New Acropora

[Donmarco]

I've taken care of reef tanks for 3 years, starting with a 50G and then adding a 120G. My largest tank uses MH lighting, twin Vortech pumps, a chiller, etc. Both tanks are stable and everything--fish and coral are thriving. I've gradually stepped up to more demanding corals over the past three years and now I'm ready to take the plunge and add an acropora. I know they are notoriously difficult to keep and are susceptible to all types of disease, that they require high lighting and turbulent waters.

 

I've found two beautiful acros that I'll add to my tank on Friday and I'd appreciate a little advice from those who are caring for them regarding acclimation, placement, and care. For example, would it be helpful to dip the corals after acclimating them and before adding them to my tank, or would that be too stressful? How long would you recommend drip acclimating them? Should they be placed close to the VorTech pumps (I have one pump on each side of the tank, both set to short pulse mode) or far away from them? I've read that they can sometime consume other corals, so does anyone have suggestions about placement? I'm raising a birdsnest coral, frogspawn, yellow scroll coral, xenia, open brain coral, zooanthia, hydnophora, psammacora, euphyllia, two clams and a red bubble tip anemone. I am considering attaching (with reef putty) the acros to a rocky slope high in the tank near the birdsnest and zoos, or near the yellow scroll and hydnophora.

 

I don't want to lose these beautiful specimens so any advice will be appreciated.

 

Mark

[ctenophore]

Hi Mark,

 

You should make it a rule to dip every single coral that goes into your tank. My new favorite coral dip is called Coral RX. It is very gentle on the coral, so dipping during acclimation is nothing to worry about. Keep an eye out for tiny light brown flatworms (acropora eating flatworms) that may come off during the dip. If you see these I highly recommend not putting the coral in your tank, and taking it back to wherever you got it. Also look for tiny red dots, commonly called redbugs. They are easier to treat for, the dip will typically knock them all off. Dip the corals in a small white bucket or bowl which will make it easier to see any pests that fall off during the dip. Swish the coral around in the dip or use a turkey baster or small powerhead to blow water into the branches.

 

As for placement, high light and lots of flow are pretty much standard for nearly every acropora species. Don't let them get near hydnophora or any of the LPS (brain coral, euphyllia, etc), acropora will get eaten by those corals. Same for the anemone.

 

Good luck and enjoy!

[reefhunter]

Mark, make sure your tank has good magnesium, calcium and alk. I only temperature acclimate my acros, then dip them, then into the tank. I use revive and I closely inspect each piece for any sort of bites/bugs/eggs/etc. I do not drip acclimate them. High lighting, strong indirect flow (powerheads will blow the tissue right off coral if placed in strong direct flow)

 

As Justin said, the biggest concerns when adding acropora are Acropora Eating Flatworms (AEFW) and redbugs. AEFW are the worst bugs so if you see them do what Justin said. Most experienced reefers say quarantine coral because of eggs that may not be killed by dips... but not many people have a QT tank up and running, especially one that can keep sps happy.

 

What corals are you getting?

Edited December 17, 2009 by reefhunter

[Donmarco]

What corals are you getting?

 

I'm going to buy two Walt Smith corals; a lime green acro and a neon green, yellow and purple stag.

 

I'll make a trip to Aquarium One and Congressional Aquarium tomorrow to see if either has Revive or Coral Rx.

 

No drip acclimate? The materials I've been reading insist on a careful acclimation for acros. Of course, these never mentioned drip acclimation, but they each suggested prolonged adjustments. So, just temperature acclimate, dip and set in the tank?

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Mark

[davelin315]

I would temperature acclimate and then pull it out of the bag and let it sit for a minute or two and slime up a bit then put it into the dip. Don't let it dry out, though! The only thing you really need to make sure of is that you don't shock it with pH or extreme temperature differences, at least that's how I feel.

 

Where are you getting Walt Smith corals? Online? Got a picture? You may find that you can get things that are the same and cheaper here within the club (but you'll have to join first!).

[Donmarco]

Received two beautiful acros today. Thanks for the advice. I temperature acclimated them and then gave them a dip and afterward put them directly into the tank.

 

I've come across some information that I didn't know before and now I wonder if the acros won't have difficulty adjusting to my tank. I consistently run my specific gravity at 1.025, but I've learned that the dealer runs his tanks at 1.031, but actually when I tested the water that the coral was packed in it read at 1.034. I know acros are really sensitive to chemistry changes. Should I therefore expect problems?

 

Thanks.

 

Mark

[reefhunter]

well the correct thing to do in that situation is drip acclimate them or slowly acclimating.... by adding small amounts of your water and discarding the water in the coral container until you slowly reach your salinity.. so it isn't a shock.. but you should be fine. Are the polyps out? Why does he run his salinity so high?

[Donmarco]

Don't know why he runs his salinity so high except that he said he has better luck with it. He also said that natural tidal waters run higher, but that didn't seem right to me. From all I've read it seems that natural seawater runs 1.023 to 1.025. Is that right?

 

Well, it's too late to drip acclimate them now, as they're already in my tank and have been for several hours. I can't tell if the polyps are out, but it doesn't appear that they are. I hope they make adjust well. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see.

 

Mark

[davelin315]

I don't think that the change in salinity will make that much of a difference, although I can't for the life of me figure out why you'd run it that high, you're basically burning your corals with that type of hypersalinity. There were some studies that indicated that coral eggs that were subjected to hypersalinity very briefly were much stronger corals in the long run, but I don't think that keeping them that high for the long term is a good idea. I think that the Red Sea is a bit higher, but not that high. If you read different materials, the salinity in that ocean runs between 1.026 and 1.031, so 1.034 is pretty darned high. Who knows, though, maybe that's why the Red Sea fish are so much more colorful.

[Donmarco]

Well, both acros are showing signs of stress. The larger stag has already developed a large white streak from it's base and halfway up its length. The smaller, which was a neon green when I put it in the tank yesterday is now a white/light green. It looks like I'm losing both.

 

By the way, at what gravity do you keep your reef tanks? Most of the good books I've collected, such as Delbeek and Sprung, Fenner and Borneman suggest a target around 1.025, but no lower than 1.023. I've not run into one that suggested 1.031.

 

Thanks.

 

Mark

[davelin315]

Mark, post some pictures up of the corals. What you're describing could be just about anything - could be bleaching, could be RTN. Depending on what it is, there's a lot of actions that you could take to try and stem the loss. If it's bleaching, you have to look at a few variables, including the fact that they were just shipped and are new to your system (light, temperature, nutrients, flow, etc. could all have an effect). If they are RTNing, then you should frag it up and try and save the pieces that have no RTN. From what it sounds like, it's bleaching, as the stripe up the side is not indicative of tissue loss which typically starts in one place and works its way around the coral. If it is bleaching, make sure you are not burning them with your lighting (what do you have?). For example, I have 400W MH that put out tons of PAR so my readings at the top of the water and at the bottom are very similar and there's typically more PAR than most other tanks, even under 27" of water. I often burn corals when I add them to my system because of this so am trying to change the way I add them as I've lost a few due to bleaching and then burning...

[Donmarco]

Here's a low-quality photo of the stag coral. I've watched it loose tissue throughout the morning. I decided to frag it, hoping to save part of it, but it doesn't seem to have done very well with that. The frags are losing major amounts of tissue and my fish are having a feast.

 

Sad to lose two such beautiful corals in so short a time. I suppose next spring or summer I'll try to buy another.

 

Mark

[davelin315]

Here's a low-quality photo of the stag coral. I've watched it loose tissue throughout the morning. I decided to frag it, hoping to save part of it, but it doesn't seem to have done very well with that. The frags are losing major amounts of tissue and my fish are having a feast.

 

Sad to lose two such beautiful corals in so short a time. I suppose next spring or summer I'll try to buy another.

 

Mark

RTN, snap the tips off of that far away from where the tissue is missing and glue the frags down.

[Donmarco]

RTN, snap the tips off of that far away from where the tissue is missing and glue the frags down.

 

Thanks. Actually I tried that. Used the Dremmel and cut off four pieces about 3/4 to 1 inch above necrosis, then glued them down on a small piece of LR and replaced them in the tank. After an hour or so there was significant sloughing of what I thought was tissue, but might now have been. Today there is no sign of tissue loss and the stag frags remain fully colored and looking, at least for now, healthy. Attached is a picture after fragging.

 

Mark

[davelin315]

If it had enough energy to slime up, which is what it sounds like it did, then it also probably helped itself out by getting rid of whatever was on the surface causing the RTN. One thing to keep in mind is that when you frag after RTN, sometimes it's a good idea to glue them on separate plugs, just in case there's something on one of them that was causing the RTN in the first place.

[Donmarco]

If it had enough energy to slime up, which is what it sounds like it did, then it also probably helped itself out by getting rid of whatever was on the surface causing the RTN. One thing to keep in mind is that when you frag after RTN, sometimes it's a good idea to glue them on separate plugs, just in case there's something on one of them that was causing the RTN in the first place.

 

Absolutely, but I was dealing with a acro that was suffering from RTN during a blizzard and probably would not survive if I didn't frag it right away. Unfortunately I didn't have any LR rubble or plugs to use so my only option was to glue the pieces to the same rock. Not the ideal, I know, but better than nothing.

 

Mark