saltwater newbie attempting a 55 gallon reef

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Thanks. I've been getting some great deals on craigslist. Mostly guys and gals that want to make room in their tank for more corals, so they frag out what they have in there and sell it for real cheap. Craiglist is a good way to meet other local reefers that you might want to trade with after your tank has become more established too.
 
I just checked my local area and not many reefers around. I do frequent atlanta reef club though. they have awesome deals, worth the hour drive
 
OK so I have a problem.....my starburst coral has completely retracted all of its polyps, which it has never done before including during acclimation, and I don't know why. Salinity is fine; ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, all at zero. Alkalinity is at 9 and calcium is at 410. I see a mini brittle star crawling on it, could it be stressing it out??

edit: I also just spotted one of those little bugs I was trying to get identification on before crawling on it. Also, upon closer inspection it appears the mini brittle star has made a home in between the coral and the live rock it is attached to. Should I attempt to get it out somehow? How long will the coral be able to undergo stress like this before it is a goner?
 
BTB0923;3446593; said:
OK so I have a problem.....my starburst coral has completely retracted all of its polyps, which it has never done before including during acclimation, and I don't know why. Salinity is fine; ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, all at zero. Alkalinity is at 9 and calcium is at 410. I see a mini brittle star crawling on it, could it be stressing it out?? Do you target feed your coral at all?

edit: I also just spotted one of those little bugs I was trying to get identification on before crawling on it. Also, upon closer inspection it appears the mini brittle star has made a home in between the coral and the live rock it is attached to. Should I attempt to get it out somehow? they are harmless to the coral How long will the coral be able to undergo stress like this before it is a goner? depends on the stress, size of the coral, and if any predators or fish are nipping it.
Click to expand...

mr.reef24
 
mr.reef24;3447333; said:
Do you target feed your coral at all?
Click to expand...

No I don't, but I've been putting 5-10 drops of phytofeast in the tank daily. I'm also planning on getting some Lugols solution soon.

Do you think the coral could be reacting to a slight change in salinity? I'm trying to slowly raise my salinity and its gone from 1.0215 to 1.022 in the last day.
 
that shouldn't bother it to much try running a search on target feeding it look for your exact species and you can bring it back to life I will research my information as well for you.

mr.reef24
 
I haven't been able to find any info on target feeding GSP (green star polyps), but I did learn some other stuff. It turns out this coral is extremely hardy and is actually known to sometimes retract for days at a time randomly. So I guess the coral is probably fine and I'm just going to wait a few days to see if the polyps come back out.
 
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