coral ID help

[NeuroDoc]

Can anyone help me id this coral? This is a picture when it was healthy. Now I think it is dying, but I don't know why.

Thanks.

 

[loohunter]

i think it is a type of goniopora

 

[mmkeeper]

I think it is an alvepora.

 

[Blazer88]

I second the Alevopora. Are you feeding it? Lighting? Flow?

 

[loohunter]

yup i double checked, alevopora, my bad

 

[NeuroDoc]

I have been feeding my tank with liquidlife bio- and coral-plankton and occasional marineplankton (with cyclopeeze). It is in my 24g aquapod with PC lighting (64 watts), and it sits about halfway down my water column, ~8-10 inches from the light (6-8 inches under water). Lighting schedule is actinics on at 0830, daylights on at 1000, daylights off at 2100, actinics off at 2130. Lunar lights on 2130 to 0830.

Water flow is mild to moderate, the stock ~290g/h pump with hydor rotating head on the output. I am thinking of adding another power head to the tank, but have yet to do that.

I had a small nitrate spike recently which I have been bringing down with 5g water changes (not as quickly as I would like, but I am getting there and none of my other corals or fish look stressed). I thought the spike was from overfeeding, so I have cut back on the feeding, and had not added any plankton for 5 days. My fish still got a few mysis every other day. This coral was looking good until today, when only ~12 polyps were slightly extended. All the polyps looked "closed", rather that the "skeleton" appearance that it gets when they retract (like whenever it gets handled).

I tested my water tonight and found that my nitrates are down, but so is my pH, to ~7.8. I did another water change tonight. My freshly made saltwater tests at a perfect 8.2. I am thinking of dosing with small amounts of baking soda to try to get the pH back to 8.2.

The only other thing is that I found my hammer coral knocked down in the tank last night. Don't know how it got dislodged, but it was upside down in my rock, ~6inches below where it normally sits and about 8 inches away from this coral. When I righted it, it was covered in slime, and I don't know if it released some sort of toxin into the water that is irritating this one. If so, I figure the water change will help. Hopefully my carbon will too.

I bought this coral cheap, because it had been pretty stressed in transit and at my LFS, with the underside (which you can't see in the picture) being completely dead, probably from lying in a sandbed. I thought it had been doing well in my tank, with the polyps extending nicely over time.

Right now I am left making small adjustments, and hoping for the best.

 

[NeuroDoc]

Oh yeah, thanks for the ID help. I had thought some sort of alveopora or goniopora, but the branched shape, rather than the "flowerpot" had me confused.

 

[NeuroDoc]

come to think of it, the hydor rotating head is relatively new, having been added 2 days ago. As it rotates the flow washes directly over this coral. But if this was the cause, I would have thought it would have looked bad on Wed night, not just started today.

 

[mmkeeper]

alvepora donot like high flow and strong light. They will get knocked down by a nitrate spike. Keep up the water changes. It might even close up for a week or so. Several months ago I added one to my tank and it took three weeks till it started to open,

 

[NeuroDoc]

alvepora donot like high flow and strong light. They will get knocked down by a nitrate spike. Keep up the water changes. It might even close up for a week or so. Several months ago I added one to my tank and it took three weeks till it started to open,

Wow! three weeks?! When I added this one it didn't open for three days, and I was starting to get worried. But from then on the polyps just kept getting longer until yesterday (three weeks).

Good news, it looks like it is starting to open up this morning. We'll see what happens when the lights come on.

 

[mmkeeper]

do you have snails and crabs in your tank? They might have molested it and it closed up to protect its self.

 

[NeuroDoc]

do you have snails and crabs in your tank? They might have molested it and it closed up to protect its self.

3 - blue leg hermits crabs
6 - margarita snails
5 - Nassarius snails
3 or 4 hitchhiker crabs that came with the rock and I can't get out.

I have never seen the nassarius on the rock, occasionally they will climb the glass. The margaritas and hermits go everywhere, so it may have been one of those. The hitchhikers I only ever see in the rock, apparently just scraping algae. I have looked for them at all hours of day and night and have never seen them near a coral or clam. Doesn't mean it wasn't one of them, though. I wish I could get rid of the little b******s.

 

[mmkeeper]

The one thing should understand about this coral and the flower pot (goniopora) is that they are very difficult to keep for a long time. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/nftt/index.php

 

[Blazer88]

I hear Alevopora has a much better success rate than Goniopora. I've actually been wanting a frag for myself Best of luck with it!

 

[NeuroDoc]

I think I found the answer. After talking to Eric and Will at The Shark Reef, they suggested that I should test for alkalinity as well as pH. So I bought a Salifert test kit and my alkalinity is off the chart. Using extra reagent I extrapolate up the scale to a level of ~20.2.

So, time to stop using Aragamilk to keep my calcium up, and 5g water changes for the next few days.

I am pretty sure this is the answer, as last night after I did a water change the polyps starting coming out, and this morning I could see all of the polyps. But as the day has progressed the polyps have retracted again. I think this is possibly from aragamilk precipitate dissolving and slowly raising the alkalinity throughout the day. I am going to check this hypothesis by rechecking the dKH after the water change, and then tomorrow morning and evening.

 

[NeuroDoc]

Water change done. dKH down to 16.6, pH at 8.0. I should have tested the dKH of my freshly made water. I'll do that tomorrow night with my next water change. I know that my pH of fresh water is 8.2 (from previous tests).

 

[mmkeeper]

Don't give up. Keep working to find your answer.

 

[NeuroDoc]

Don't give up. Keep working to find your answer.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

dKH this morning is steady at 16.6. Polyps are all visible, and appear to be opening. Will retest tonight and do another water change and feed the tank.

 

[mmkeeper]

What is your ca level?

 

[NeuroDoc]

What is your ca level?

Yesterday, before any water changes it was 360. Did not recheck today. I figure that my salt mix (Instant Ocean) generally has a Ca level in the 300's so I am not worried about the Ca right now. I never have understood the whole pH, Ca, dKH "balance". If you have a good link that explains it, I would appreciate it.