HELP

[00nothing]

the other day i added a bubble coral and now my whole tank looks like ass my cleaner shrimp died and the bubble coral looks like a naked old lady it sagging so bad the bubble was a little sick before i got him but he was bouncing back

how do u know when a coral is dead

[Matt Rogers]

Sounds bad.
What kind of lighting do you have?

[markgsiy]

Hello There.. I thought I might just jump into this one as I too have a problem with my bubble coral. I have had one for about a year now and the "bubbles" have shrunk quite a bit. In fact , half of the Bubble coral has shrunk right into itself (in its hard body) but the other half is slowly coming up but never really "blooms". Is this a dead bubble coral ?

Don't really know what to do as all my other corals seem fine and healthy. This one is just not blooming as it should.

Anyone know whay is happening ?

[amcarrig]

00nothing and markgsiy, can we get a little more tank info from you? Water test results, temperature, lighting, etc.?

[markgsiy]

These are my water tests results as of today.

PH 8.6
Nitrate 0.00
Ammonia 0.00
Phosphate 0.2
Silica about 1.0
Currently using phosphate sponge to remove silica
Temperature 79-82 F
Lighting dual CF 55W plus 1 30W Actinic
CF stays on for 12hrs
Actinic stays on for 14hrs
Last Water change approx 10% last week using "Tap Water Filter" Filtered water

Will take a picture of it and post it next.

[markgsiy]

Sorry for the extra post... here is a picture of my bubble coral. Keep in mind that I have had it for about a year now and this is about the worst it has ever looked.

[Matt Rogers]

Ugh Mark, that Bubble is hurting!

Judging by the clam, I take it you have it near the bottom. In my old tank, I had mine a couple inches from the top and near the overflow. It liked it there. It also seemed to like iodine as I recall. I had a halide lamp too.

Point is, I think you should move it.

Hope it's not too late.

[Brian_B47]

Hi there

I have to agree with Matt. I think the problem is not enough light. I too have a bubble coral, but under a 400 watt MH bulb and 3 VHO's at 95w. I also have read that they light moderate to high light and feed at night when their tentacles are out.

[markgsiy]

Thanks ppl. Right now it is about mid-depth. It is on a rock outcrop I made for my clam as there is not a lot of current here. I am not sure where to move it though as the higher it goes, the more current there is as I have 2 powerheads that circulate water at the upper 3/4 depth.

I may have to move to MH as I only have CF's right now, although I had the impression that Bubble Corals like these don't need high intensity light ?

Iodide might be the problem as I have actually stopped using it as I thought Iodiide was the reason for my algae bloom. I think I will go back to using it. BTW, I have been using 2ml Iodide per week on my tank, is this enough or should I increase it ?

Thanks you guys.. this is one great site with a lot of knowlegable ppl !!

Mark

[Matt Rogers]

Mark I'd get an iodine test kit as too much over NSW can be bad too from what I hear (excess molting, etc.).

I'd still move that coral up too.

Good luck!