Soft coral problems

[Alexander]

So I have a Kenya tree coral that has grown really fast over the last few months and now it does not seem to be doing so well. The trunk of it is fading in color and that does not seem normal. I have no idea what is causing this. My filter did stop running for a couple days when i was out of town and my roommate is clueless so it didnt get started till i got home. but my fish didnt seem to suffer at all from it and soft corals are pretty harty from what i have been told . As you can see by the pictures, i do have a bad hair alge problem. I dont know if that has effected it or if it is too big for the trunk to support. Any suggestions and knowledge would be greatly appreciated.This is my first coral and i have no idea what to do.

[jhnrb]

Clean the algae away from the corals trunk. check water parameters. maybe do a water change if needed. keep us posted.

[Alexander]

how exactly do I go about cleaning the alge around the coral since I am assuming I can't really take this piece out and scrub it with old water during a water change since the coral is there. also I did a water change lwss than a week ago.

[fishbait]

try using a turkey baster to blast some off. then take a tooth brush and scrub around the area. of course it is best to do this right before a water change to suck out all of the debris you will be knocking loose.

[bobby]

You can pull it out during a water change and scrub in the old water.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by bobby

You can pull it out during a water change and scrub in the old water.

even with the coral on there? do you think the coral is too big at top too. is there something I need to do there? and if it starts doing better will that discoloration go away or is it dying at the bottom and no way to get it back?

[bobby]

What do you mean too big at top? Just shake it softly in the tnak and it will shrink up then just take it out. It looks like its spliting to me but I cant say for sure. It might be streching to get passed the algae I dont know for sure.

[fishbait]

i think your'e right bobby. my xenia looks like that when it's splitting.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by fishbait

i think your'e right bobby. my xenia looks like that when it's splitting.

when you say that, you mean the base discolors when it splits? is there anything I need to do if this is what is happening?

[bobby]

If it is spliting just let it that is natural fragging. When it splits you will then have two corals.