acropora bleaching?

[fatjusto]

hey all,

Just have a quick question reguarding a couple of acropora frags which i put into my tank last week. Basically I a bit worried that the tip of one is dying/dead, due to white appearance and lack of visible polyps. What does everyone advocate doing in this instance. Should you leave it and see how it goes or should you cut the tip off(can it spread) to allow for better growth. Will the skeleton regain life in a coral or once its dead is that it

Cheers

 

[Curtswearing]

If it is just at the tip, move it down a little lower in the tank temporarily and keep a watch on it. Zooxanthellae will repopulate the tip.

If you watch the bleaching spread, and it happens quickly, it might be RTN and you should contact us quickly.

 

[fatjusto]

sweet thats good news I suppose! I have repositioned it lower in the tank. Why is this better? I thought more light was better. Nothing has happened rapidly i would say. Just doesnt seem completely normal

 

[LakeEd]

Rapidly, in our hobby, is anthing that occurs in less than a month. If this whitening of the tip has occured in the week you have had this frag in your tank, that is fast... and I also suggest you follow Curt's suggestion of lowering it in your tank.

RTN (Rapid Tissue Neucrosis) [loss of tissue] unfortunately happens VERY fast (in a matter of hours it seems) and usually from the bottom up. If you are noticing that type of quick loss of your coral, do jump back on here as soon as possible and let people know... so they can help walk you through some steps that may help you save some of your coral.

 

[SueT]

usually bleaching at the tips can mean too much light. If you only placed the frags in your tank last week then like was said that is fast. What kind of lighting were the frags under?? If more than you have that could be it, but most of the time acropora or even sps frags should be started low and worked up to a place in the rock that the frag seems most happy in. Meaning polyps extended, nice color, good growth etc. Also watch your water params too and keep them stable.

 

[fatjusto]

frag has come good!! the tip has actually gone blue now which I suppose indicates growth/health. I think I was just a little parnoid

 

[SueT]

being paranoid in this hobby I think is ok. LOL.. It doesn't hurt to worry about these corals cause sometimes by the time you notice something thats changes its too late.

 

[LakeEd]

frag has come good!! the tip has actually gone blue now which I suppose indicates growth/health. I think I was just a little parnoid

We all do that, and as Sue states, it isn't a bad thing to care about the life intrusted to us in our corals.

So, did you end up trying to do anything that seemed to help your coral, or just give it time to acclimate where you originally placed it... sit back and watch???

 

[fatjusto]

I actually moved the coral lower in the tank as people suggested. Its actually growing faster rate than my other corals now. I have also monitored my ca and alk levels(my alk test kit was out of stock) and am in the process of reestablishing normal levels.

Thanks once again this site has saved my fish tank life.