Coral bleaching...

[LostMind]

I introduced three new frags from wendells & jacks today...

Those frags look okay, actually, two look really nice, 1 is kinda looking a bit paler then it did in the store, but has polyp extension so I dunno, I'll feed cyclopseeze tonite and see.

But, what concerns me is that now, after nearly 10 hours of these new frags being in the tank, my green birdsnest has suddenly retracted almost all polyps and is losing some colour (or I am hallucinating/overreacting). Is this a common occurence?

I moved the birdnest frag to a higher light location in the tank to see if it was just not getting enough light, altho I think the location it was in is fine as my monti cap is 3 or 4 inches below where it was and the cap is growing nicely.

The birdsnest has been in the tank 5 weeks or so and has shown growth - quarter to half an inch on some parts...

Any suggestions/tips from the experts out there?

Thanks.

Shane

[Chad]

I bought a frag today of scroll coral.. I am worried it might have some RTN? I never really saw the back of the frag so I really can't say for sure.. but its all brown and peeling off on the back.. its what it looks like anyways.. I might have screwed it up on acclimation?? too fast maybe? not sure..

Chad

[LostMind]

I dunno :)

I have picked up about half a dozen frags from ocean aquatics and have had no problems. I just want to know why this birdsnest is acting up.

Hell, I even knew that a couple of the coral frags I picked up today might not make it... Jack explained they are wild and may or may not take to tank life. I'm cool with the risk on those puppies :)

But my green birdsnest is my second largest coral and I'd hate to lose it...

Not sure WHY it is losing colour and such. All water param's test good. So, I am confused.

But even if I lost all my frags (a whopping 10 now! :mrgreen: ) I would still go back to ocean aquatics to restock.

Just want to make it clear this is not an ocean aquatics bashing thread!

[LostMind]

I have only been in this hobby for 6 months or so. And only keeping corals for 2 -3 months... so I have never seen rtn or bleaching. I have no idea what causes it etc.

[MitchM]

I would put some carbon in your system first off.
What lights do you have, and what corals did you buy?
I've got a birdsnest too, and it's pretty sensitive to light levels.

Mitch

[LostMind]

I run carbon continuously right now.

Two hagen powerhead filters with carbon in the center chamber changed every week. The carbon was just changed on saturday so it is fairly fresh.

I bought 3 different acro frags. Or, at least, I am pretty sure they are all acros :)

[Chad]

Well, I looked at the frag this morning... the back is now bleached but the front is ok so far.. *Cross fingers and toes* lets hope the rest stays ok..

Chad

[Chad]

I dunno :)
But even if I lost all my frags (a whopping 10 now! :mrgreen: ) I would still go back to ocean aquatics to restock.

Just want to make it clear this is not an ocean aquatics bashing thread!

heheh, I agree wholeheartedly.. like I said.. I think I might have screwed up on the acclimation process..

Chad

[MitchM]

Running carbon continuously ...does that mean that you're changing it every few days as well?

What lights are you using?

Mitch

[LostMind]

Every weekend I change out the carbon for new stuff.

lights are currently 2 x 250W MH and actinic's.

Today the green birdsnest is very pale, but full polyp extension.

Strange.

[MitchM]

...I would guess it's just lights then. I've got mine 1 or 2 inches below the water surface with my 250w MH DE's.
That's 1 coral that seems like it can't get too much light. I've tried rearranging things before, and it will go pale but once moved back up, it colors up again in a couple of days.

Mitch

[LostMind]

I agree. Since I moved the green birdsnest to the top of the tank, it has coloured up a bit already. Going to leave it there for now, but I am installing 400W lights soon. Hopefully I can move it around after that :)