rocko918 March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 What effects Polyp extension on Acros? I have this great acro that used to have really nice purple polpys. But they have not come out in over a year, Acro grows fine, I have sold frags of it. People who have the BRK Aussie Acro, do you have polyp extension? Its this one. I will see if i have have a current pic of it somewhere and update this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almon March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 Irritants will cause poor extension such as fish and parasites, and don't forget the small yellow crustacean with a red patch on his head; affectionately known as redbug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 I vote "nobody knows". Same as you - I've had some that never seem to have much if any extension & grow just fine. It certainly seems random as it's in the same tank as others that do???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 I shall take some macro shots of the acro tonight to see if i have any redbugs. I am pretty sure i am clean but you never know to you check. I dont think i have any fish that would bother it. Mostly tangs and a blue jaw trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 Lighting seems to be a factor for me. If I run lower kelvin bulbs the extension goes away until the bulbs age. When I run 20k's the polyps seem to be out more. Because the most polyps are clear I don't think they have any pigment protection from the lights so they stay hidden. Like what Almon said, I have had angels and a hippo tang pick at polyps. Once removed it took a couple of months but the polyps came back out. Do your polyps come out at night but not in the day or pretty much never? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 no angels or hippo tangs. I have not checked to see if they are out at night. I also have a bunch of frags in the frag tank with no PE either. They are under t5's. I could also put a frag in a more shaded area to see what effect that might have. So far i am going to shoot some macro shots to see if i have any pest and check for PE when the lights are out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 ive seen pests, alk swings, ph swings, heat, lighting, cleanliness of water etc etc all with claims to polyp extension... have you changed Carbon or GFO lately, sometimes the dust will upset them. ive found an LED flashlight is the best way to see redbugs etc...the extra white makes the yellow/red glow a little better...same with macro lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 I was having alk and ph swings when i changed out my media in the calicum reactor, but they PE was not out before then anyway. I dont run carbon or GFO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 hmm, you checked for stray current or anything.... i had a broken heater do that once...didnt notice the electricity till i put my hand in with and open cut from a ziptie in my car.....with no cuts i didnt feel anything....and yes i had a grouding probe.. if you want to give me a frag(haha or trade) ill see what it does in my tank....as long as you dont find any pests that is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 i did have stray current about 2 months or more ago. Even with the grounding probe. it was a power strip that my lights were plugged into. Removed that. I will bring a nice frag of it with me next week after i check with my macro lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott711 March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 have you checked your Phosphates? When mine were high most of my sps did not have good polyp extension. Since bringing it down, I have great polyp extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 I think first thing is water quality (PO4, NO3 and such), the light... I switched my MP10 to wave mode from random crest mode and PE is much better... They sway back and forth Maybe there is something disturbing about your flow??? Also, is it only that SPS colony or others have retreacted polyps as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 I have not checked my phosphates in a long time. The reason why is i have a 20 gal refuge and it full of cheato. How would i be able to tell if i have phosphates if the cheato is soaking it up? I have a closed loop on an oceans motions with a barrcuda on it. it really just this on colony. most of my other acros have good PE. My Oregon tort has nice polyps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 At least you eliminated a couple of possible reasons. I would concentrate on that one colony than. Inspect it at night to see if there is any extension. Some of my very shy SPS frags have full PE at night time. I usually inspect the tank with an LED white flashlight. As someone suggested earlier, flashlight's bright beam makes everything pop up. On the other hand, sometimes SPS go thru periods like that, at least based on my experience. Have you tried to frag it off and put the frag at some other place in the tank. That might help reach a solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 Is there another coral nearby which might be causing it to be un-happy? As long as the corals are growing I don't worry much about PE, most only show PE at night anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 I get good extension on mine and really no matter where it is in the tank, that thing holds its color up high and even down on the sand bed. Love that coral. I did notice in the beginning it was not growing and or having extended polyps. After I noticed I had redbugs (which you can see by just looking really hard) I did an interceptor treatment and that coral took off and looked better than ever. I also had high phosphates back then too. I don't think just having cheato fuge means you can't have readable phosphates either, let alone high. I would say check the phosphates and look at the coral really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 Is there another coral nearby which might be causing it to be un-happy? As long as the corals are growing I don't worry much about PE, most only show PE at night anyways. There is a milli right next to it but not touching it. It use to have nice PE and it has sweet blue polpys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 I get good extension on mine and really no matter where it is in the tank, that thing holds its color up high and even down on the sand bed. Love that coral. I did notice in the beginning it was not growing and or having extended polyps. After I noticed I had redbugs (which you can see by just looking really hard) I did an interceptor treatment and that coral took off and looked better than ever. I also had high phosphates back then too. I don't think just having cheato fuge means you can't have readable phosphates either, let alone high. I would say check the phosphates and look at the coral really good. well i am glad it looks good for you. it is one of my favorite corals. did you have redbugs before you got it from me? :O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 well i am glad it looks good for you. it is one of my favorite corals. did you have redbugs before you got it from me? :O No clue that was back when I was just starting to get into the coral stuff, I only noticed them last year because I was treating the corals for aefw and staring at them constantly. At least if you have them it's a very simple fix! I have a Hanna checker if you don't have any phos kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 I will shoot some pics tonight and see., I don't think i have red bugs but will check . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almon March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 No clue that was back when I was just starting to get into the coral stuff, We all participated in unsafe coral fragging when we were newbies. Then we got red bugs or flatworms and learned....the hard way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 (edited) This thread reads like a veritable boogie-man list of reefkeeping! Flatworms, redbugs, nitrate, phosphates, light, chemical coral warfare, coral nipping fish, parasites, alkalinity, PH, water clarity, carbon, GFO, stray current, broken heaters, bad power strips, inappropriate lighting, water flow... Nearly all boogey men accounted for. Someone should implicate UV. Then Chip can rush in to the defense of UV. Oh, and ammonia, nitrites, and copper. And cats peeing in the water. That one'll get ya every time. Oh, scratch that, I already mentioned ammonia. In my opinion, we don't really understand it well. (thus all the suggestions...) Edited March 27, 2012 by extreme_tooth_decay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 We all participated in unsafe coral fragging when we were newbies. Then we got red bugs or flatworms and learned....the hard way. Ha yea I never fragged stuff when I was new but sure collected stuff without knowing what to look for. In the end I learned a H-E-double hockey sticks of a lot but man was it mentally painful. And now I have a tank with no room for anything to grow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 March 27, 2012 Author Share March 27, 2012 (edited) Well it looks like i have More PE then i thought. No Red bugs either. Here is a shot i just took of the coral in question. And just for good measure i took a shot of my Oregon tort (whats left of it) And my Raspberry Acro Edited March 27, 2012 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind March 27, 2012 Share March 27, 2012 They all look nice and healthy. I bet when you look tonight you will see more PE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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