Green star Polyps

Hi all. I have had a piece of combo rock for a week now. It was various polyps and different types of mushrooms on it to include a hairy mushroom which is way cool by the way. It has green star polyps and this is why I originally bought the piece. At the LFS it looked great, polyps were extended a good bit, bright and green. Now it's just the purple mat and tube I see. The third day only a few began to poke out but my aggressive cleaner shrimp scared them off I think. They haven't been back since. None of them open. I've heard these are very hearty and hard to kill. My salt is low for coral I believe but I only have soft, it's 1.022... Temp is constant at 78. Water quality is good. Within Parameters. Phosphates a bit high at 1.5 ... any suggestions. Could it be flow? My tank has a lot of flow. Or perhaps lights? I have a two bulb T-5....Thanks guys.
Nick

 

Don't do anything. It can take a new coral up to a week to acclimate. It is normal. Mag and Alk along with PH are keys to keeping coral thriving.

 

hi. your green star polyps are fine. when they are moved/ bought they can take a week or more to fully open. yes, they are very hardy and spread fast enough to be considered a nuicence. put them in a place where you wont mind them spreading. i just took a razor blade and a toothbrush to a spot in my tank yesterday to kill a small population of them. mine are climbing all the way up my glass. what size tank do you have with only 2 t5's? as for flow, they will accept a wide variety, just dont have a powerhead blasting them directly. i would also get your salinity up to 1.025

 

Thanks guys for the info. Ski, my tank is only a 26g maybe 20 inches in height. I've been over a week now so I'm starting to get worried but the shrooms and zoas seem to be fine so I'm trying to be patient.

 

Here are some pics

Two pics. Here you can see the purple w/o GSP and a few in the other shot...

 

Anyone care to see pix?

 

That is a really nice combo rock!

It does take time for them to recover from being moved, just give them time, you will also want to gradually bring your salinity to around 1.025 if you plan on keeping coral, you can do this by adding saltwater at 1.025 as your top off water. Bring it up overtime so as to not disrupt your system too much

 

Thanks! I have been adding saltwater for my top off lately. But my problem is my LFS is so low and that's where i buy it from. I don't have the space to mix myself. Also, with the cold weather and my heat going I'm having to top off three times as often as normal. So I'm consistently having to add fresh ro. I think I might be losing some salt through creep. But I'm not sure. Anywho yes love the piece myself! thanks.

 

Don't worry Nick, like others have stated, they are fine. I'm giving you fair warning, put it in a place you want it to glow. They grow VERY fast & if now trimmed can overtake the area. Mine is scaling my back glass like I wanted it to & is now growing on my overflow box. DITTO, nice combo rock..

 

I'm confused here. First you say you top off with salt water, that is a no, no...then you say you use Ro water?