Help...emergency?...leather bailed on all polyps. Fluorescent green polyps turned brown and fallen off.

[therootcause]

This coral has been in my tank for 10 months, it sheds about every 45-60 days. This doesn’t look like normal shedding. The skin is losing coloration

and the polyps have fallen off. The only thing I’ve changed in months is that I added carbon last night. Everything looked good last night I just wanted to add the carbon before I started cutting up some other corals today.

 

 

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[Yachaq]

I am not aware of carbon producing such a drastic change in corals. How are the other corals doing?

Did anything else change? Have you checked the water parameters?

[therootcause]

Nothing else has changed and all other corals are open with polyps extended and normal coloration (softies, LPS, and SPS).

 

water parameters are 1.025, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, ammonia 0.

 

alk and calc I will check tonight but the major params are normal.

 

30% water change coming tonight with reef crystals

 

thanks for replying 

[Cris]

My leather has been doing the exact same thing as yours and its coloring was off-I moved it's placement in the tank and tried a couple of other things.  Nothing helped.  I moved it to a different tank two days ago and now the polyps are coming back out again.  I am thinking something in my other tank was bothering it.  Cris

[therootcause]

Thanks. I do have another system I could move it to but I thought that may induce more stress. It hasn’t begun rotting or losing flesh so I’m leaving it alone for now. As of typing this it has expanded to its normal daytime size but has no polyps.


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[Cris]

I was worried about stressing mine out more too but it was starting to look worse and I figured, what do i have to lose?.  It looks better and has polyps so I think something in the other tank had to have been bothering it.  I will be curious to hear what you decide to do.  Cris

[therootcause]

I was worried about stressing mine out more too but it was starting to look worse and I figured, what do i have to lose?.  It looks better and has polyps so I think something in the other tank had to have been bothering it.  I will be curious to hear what you decide to do.  Cris

An hour ago there were no signs of any polyps. Now there are polyps emerging seemingly from nowhere. Like I said in the first post, I’ve seen this coral shed several times but I have never seen it drop all of its polyps.


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[Cris]

Wow-that's great news-leathers can be really weird sometimes!

[Origami]

Leathers can behave oddly at times.

Be aware, if your water was somewhat yellowed from dissolved organics, that a fresh load of carbon can clear it up quickly. This, in turn, can result in sudden clarity and, for some corals, light shock. If the carbon wasn't rinsed well, tiny carbon dust particles can also irritate some corals.

I've found leathers remarkably resilient and durable. Sometimes waiting a week or so is all that's needed.

[treesprite]

Glad to hear it's recovering. 

[therootcause]

Hey everyone. Yep, the leather is looking as good as ever despite its horrible horrible the other day. I’ve watched it open and retract several times since it dropped all of the polyps and it’s full in size and the polyps are fluorescent green.


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[treesprite]

Now you have to post an updated photo.

[Yachaq]

2 hours ago, treesprite said:

Now you have to post an updated photo.

+1

[therootcause]

Hey, here’s an update!


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[Yachaq]

Looks great!!

I have a Willow Leather and it is very temperamental. Being a beginner, I did not know what the "debris" I found from time to time at the base of the coral were, but your post made me realize that Mr. Willow was doing this from time to time. Borneman's book on Corals has an interesting description of this behavior.

 

[Sharkey18]

That's an amazing recovery!