Why do SPS die so fast? :(

[Sculpin]

I bought a beautiful strawberry shortcake at the swap from Barrier and had it on a frag rack doing great. I think I may have placed it in slightly too shady a spot because it died today. I was admiring it last night and it looked fine, and I came home this evening to a gleaming white skeleton. I wish there had been a little warning that the frag wasn't happy so I could have made some adjustments. I did a water change a few days ago and I checked my water parameters tonight and everything seems ok, and all the other frags I recently purchased are all doing amazing. It just makes me mad how fast SPS can go south when they aren't happy. Also very bummed that I lost the strawberry shortcake. I've had it on my wish list for a while now, and the one from Barrier was a real beauty.

 

[dtd87]

Sorry for your loss losing corals blows.

 

[Faciosity]

If it died that fast, I would suspect it got killed by another coral or by a pest. It's true that they can die very quickly, but usually you will notice them start to recede or lose tissue (RTN or rapid tissue necrosis). Usually once that point has come, there are only a few desperate measures that can be taken, and still don't work a lot of the time. SPS corals stress easy, and stress can be fatal.

 

[thatguy559]

what were the exact numbers you were getting?

 

[barrierreefcf]

Sorry to hear about this. If it happened that fast it was RTN or killed by another coral. Shading it would have resulted in a loss of color over a matter of weeks, not overnight death. Since its been two weeks since you took it home it wasn't stressed from the transition. Really hard to say but this is part of what makes SPS so challenging. They stress and die if anything fluctuates. Makes us all appreciate the hard work that goes into some of the beautifully grown out tanks that have been stable for years. PM me your current chemistry parameters and name and I might be able to make arrangements for a free second try Please include-

Name
Number
pH
Alk
Calcium
Mg
Phosphate
Nitrate
Salinity/Gravity
Temp

 

[reedman]

And this is why Barrier is such a great place ^^^

Like it's been said. SPS are touchy to say the least. I have had corals go for no obvious reason. I have had one right next to another go and the other be fine. I have had entire tank crashes. If you keep them for any length of time you will experience all of these frustrations. The upside is when things go right they are beautiful and quite rewarding to keep.

 

[Sculpin]

Thanks all for the feedback, sounds like shade wouldn't have killed it so fast, which is also a little disconcerting because it means something potentially out of my control killed it.

Barrier, thank you for the generous offer. You guys really are awesome. My tank parameters are:
pH 8.2
Alk 8
Calcium 480
Mg 1300
Phosphate 0
Nitrate 0
Salinity/Gravity 1.025
Temp 78
I'll PM you name and phone number.

I'm actually working with Tim on building a complete 180g cube setup (upgrading my current 125g) so if a replacement frag were to become available, I would definitely want to hold off until my new tank is well established.

-Sculpin

 

[barrierreefcf]

Water parameters look great. You might get the calcium down to 400-450. Anything over that doesn't really help and actually makes it harder to maintain alk. I'll set one aside until you are ready Just send me your name so I can mark it sold.

 

[returnofsid]

Sometimes, without any reason that we can find, SPS will RTN, very quickly. Doesn't always mean that there's anything wrong with our tanks, or anything wrong with the particular coral. When I've lost SPS corals, sometimes I'm able to attribute it to a chemical that's out of balance, or some other obvious reason. Other times, I can't pinpoint the cause. I do think, sometimes, corals stress out, during transport, by either becoming too cold, or too hot, if heat packs are used. Sometimes, I think corals also just have a difficult time adjusting, from one tank, to another.

 

[Sculpin]

@Barrier - FYI that I Just tried to leave you a PM and recieved an error that says you have exceeded your PM storage quota, so my message wouldn't send. Instead I sent the message through your website "contact us" page, so please look for my personal info there.

Thanks again!