Problem with leather and Xenia

Lately my 12g Nano has had an outbreak of red cyano and some kind of yukky stuff that looks like pond scum-??? floating on the surface and sticking to the corals. I had recently added a small coral frag (green zoa polyp) and a small reddish-orange starfish (with black dots).

My yellow coral and pulsing Xenia in particular are doing badly. The Xenia might just be going through a cycle- I've had this happen with PX before. It's stalks are elongated and it's pulsing tips are shrinking/shriveling. I have treated with iodine, SPARINGLY, although I've read that I really shouldn't have to do this-? True or not?

It's funny, I've kept yellow leathers before, and I remember the little polyps that come out, (you know, the little hairs that make it fuzzy looking) but this one has never had those. I've been doing water changes 25-50% weekly. Salinity is around 1.07, and I have to do a Ph/Ni/Na etc. water test tonight after work.

I did something that you guys will probably yell at me for: I used a soft toothbrush (lightly) to get some of the cyano off the leather. I probably killed it, because now it's doing worse than before. It looks shriveled and sad. Any suggestions?

As far as the red cyano, I read that scarlet leg hermits are the only ones known to nibble on it. I'm hesitant to get these, because I was trying to keep my reef hermit-free (since the reef will be transferred to a seahorse tank, and no crab is really seahorse-safe). Is there anything else I can do for these problems except monitoring water perameters and water changes (and maybe NOT brushing my leather)?

 

Are you sure on the salinity Catdancr6?
most SW tanks are between 1.023 and 1.026 - so 1.07 seems wrong did you mean 1.027?

the toothbrush to clean it would not IMHO and IME be enough to kill it
if its not opening fully Id look at either water quality issues or lack of flow
lack of flow may also account for the cyno problem and increased flow should ensure that does not occur again

PH - Xenia can be funny and does not do well in all tanks - but if PH drops to low they fair even worse

check you PH - and water surface movement - if there is scum or was scum on surface that means your gas exchange was going to be poor so C02 will build up and that in turn drops your PH

get a picture up of your tank FTS and lets have a look, may just need to relocate some things or redirect things to alleviate all the issues your having

Steve

 

Welcome to 3reef! Copy what I have below and try to fill it out as best you can. If you dont know the answer, just let us know and we can try to figure it out. This will helpus be able to help you better.

A picture(s) will also help.
PARAMETERS (important)
Temperature:
PH:
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
Salinity:
dKH/KH/Alkalinity:
Magnesium:
Calcium:
Phosphate:
Test kits you own:
Liquid or Strips:
Brand Name:
Are they Expired?:


Tank size?
Estimated total system?

Reef, fish only or, freshwater?

Current inhabitants? What and how many?
Clean up crew?

How long has your tank been set-up?

Substrate.
Type?
Depth?

Live rock?
How much?
Did you recently add some?

Filtration.
Type?
Protein skimmer?
Do you wet or dry skim?
Maintenance schedule for filtration?
Drilled tank/hang on back overflow?
Sump/refugium. What's in it and how much?
Macro? What kind?

Lighting.
Lighting type?
Age of bulbs?

Feeding
What?
How much?
How often?

Water change schedule.
How much?
How often?
What salt brand?
Water source?

Additives/supplements used?

Do you have a ground probe?
What kind of flow does your tank have?

Any additional info you would like to share.... Including anything different that you have done/not done.

 

Steve- Good point on the surface scum. I have my returns and 2 k-4's "ripping" the surface.
Yellow leathers are a strange breed. I have one. I thought it would stand up like a Toadstool, but no matter how many times I re-spotted it, it would flop forward. It literally pulled its trunk out of putty that hardened it into a rock. I just let it go, and it is as healthy as can be. I will add pics when the lights come on later. I think the red cyano is due to lack of o2 also. Definately need a true reading on salt.

 

CRAP, that was a typo... sorry. I did a water change, and it's now at 1.024.

I think I'll move some things around, the yellow leather is at the bottom left front of the tank, and the only flow source is at the top right back! I could add a powerhead as well. Definitely need to test perameters. Thanks so much for the suggestions!

 

post a pic of the algea plz

 

make sure your water changes are the same salinity as in the tank! Especially with a tank that small. If the water your taking out of the tank is at 1.025, then MAKE SURE THE NEW WATER IS AT 1.025. This is important, as your putting your entire tank through HUGE salinity swings doing it the way you are now.

 

I'm confused now... if what you're saying is the case, then what about fresh water top offs after evaporation? I use distilled (sterile) water for top offs, and everyone seems to be fine after adding it to the tank. Due to the fact that the Nano is open and the lights are shining directly on the surface, evaporation happens frequently because of the heat.

My new tank, BTW, is fitted with a glass top, and top offs/water changes will be done in the sump- so hopefully this is only a temporary problem, as the Nano is just temporary housing for my critters until my 40g tank and sump is plumbed.

 

i think you might be confused. A water change is completelly different then a top off. A top off you use fresh water, no salt added, as only the water evaporates from the system, NOT the salt. When you do a water change, you take out SALT WATER and replace it with SALT WATER with the same salinity.

 

Here are the pics I promised. Notice in the first one how it faces directly at you.



Now from the side you can see it actually flopped forward. I re-mounted it three times to face up, but this is how it wants to be. Really healthy looking, so I'll leave it alone.