brain coral HELP !!!

[Rich-n-poor]

ok I got a brain coral in trade, added it too my tank and it began to open a day later.

it looked too big for the spot so I moved it. It closed up immediately, then began encroaching on another coral after it reopened so I move it again.

it closed up and hasn't opened since. each day more of the skeletal portion is visible and less of the mantel.

It now seems to be split down the middle. I left it alone for 10 days no help.

moved iit back to original placing and left it there for 1 week no help.

Tested everything Am 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Calcium 480 good buffering capacity ect.

What really mystifies me is everything else is thriving I literally had to give away some mushroom rock. my green star polyups have doubled in 2 months time, zooanthins are growing like they are on steriods. My octobubble is now huge. I have fragged so much cabbage leather I could make cabbage rolls.

All the while this sits there and dies :-(


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American Forum

 

[Bleeding Blue]

What kind of light, and what kind of water movement do you have the brain in. Did you take the time to acclimate the coral properly? Where was the coral before you picked it up? Did the tissue bleach? Just a couple of questions that might help narrow down what the problem is. Hopefully it can be helped.

Mike

 

[wombat1]

Well one thing I can tell you for certain is to stop moving it. Brains don't need a ton of light or water movement, but they do need stability. You're just damaging the tissue every time you move it, and the coral won't appreciate a new light regime to acclimate to. I made this mistake with a bubble coral, supposedly the easiest LPS. In my tank of thriving SPS corals, it died over 4-5 months directly under a MH. It was too much light too quickly for a coral that came from a lower light environment. I'm not saying your light is too bright, just that it is getting shocked from the constant adjustments. The only other thing I could think of is your Ca/Alk/pH (What exactly is "good" buffering capacity?), but you say your bubble is doing great.

 

[Rich-n-poor]

I always aclimate my corals.

Its currently in a corner in moderate water movement. there are 3 hagan 301 powerheads in the tank and a rio 600.

its current position is where it originally opened well the first day.

the tissue is there but very pulled back exposing the white skeleton.

I had a candy cane coral that was a frag laying in the bottom of a tank at a lfs that did very poorly at first. it had broken off and fallen between the rockwork and was in worse shape when I got it. It took about a month but It now has dark brown with bright green center coloring on every branch.
not a bad deal for a piece of shroom rock and $5

anyway the brain is at the same lighting elevation in the tank. 37 gallon with 2X55 watt pc 1 actinic 1 6700k and 1 20 watt 50/50
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PbNation

 

[Rich-n-poor]

I now movement to be an isuue which is why I left it in each place for a week to see if there was any improvement before trying a diferent spot to see if it was a water movement issue.

It has been in its current position about 9 days and steadily deteriorating.

ph 8.4

alk 3.4 mil eq/liter

300 ppm buffering capacity

trust me the water parameters are ideal, I dont even do water changes on this tank.

however my salanity meter is broken so i dont know the specific gravity but it usually stays about 1.025 with kalkwasser topoff via drip doser

rich
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Powerlet

 

[squeezix]

I'm, a big brain fan, and have brought an ROB back to life from deteriorating.
Light makes not much difference. If the light is too bright, they bleach.

Current on the other hand, is a big concern. Brains do not like direct current. The tissue you see being blown away is trying to recover.

Brains also do not have enough muscle power to shed debris. This should be done with a turkey baster 8" away from the flesh. Other than this, they are not picky. Most will accept diced foods, or live purely on photosynthesis. Too much current is bad.

 

[Jrsydevi1]

I would leave it on the bottom. A week is not enough time for a coral to adjust, in my opinion. My brain "sulked" in skeletal form for 3 weeks, then perked up to top form in the next 2 months. they dont need a ton of light.. or a ton of current.. but a ton of stability goes a long way.

Sometimes, unfortunately, even our best efforts do little to save certain corals.. there is still a bunch we dont understand.. I have had "easy" corals croak under what we think to be "ideal" conditions.. and some "difficult" ones thrive no matter what I did...

i am starting to beleive that corals have personalities.. and some just refuse to be satisfied...


-Devil

 

[Rich-n-poor]

Placed a half cube of my personal food mix on it.

It seemed to have consumed it about 1/2 hour later.

when it did the split that had developed across the center was all but closed.

The food is a mixture of everything krill, brine shrimp, daphnia, algea, squid, ect.

I tend to buy one of everything frozen thaw it , mix it and refreeze it so I can just drop in a cube and feed everything at once.

at any rate the feeding seemed to improve it some.

rich
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Mercedes SSK