Encrusting Monti help

[FishyReef]

Last weekend I picked up a sunset and superman monti frag, along with some softies (2 zooanthids and a pipe organ frag), a meteor shower, and 2 acro frags. I placed everything on the bottom of my 10g tank to acclimate to the light. The tank is lit by a Par38 bulb which hangs about 2.5" feet from the bottom of the tank. The tank is currently bare bottom so light reflects off the bottom as well. Parameters are stable and I've been changing out 1-2 gallons twice a week. I have not tested my calc or mg, but I would presume since I am doing biweekly water changes they are okay - they are okay on my 90g and I am using the same salt mix for both (seachem reef salt). Temp has been fluxuating with the heat and I've been using a fan off and on throughout the day to keep the temp between 80-81. It crept up to 82 once when I was gone for several hours earlier this week, otherwise has remained pretty stable. Both the sunset and superman monti's have lost color and look bleached, but everything else looks just fine. I don't see any pests on them either. Any ideas what would be affecting these two frags and not the others? If it were a parameter issue, I would think the acros would show problems before the monti's, and if it were too much light, I would think the softies would be retracted - but both the acros and softies are just fine.

 

[fastrd400]

Are you still seeing polyp extention on them at all? What light were they under when you bought them?

 

[FishyReef]

I am seeing some polyp extension, though not nearly as much as when I got them - and the areas where they've lost color aren't consistent, such as from top down or bottom up, it's just all over the place. They were housed under knock-off LEDs hung about a foot and a half above the water line and the frags were on a rack close to the top of the waterline. I believe the knock off's weren't dimmable either. I do think I have more blue in my lights than the knock-off's. Unfortunately in my 10g, it's either in the light or total shade, I don't have much in between....

 

[fastrd400]

How far below the light are they? I'm guessing the light from your Par 38 is more intense than tbe knock offs were. I k.ow I am getting 300 plus out of mine when checked with a par meter.

 

[chichimom79]

Pretty sure my PAR 38 is what bleached my fuzzy mushroom. Good luck! I hope they start doing well for you!

 

[FishyReef]

They are about 2 and a half feet from the light. Yeah, the Par38 is super bright, much brighter than the knock off's, I'm sure! The sunset has barely any polyp extension left. The superman has more polyps left, but it is also hard to tell on that one because there was some nice cyano growth on the frag plug that may also have been on the coral but looked like polyps when I first got it. I got them at a frag swap, but from a guy whose system I've seen a few times and had previously seen where these particular frags were placed in that system. I'm thinking I should move them to the bottom of my 90, where the light is far less bright....

 

[chichimom79]

Yes, I agree. They will probably do better in your 90.

 

[FishyReef]

Still debating about moving them to my 90 - I've got some hitchhiker bugs in my 10 and until I know for sure whether they are good guys or not, I am pretty reluctant to transfer anything to my 90. In the mean time I've raised my light another 4-6"

I think there is also one other possibility..... my urchin. Caught him on the acan/favia this morning and some of its border tissue is now gone. Strong possibility he also ate the tissue on the monti's but left the polyps since they would have retracted when he climbed on them. More polyps on the sunset came out yesterday in areas that lost color, so I am thinking this could be what happened. Needless to say, my poor urchin is going to a new temporary home at my LFS today just to be on the safe side. Such a bummer, I love his coloring, but as long as he's going to continue to nom corals he's got to go. Apparently his three months in solitary w/o corals didn't do a thing to deter his taste buds. lol