Yellow Fiji Leather issues...
- Thread starter GQJake81
- Start date
GQJake81
New member
ok. pretty much the same as it was when i left for work.
i cut the lights to 50% (ahhhhh, the beauty of LEDs) as soon as i got home. so it will get about 8 hours of full light today, and then 4 hours at 50%.
should i still try and move him down to the sand? it would be about a 6 to 8 inch drop.
the LFS had it under a MH that is about a foot or so off the water. maybe more. in about 12 inches of water. i guess i would consider it low to mid light. decent flow area, i think.
i just dont want it to just lay all bent over in the sand and get some other kinda disease or something. but i also don't want it to tear it's stalk open. i will post some pictures here in a little bit.
i cut the lights to 50% (ahhhhh, the beauty of LEDs) as soon as i got home. so it will get about 8 hours of full light today, and then 4 hours at 50%.
should i still try and move him down to the sand? it would be about a 6 to 8 inch drop.
the LFS had it under a MH that is about a foot or so off the water. maybe more. in about 12 inches of water. i guess i would consider it low to mid light. decent flow area, i think.
i just dont want it to just lay all bent over in the sand and get some other kinda disease or something. but i also don't want it to tear it's stalk open. i will post some pictures here in a little bit.
GQJake81
New member
pics and updates.
ok, so first things first here are the pics.
6:45, 1 hour and a half after i cut lights to 50%
this is almost 8 pm...
and here's 9 pm...
earlier it looks like it's curling UNDER...then later it's curled UP almost into a ball. i have trouble discerning why it's up or under. does it want more light when it's under? or over? i've never kept one. i've had suggestions to move it to the bottom of the tank cause of light shock. think i should? i feel like it's doing maybe a little better, cause it's not laying on the rock. but i think it's still got a ways to go. no polyp extension, but i'm not too concerned about that. if this dude would stand up, i would feel lots better.
also, there weren't any polyps out when he was at the LFS. honestly, i didn't think about it for some reason. DOH.
thoughts and opinions are welcomed and appreciated.
ok, so first things first here are the pics.
6:45, 1 hour and a half after i cut lights to 50%
this is almost 8 pm...
and here's 9 pm...
earlier it looks like it's curling UNDER...then later it's curled UP almost into a ball. i have trouble discerning why it's up or under. does it want more light when it's under? or over? i've never kept one. i've had suggestions to move it to the bottom of the tank cause of light shock. think i should? i feel like it's doing maybe a little better, cause it's not laying on the rock. but i think it's still got a ways to go. no polyp extension, but i'm not too concerned about that. if this dude would stand up, i would feel lots better.
also, there weren't any polyps out when he was at the LFS. honestly, i didn't think about it for some reason. DOH.
thoughts and opinions are welcomed and appreciated.
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GQJake81
New member
also, it's kinda close to GSP not like ON IT, but within a couple inches....think it doesn't like that?
i'm gonna run some matrix carbon in a bag in my filter sock....see what that does.
and now it's curled back under....and almost vertical. so....i'm kinda happy that it moves and still opens and closes and stuff....keeps me hopeful.
i'm gonna run some matrix carbon in a bag in my filter sock....see what that does.
and now it's curled back under....and almost vertical. so....i'm kinda happy that it moves and still opens and closes and stuff....keeps me hopeful.
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wbdevers
New member
LOL!, GQ calm down a bit. You are worrying way too much. You've go to give it time. Think of what this thing has been through over the last month or so. Pulled from its home, rough ride to shore, stored God only knows where, shipped across the world, into another tank for a while, pulled again, shipped again, another tank, pulled, another tank. It's had a hell of a ride. Give it time. Like I said earlier, my leather didn't have PE for a week after it shed the second time after I got it. Both shed where within 4 days of it being in my tank.
1) Your lighting is fine.
2) GSP won't bother it to my knowledge.
Don't touch it, don't move it. It's only been in your tank for a couple of days and like has been said several times, leather are fussy when they are disturbed.
I honestly think it will be fine. When it frags itself I want a piece!
1) Your lighting is fine.
2) GSP won't bother it to my knowledge.
Don't touch it, don't move it. It's only been in your tank for a couple of days and like has been said several times, leather are fussy when they are disturbed.
I honestly think it will be fine. When it frags itself I want a piece!
GQJake81
New member
You got it! Thanks for your continued support. I am just worried cause I find all this stuff on the web and don't know what to believe. I am trying to stay calm, just don't want to come home to see my last 1.5 years of reefing all shriveled up and nuked. 
I will remain calm. And only post 2 pics tomorrow. Maybe 3. depends on how many tricks this thing does for me! Ha!
I will remain calm. And only post 2 pics tomorrow. Maybe 3.
depends on how many tricks this thing does for me! Ha!
wbdevers
New member
LOL! No problem. I understand exactly what you mean. I had the same worries with a yellow leather that was necrotic in spots when I got it. My LFS told me to just keep it clean, make sure it had good flow and "DON'T TOUCH IT". I did that (hard as it was) and it is going great now. When I got it, it was slightly larger than a quarter. After the dead spots were done dying, it was slightly larger than a dime. Now it is much larger than a fifty cent piece. Hang in there. It will come around.
GQJake81
New member
ok. look at that...a whole day with NO POSTS!!! :dance:
it's still opening and closing. so that's good. but it still lays on the rock and then stands up when it closes. should i turn it's base so it doesn't lay on the rock? or should i just let it lay there? my thought is, the base of the coral is parallel to the tank bottom and if i try to angle it to MAKE it stand up, it might tear it's base, so i should just let it ride. but i don't want it to get some kind of infection from being on the rock either.
still no polyp extension. no dead or dying skin. still has that funky stuff that looks like some kinda funky coralline on it's base. think i should try and gently brush it off with a toothbrush? or just leave it alone?
i'm all for leaving it alone, but i don't want to not do something and have that be the downfall of this thing.
it's still opening and closing. so that's good. but it still lays on the rock and then stands up when it closes. should i turn it's base so it doesn't lay on the rock? or should i just let it lay there? my thought is, the base of the coral is parallel to the tank bottom and if i try to angle it to MAKE it stand up, it might tear it's base, so i should just let it ride. but i don't want it to get some kind of infection from being on the rock either.
still no polyp extension. no dead or dying skin. still has that funky stuff that looks like some kinda funky coralline on it's base. think i should try and gently brush it off with a toothbrush? or just leave it alone?
i'm all for leaving it alone, but i don't want to not do something and have that be the downfall of this thing.
This is probably the most finicky of the leather corals. You really need to let it be, changes in flow, position, and light will cause it stress. Doing nothing with this coral is better than trying to figure out what is wrong, as long as your water quality and husbandry are good you should be fine.
Run some carbon, and try not to cause it anymore undo stress, I understand you're worried, we all tend to overly stress about our corals/livestock but many time the best course of action is to leave them alone and let them acclimate to our tanks. This can take a day or a couple of weeks depending on the animal we have and no two are going to act the same for everyone.
Good luck, I'm sure it will be fine.
Run some carbon, and try not to cause it anymore undo stress, I understand you're worried, we all tend to overly stress about our corals/livestock but many time the best course of action is to leave them alone and let them acclimate to our tanks. This can take a day or a couple of weeks depending on the animal we have and no two are going to act the same for everyone.
Good luck, I'm sure it will be fine.
I'm posting from work and can't see any of the pics in this thread, but I'm assuming they show that this is indeed a sarcophyton elegans, "yellow fiji leather".
If so, the easiest piece of advice I can give is: it might as well be an acropora. It may not have a skeleton and may be soft and fluffy, but it prefers the exact same lighting and flow conditions as an acropora. If you keep that in mind they tend to be fairly simple to keep.
If so, the easiest piece of advice I can give is: it might as well be an acropora. It may not have a skeleton and may be soft and fluffy, but it prefers the exact same lighting and flow conditions as an acropora. If you keep that in mind they tend to be fairly simple to keep.
GQJake81
New member
well, it's midway in my tank under my 45W CAD LED fixture. and about 3 inches under and 10 inches over. mp10 is on 75/80% reef crest mode. i would think that's enough.
would it behave this way if it were perhaps recovering from too little light at the LFS? still no polyp extension.
and i'm not really changing anything, just monitoring, and wondering/worrying why my beautiful beast won't cooperate.
would it behave this way if it were perhaps recovering from too little light at the LFS? still no polyp extension.
and i'm not really changing anything, just monitoring, and wondering/worrying why my beautiful beast won't cooperate.
well, it's midway in my tank under my 45W CAD LED fixture. and about 3 inches under and 10 inches over. mp10 is on 75/80% reef crest mode. i would think that's enough.
would it behave this way if it were perhaps recovering from too little light at the LFS? still no polyp extension.
and i'm not really changing anything, just monitoring, and wondering/worrying why my beautiful beast won't cooperate.
Truthfully, the one of these I had for years I kept directly under a 250w halide. I'm not sure if 45w of LED will be enough. Bear in mind my current tank is a 20 gallon with LEDs, 72w, and if I were going to add one of these guys to my tank I'd make sure it was dead center under the fixture and in the top third of the tank. Even then I'd be a bit nervous about trying it, but would think it would probably work.
Your 45w LED might be enough, but I honestly don't know. These guys love being blasted with light and I'm just not sure what their minimum threshhold will tolerate. They're no where near as forgiving as other leathers are. I'll be interested in hearing how it does over the coming weeks, and hopefully it will be do well. They do take time to adapt to new tank conditions, the moreso if they haven't received the best care at a vendor before being purchased.
GQJake81
New member
HA! good one devers.
well, i've been toning my light down cause people thought it could be light shock. even shortened my photo period by an hour.
this has been in my tank since sunday, so we are at 4 days now. think i should start giving it full light for the next couple days and see what it does?
and 20 gallon with 72w of LED...your PAR has to be retarded high. our club is trying to get a meter and as soon as we do, i want to see how this fixture is doing.
does everyone think i have enough flow? i can see the little lobes moving every now and again, not like full bore. and i will start running light 100% for 11 hours and see what it does.
well, i've been toning my light down cause people thought it could be light shock. even shortened my photo period by an hour.
this has been in my tank since sunday, so we are at 4 days now. think i should start giving it full light for the next couple days and see what it does?
and 20 gallon with 72w of LED...your PAR has to be retarded high. our club is trying to get a meter and as soon as we do, i want to see how this fixture is doing.
does everyone think i have enough flow? i can see the little lobes moving every now and again, not like full bore. and i will start running light 100% for 11 hours and see what it does.
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Hagisan
Preparing to move on...
My 2 yellows under 150w 14k up top near flow.
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BurntOutReefer
New member
GQ,
If already answered sorry, but how far away from your water returns? They don't like direct water flow too much. Second, what was the light in the tank you got him from?
Im not an expert, but I have kept yellows for a long time. There is nothing abnormal with yours. Give it a week or so.
Secondly, expect to see this behavior at leat once a month. Along with it "shedding/sloughing" its top layer of skin. This is its natural way to grow.
and finally, I am second in line for a frag.....check your iodine and strontium also....they love that stuff.
If already answered sorry, but how far away from your water returns? They don't like direct water flow too much. Second, what was the light in the tank you got him from?
Im not an expert, but I have kept yellows for a long time. There is nothing abnormal with yours. Give it a week or so.
Secondly, expect to see this behavior at leat once a month. Along with it "shedding/sloughing" its top layer of skin. This is its natural way to grow.
and finally, I am second in line for a frag.....check your iodine and strontium also....they love that stuff.
GQJake81
New member
my return is up near the top from a eheim 1250. but my mp10 is about 3in above it, and 10 inches away. on reef crest at 80% or constant speed at like 50%.
the tank it was in at the LFS was 12" deep, with a MH but it was about 2 ft off the tank. and no polyp extension there either. so i'm not sure. i'm just watching and waiting.
and Hagisan, those are nice! way to make me :bounce3: <--green with envy!
the tank it was in at the LFS was 12" deep, with a MH but it was about 2 ft off the tank. and no polyp extension there either. so i'm not sure. i'm just watching and waiting.
and Hagisan, those are nice! way to make me :bounce3: <--green with envy!
