Cabbage Coral and Button polyp question..help!

[cavyroo]

I posted this somewheres else here..but thought I would here too..thanks

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OK
First off I am fairly new into corals and polyps..still reading all I can.

First question.

I have a 55gal tank that has been set up for a month and half. I have green button polyps and orange/yellow polyps in there. THey have been great till the last few days..they are closed.
What can I do to get them to be nice and full and open?

There are 4 65watt lights on them ESU coralifes..2 white and 2 actinic.
Amm is 0
Nitrite is 0
Nitrate is 0
Ph is 8.2
Sal is 1.025
Temp is 79

Any suggestions?

2nd. The cabbage leather coral in a 40gal..with 2 65 watts on them...
Its doing fine on all its areas but one..I am going to try and take a pic tomorrow of it...but it looks like its rotting..or being chewed away...

There is only hermits, snails and an engineer goby in there.

Sal is 1.023
Everything is at 0

Thanks
MIsty

 

[Alice]

Hi Misty!

For your button polyps/zoanthids you might want to look for predators. One of the most common predators of zoanthids is a small snail, Heliocus sp., with a round shell that has a checkerboard-like pattern.

Does your cabbage coral have any areas that are covered with sand,silt or detritis? If it isn't removed, the coral can be damaged. Predation is always something to look for, too, as well as other corals that might be encroaching on the cabbage. If you touch the affected area and it feel as though it's falling apart, my suggestion would be to cut off the damaged area and swish the remainder of the coral in a bucket of clean SW with a few drops of iodine or Lugol's solution added to the SW. Use just enough iodine or solution to barely tinge the water yellow.

HTH,

Alice

 

[Alice]

See this link to our gallery for a pic of the Heliocus snail, often called the Sundial snail.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_corals/showphoto.php?photo=624&sort=1&cat=543&page=1

 

[cavyroo]

Thanks for the reply. The cabbage does not feel like its falling apart..nor doe it when i touch it..it just looks likes its...shrinking? Trying to find the right word.

I assume that snail is small. Cause I have not seen it..I will go and inspect! If I dont find it..any other thoughts on how to get them open and full again? Thanks again!!