Shrinking finger leather coral

[Beeba]

I bought a finger leather coral about a week and a half ago and it seemed pretty happy in the tank at first. After one week it just didn't expand during the day like normal. It had been expanding to almost twice its size during the day. It has now been four days and it is still drawn up. Does anyone know if it is just going through a normal phase or should I start to worry? My tank is only about two months old but my mushroom corals are doing great.

 

[Witfull]

sounds normal...leathers will shrink up and then shed a layer of slime....whhen it does shed,,,,try to get it out of the tank before it lands on anything and sits there,,,it is slightly toxic and can damage critters...

 

[Scooterman]

Softies will do that, I had some close up a while but check your water parms. keep it clean & it will perk up I 'm sure. Keep an eye on it though.

 

[fishermann]

make sure you don't have a pwr hd blowing rite at it

 

[Beeba]

The power heads are not blowing right at it. It is in the center of the tank. It has had some slimy stuff hanging off of it everyday. What is the best way to remove it?

I also have a hairy mushroom coral that wants to jump off of every rock I put him on. He seems to be content in the sand. Should I just leave it there or is there a way to make him stay in one spot?

 

[Scooterman]

Slime? You can try sucking it out with a turkey blaster. Mushroom, either epoxy it or let it be, me i'd let it sit a while where it is and see how it does.

 

[Beeba]

The slime is sort of a brownish stringy type stuff. I'll try that with a turkey baster when I get home from work. Thanks for the advice.

I've left the mushroom sit in the sand for three days but it is behind a rock and with the few corals that I have I hate the thought of one being behind a rock where it can't be seen.

 

[Scooterman]

Maybe try and move it into sight but still in the sand?

 

[Beeba]

The finger leather coral is still shrunk up. I'm starting to worry about it. What signs should I be watching for? (good or bad) How long do they usually do this? It has now been six days.

 

[Gordo]

Mine stayed withdrawn for almost 3 weeks one time. Just make sure the tissue looks healthy and solid.

 

[Scooterman]

What are your water readings, are you having any other problems that would cause this? Have you added another coral recently, maybe poisoning it?

 

[Beeba]

The tissue seems okay I guess. I'll keep an eye on it. All other corals seem fine so I'll assume it is just resting.

 

[Beeba]

It was the last thing I added. I checked the water and everything is in pretty normal limits. The ammonia and nitrite were up a little last weekend but after a water change and a new feeding habit it has come down. The only thing that is a little high is the phosphate. It has come down since the weekend. Yesterday I checked it and it was at .2. Mike has been a great help at getting my water conditions in check. THANKS MIKE! (just in case I forgot to mention it before)

 

[Scooterman]

Sounds good, maybe do another change to cause it to spark up, sometimes a little bump goes a long way.

 

[Beeba]

My finger leather is looking pretty rough. It is drawn in even more. Do they shrink in a lot? How can I tell if it is dead? Should I take it out? It isn't showing any sign of movement or expanding. It is still secreting a brownish slime but not a lot. I hate to give up on a $80 coral. Will it hurt my aquarium if I leave it in until I'm sure? My other corals are all doing great and my fish are active and happy.

 

[Beeba]

Well... the finger leather is dead. I took it out yesterday. Now I just need to figure out what happened. Perhaps when I was putting the new rock in it was damaged somehow. Not sure how but nothing else seems to be affected. Kind of sucks.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

 

[mattseattle]

awwww.....sorry about your loss. if you were closer i'd give ya a frag of my leather coral.

 

[Beeba]

This is a sweet gesture mattseattle but you know it wouldn't be the same. I will need some time to accept the loss before moving on.

1 mississippi, 2 mississippi, 3 mississippi, 4 mississippi, 5 mississippi... okay... I think I'm over it. Off to the LFS I go.

Thanks again everyone!!!

 

[fishermann]

if you had ammonia and nitrite problems just a week or two ago i wouldn't be in any hurry to be adding things until i was sure the tank is nice and stable. somethings do not tolorate ammonia or nitrites in any amount. i would let the tank rest for a couple weeks atleast.

 

[Scooterman]

Sory for your loss, was the Leather actually damaged? It is strange that everything else was doing fine & it alone died, I would hold off for a while before adding another leather or any coral.