. I've also never had a frag from a dying acro survive. But you have to try. I would frag a piece and put it on the sand bed. 9dkh shouldn't be a problem unless you are running ULN. But with Nitrates of 5-10, you wouldn't fall into that category. Maybe next attempt start with a green slimmer or birdsnest. They seem to be a little hardier.

Just curious, how are you checking your phosphates. I was using API and thought I only had trace. Bought the Hannah Phos checker (low range, ppb) and I maxed it out.

Hey thanks for the input! Yeah I'll frag him tonight and put him on the sandbed when I get off work. I'm getting a rude awaking into acros and having a nice reality check. I feel like an idiot to be honest...I'm learning valuable lessons here lol. Probably wasted 30 bucks! I actually use Saferit Phosphate test kit and I run a GFO reactor. I have a manifold that I run it off my return pump. Its the BRS heavy duty reactor, I use two little fishes GFO. I used to use Saferit for everything except PH. I use ELOS for that. I read a lot of reviews on BRS and its a good PH kit for some reason. But yeah, I stopped using saferit for ALK MAG and CAL, because I was running low on test kits, and BRS had the red sea 3 test combo thing for sale on black Friday. I really like there test kits. Plus I'm all about saving money...and actually in the long run there cheaper than saferit because you can buy the reagents online