Question
open brain
I have had my brain coral for only about a month. Everything was great, he was eating on a regular basis. My ph, calcium, and alk, are all excellent but in the last week he has taken a turn for the worst. I have a maroon clown, a foxface and a damsel, and some snails, other corals but no one is touching it. Any idea what has happened to cause the massive recession and what I could do to save it? Please help....
AnswerHi Lindsay,
Unfortunately he looks pretty bad at this point. This looks to be a combination diet and water quality issue. Check your water quality for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate... even low levels are extremely toxic to these fellas. A sudden nitrate spike even if only for a few days and only in the 10 to 30ppm range, can cause this kind of damage pretty quickly even with proper pH/DKH, alk, calcium etc. Keep in mind you should be using a supplement that also contains strontium and iodide for Open Brain Corals/Trachyphylliidae. Also look at your lighting. How many watts per gallon do you have? How long each day are they on? If you arent around 4 or 5 watts per gallon for 12 hours a day. They do not require the powerful reef lighting most other corals require(unless the tank is more than 2 feet deep) but do need stronger than typical flourescents. How many times a week are you feeding? I wouldnt recommend feeding more than twice a week, and some dont recommend feeding more than twice a month. Feeding meaty foods as well as planktonic supplements if the system is not large enough to sustain a healthy population of plankton.
I would do a water change immediately, increase the water flow, just a bit, and give it a day or 2. If no improvement, you can try a dip in iodine(this is only an emergency treatment). 1 tsp to 10 gallons of water(DO NOT JUST ADD TO YOUR MAIN TANK!) and dip him in it for 1 to 3 minutes then replace him in the aquarium. Let me know how it goes or if you have any other questions. Good luck.
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