coral adjustment?

[diver]

I put a branching hammer frag in my tank last night. the thijng immediately sucked in, and I thought it looked like it was turn into grape jelly. It started leaking white stuff that looked kinda like the mucous coccoon that a wrasse sometimes sleeps in.
I mean it was all wrinkled and sucked up, like a 90 year old woman's mouth without her teeth.

I almost took it out of the tank before it exploded..

Half way through the night it was the same. This morning it looks like it is 90% normal and will be OK.
My sg is between 023 & 024, and ph is 8.0, ammonia is 0.

What happened to this guy?
I think I almost killed him.

 

[reeffreak]

Always slowing acclimate the corals over a period of at least an hour.Not only temperature but your salinity levels and water chemistry.It looks like it has adjusted now but keep that in mind in the future.

That's the only educated guess I could come up with...good luck!

 

[kyle]

it probly was temp change

 

[yote]

Im gonna agree with Reef.As a general rule,you should drip acclimate everything you add to your tank,right down to your CUC.
Quick changes in chemistery can kill your livestock.

 

[diver]

lesson learned about coral acclimation.
I hate to lose livestock.

and, just what is a CUC?

 

[yote]

CUC=clean up crew

 

[Doc]

there will always be some kind of slime reaction when a coral enters a new tank. It is adjusting its body chemistry as well as reacting to the other corals that are in the tank. Kinda like creating its own territory and defending itself. normal to see. Just follow reeffreak's advice about acclimating in the future

-Doc

 

[diver]

Thanks, Yote, Kyle & Reefreak.
If I can ask, what do you reccomend for a CUC?
I currently have nassarius 7 snails (that I rarely see), 7 small hermit crabs-6 blue leg & 1 red, & 1 sally lightfoot.
And I have cleaned the brownish algae off the back glass a couple times, even before I got the new lights, because it looks crappy. I don't have a mountain of rock to hide it.
Is it beneficial? should I be leaving it?

 

[reeffreak]

I don't clean the back glass-just the front and sides.About 20-25 astreas or trochus snails should help with the brown algae.

 

[Doc]

mexican turbo snails do a great job on the glass and rocks to destroy algae. the rule of thumb is 1 mexican turbo for every 10-15 gallons of tank volume

-Doc

 

[diver]

thanks again Doc & Reeffreak, I will see what the LFS has.
BTW, does the hammer coral sting fish?
Assuminmg he recovers nicely, I put him away from anything not able to get away. But now I wonder about a fish that gets too close.

 

[Doc]

No. their sting is for other corals. Nems sting and can kill fish. elephant ear mushrooms will eat fish if they try to host them, the coral closes up and digests them. other than that, corals are safe with fish....it is the fish that are not always safe with corals - yummy!

-Doc

 

[tizapolgar]

Agree with all of the above...

But watch out for the Sally Lightfoot. I've seen/had them take swipes at fish in search of a meal. All crabs - bar none - are opportunistic feeders, and if they get the urge they'll go for small or medium sized fish.

Then again...some people have them for years without problems. I know that Biff hates them, tho!

-Tim

 

[Bifferwine]

Tiza is correct! I haaaaaaaaaate sally lightfoots. I used to have two that came with a cleaner crew, they were just little guys. But they grew FAST. Then they caught and ate two red firefish and a sixline wrasse named Peaches.

They will become predatorial on fish as soon as they get big enough to catch them.

I also agree with other's suggestions to add more snails. Trochus, nassarius, astraea, cerith, turbos and conchs are good bets. If your tank is stable and has been over with it's cycle for at least a few weeks, a brittle star or serpent star makes a good addition too.

I, personally, pass on hermits. Hermit crabs will kill your snails for their shells and will steal food from your corals. They're just not worth it.

 

[diver]

Thanks again for the insight....I got a couple turbo snails last night and a clump of culerpa. A little here, a little there keeps me happy &I get my fix.

I actually have 2 brittle stars, a black/ gray one that usually stays in a rock but waves it's arms around, and a red one with 2 short arms( I got him that way). They are pretty cool, I catch the red one out at night all over the place, even on the glass.

I am concerned about the SL crab issue, I had heard similar stuff after I got it....my bad. And we do have a cool little six line wrase, Brian, that I would not want to be a crab snack.

Catching the little SOB will not be easy....I'll tear up everything!
Do they make little crab traps?