Leather problems

[Aaron Stillwell]

Hello all. My beautiful leather is not doing well. Attached are some pics. Any ideas what it could be and how to fix?

Water conditions are good accept for slightly high nitrate at 4.4. I did not have a problem about 2 months ago. Son dumped entire pellet food into tank when feeding. Did not tell me. Been working for past 2 months to fix. He has not been the same after.

 

 

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[Aaron Stillwell]

Let me rephrase that. In DID have a problem 2 months ago.


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[flooddc]

Leather normally closed /shrink and shred once awhile. From the photo, IMO, looks like it's starving. The hair algae might be absorbing nutrient from your tank. I'd remove those hair algae manually along with frequent water change also rub off some of the brown stuff on its foot.

[Aaron Stillwell]

Will do. I started getting a hair Algea problem. Been doing more frequent larger water changes to keep levels lower. I have reef roids to feed. How many times should I feed a week?below are my parameters.

Nitrate 4.4
Phosphate .26
Alk 9.5
Salinity 1.025
Ph 8.09

Last I checked magnesium and calcium where high. I don’t add anything due to frequent water changes. Use instant ocean salt.


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[flooddc]

I don't know about reef feeding as I never ever feed my corals. I do have lots of fish though!

My guess is that the hair algae is out competing your corals. Possibly the cause for hair algae was the result of the accident. Once hair algae are gone, your corals should improve.

[Aaron Stillwell]

Thanks. I just tried to remove by hand most of the hair Algae. Some of the stuff is stuck on so hard that I cannot remove without taking out the rock.

I did remove the leather to take a look at her. The bottom was totally necrosis and hard. I removed with a razor. Would hate to lose her. She was wife’s fav.


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[flooddc]

You can just cut off the bottom flesh on the coral. Use a toothpick and skewer thru the bottom end of coral. Then rubber band the toothpick to a piece of  rubble. It will attach itself to the rubble after a few weeks. 

[DFR]

Your levels all look fine with the exception of your phosphate which is a little on the high side.  This could be the cause of the hair algae.  
 

In relation to your coral, I would not expect a negative impact with those parameters.  Additionally, the photo shows polyps, it looks decently inflated, and is upright (not slumping over), so I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the coral.  How long has it been in your system, and how long has your system been running? 

[Aaron Stillwell]

Started it in Feb. 2023. The coral has been in since the last 4 months.


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[DFR]

I would think it’s getting adjusted to your system (which is still settling).  Just keep an eye on it for further shrinkage and keep us posted.  If anything, just get your phosphate down to less than 0.1 (this would assist with your algae).

Other members may chime in with other suggestions.

[nburg]

If you have hair algae, I would try a variety of snails or crabs to deal with them. I think your phos and nitrate are fine. Phos is a little on the high end but probably won't affect the coral at that level. If you starve  your algae to make it go away, you're also starving your corals. 

 

Leathers can close up for months on end and open up one day looking better than ever. If it looks like its snotty or shiny, it will shed. If it gets black, then that means its dying. 

[Aaron Stillwell]

Thanks all for the help. I think it’s related to the accident in the tank. Phosphate and nitrate skyrocketed. Been trying for months to get it back to normal. When it was normal (phosphate close to 0) she looked great. I will keep up the water changes and keep an eye on phos and nitrate


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