Ricordia Trouble

[bug0926]

Some of my ricordia polyps don't look so hot yesterday and today. It's in the lower third of my tank (a 120) with 2 175w mh and 2 actinic vho...should I move it highger up, feed it separately, etc? Parameters of water are all fine, other corals are all fine...

 

[FragMaster]

Post a pic of the ones in question. somtimes they look like crap right before they split and right after.
(I raise and sell them to support my habbit).

 

[Anonymous]

Tried to plug ya..

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=82134

~wings~

 

[FragMaster]

THanks man but I dont want to get in to trouble for looking like an Online LFS. Then I would be stepping on sponsor toes.
My only reason for mentioning it was that I can be of great assistance to him if I can see the ric in question.
But I realy do apreciate it Wings thank you!

 

[fungia]

hi bug, what is the ricordea doing? i dont feed mine and they do great, i would think if they are not happy they wouldnt feed any how. i do water changes when things dont look right.

 

[bug0926]

I did a water change saturday. I did put some vaseline on a skimmer gasket that I hadn't done before, but vaseline isnn't water soluable, and I thought was safe.

Just tested the water again and it was perfect.

I'll take a picture and post.

 

[bug0926]

See http://120gallons.blogspot.com/ for pictures of the sick ricodia.

 

[FragMaster]

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6582 ... G_5055.jpg


VASELINE!!!
It may not be water soluble but that does not mean it wont foul your water or harm your coral. Oil isnt water soluble but it will foul your tank.
NEVER , EVER, ever, ever, ever ever ever ever ever.......
Use ANYTHING petroleum based in your tank or on anything that will come in to direct contact with your water.

I cant realy tell from those pics (out of focus and a little color washed). It dosent look like thier are any tears,
Look at thier mouths. Do they gape open? Meaning do the thier mouths seem to be VERY wide open all the time? Thats a sign they are on thier way out if they are. Check the base of the ones that are shrunked.
Do they look as if they are trying to detach themselves?
They do seem a little bleached though and stressed out some what.

Try moving them closer to the light. While it is true some of the yuma species require high lighting, there are those that dont like it at all, even brightly colored ones. It is anybody's guess however which likes what.
Experiment with them.

Yumas are wierd, it is not uncomon for them to throw fits every once in a while. They are much more sensetive to water parameters than Florida ricordea also, so I am SURE the Vasoline thing messed with them to some degree. (BTW didnt that throw your skimmer for a loop?).

Do you have have any fish in the tank that would pick at them?
Any new fish aditions?

 

[Omni2226]

Someone should tell the skimmer makers then. Here is a link to the maintainance booklet for the Aqua C skimmer in pdf.
http://www.proteinskimmer.com/Remora.pdf it plainly says to use a small amount of petrolium jelly on the O ring.

If Other skimmers have this same "tip" in the instruction book .....
Mayb post something in the FAQ/tips that people should ignore this advice.

Not sure how to go about warning people....

 

[FragMaster]

Ummm no it dosent. Not in that link.
AND the only O-ring it has is the one thatholds the coletion cup, and it is on the OUTSIDEof the skimmer and dose NOT make contact with water returning to the tank.

 

[Omni2226]

mm link works for me..oh well delete my post then if it has no bearing on the problem.

 

[FragMaster]

No I ment that it dose not state any where in that PDF to use petroleum jelly, and if it did it would be only to lube the o-ring on the outside of the collection cup to keep it from drying out and cracking. Thats all

 

[Anonymous]

No I ment that it dose not state any where in that PDF to use petroleum jelly, and if it did it would be only to lube the o-ring on the outside of the collection cup to keep it from drying out and cracking. Thats all

Congratulations! Your new AquaC High Performance Protein Skimmer is completely installed and is already
beginning to improve your water quality! You can adjust the quality of foam by raising or lowering the collection cup.
Be aware that the skimmer will produce very little foam at first, but once it “kicks in” it will produce a large amount of
froth. The collection cup can be set at the desired height by moving the black o-ring up or down on the cup. At its
lowest setting, the skimmer may collect an extremely wet, light-colored froth at first. In order to collect a dry foam,
raise the collection cup a small amount each day until you find the desired level. Applying a very small amount of
petroleum jelly to the black o-ring will prevent it from cracking over time. Do not apply lubricant to the cup itself.
Be aware that it is normal for the unit to stop skimming after feedings or other tank disturbances. Oils on your hands
or in the fish food will prevent any foaming action for a period of several minutes to an hour, at which point the
skimming should resume with great efficiency.

Its on page one...


Get the Facts!

:roll:

 

[bug0926]

The amount of vaseline that could have got into the water is microscopic. It's just on an o-ring that doesn't have direct contact with the flowing water..it is sandwhiched between two pieces of acrylic.

And none of the other corals are effected...so I really doubt that is the problem.

 

[bug0926]

I applied it to the oring on the collection cup. Not a lot of water contact here...some but not a lot...and not a lot of vaseline.

 

[bug0926]

They only look bleached and shriveled and not all of them...probably 1/2 of them.

 

[bug0926]

Still can't figure out how it would be the tiny bit of vaseline. Here are better pics...some other corals also taken today. wed everything was fine...thurs like this. Water change with vaseline on the oring of the skimmer collection cup was on sunday.

 

[bug0926]

one more

 

[FragMaster]

How I did not see that I have no idea!!! LOL!
In any case it isnt applied on an internal part of the skimmer.
Like I already said KNUCKLEHEAD LOL!!!
So that rules out the Vaseline.

Are they near any zoanthid polyps? as in a very large quantity of them, or down current from a large colony of them?
I have had them croak in the middle of an unseen chemical warfare with large zoanthid populations as well in my tanks.

Are they fairly new to your tank?
also Yumas Like iodine, and light feedings. Try feeding the healthier looking ones small pieces of mysis. I started to dose a little Iodine around a year ago,and mine realy opened up more and are looking MUCH more colorful and all around healthier.

You may want to move them closer to the light source or inthe shade depending on how new to your tank they are and what type of light they came out from under before you bought them.
They do look bleached some what,and thisd could be either from to little light or to much light (for the resones stated above.)

 

[bug0926]

Well, let me draw it since the vaseline did stop a drip..

skimmer cup
------------ ------------
|oring |
------------ ------------ The body and the cub are smooshed together with screws with the oring.
skimmer body

so I guess there is some water contact, but not a lot....still don't think it is, but just in case, is there something I can use that would not potentially pose any issue? Pure silicone? I need something, otherwise there is an annoying drip.

corals in the tank are:

star polyps
bubble and torch - not doing great, but never have...think it was due to a lack of water changes which I started doing by monthly 6 weeks ago.

The ricordia have been in the tank about a month.

I do dose bionic, strontium, coral-vite, essential elements and iodine (all kent) weekly.

I have moved them to the top quarter of the tank.