Pagoda Coral changing color

[edkao]

Hi,

I got a Pagoda Coral that is changing color in spots. I got it about a month ago. It was green/purple. Today I noticed near the bottom of the coral, the color is "peeling" off. Yellow is now showing thru. The polyps extends just fine while the light is on.

My research tells me that it likes dim lighting, and high flow. Mine is in a shady spot, and have medium to low flow.

My tank lighting is compact flourscent with 2x55W 10K and 2x55W 6K. 90 Gal. My water quality is fine.

What is causing the color change/loss?

Any thoughts is much appreciated.

Ed.

[dark horge]

Ed, can you post a pic?

Failing that, you have to decribe the situation better: if you can see ANYTHING peeling off, then you likely see tissue sloughing off the coral skeleton, which in turn may be bone-white or tinted from yellow to green by microalgae. Tissue loss is a very serious matter.

Of course, maybe you mean that the live tissue is intact, but that the color is merely fading (or bleaching) in some parts. Bleaching can be traced to many things, including light, temperature and infection. Bleaching can be a routine adjuctment on th part of he coral, or a sign of serious decline.

In large colonies of peltate and branching coral, and under certain conditions, it's not really unusual for the (somewhat shaded) tissue near the base to be paler in color than the light-drenched tissue above. Since a good deal of the color we see is actually the coral's zooxanthellae (symbiotic dinoflagellates 'farmed' in the coral's tissue), it makes sense that the little devils would be in denser concentration where there's more light to photosynthesize with.

I do think your research references may have led you a bit astray.

While Turbinaria peltata can be found at considerable depths where light is weaker, once in the aquarium it proves to be a shameles glutton for light. A great deal of the energy sources it normally has to draw on in nature just aren't there in a tank.

The reason they opt for high-flow situations (like the faces of drop-offs, etc.) in nature is likely for the increased amount of food they can snag per minute. Food is much scarcer in a tank, so whatever zip the coral can get out of zooxanthellate photosynthesis is precious. So, I would have recommended feeding your T. peltata with care, AND lighting it much better.

Right now, however, we have to look into the possibility of disease. If it's sick (on top of being malnourished), then curing it is the first priority.

So... a better descrip of the problem, perhaps.
Better yet ---a clear pic of the coral as a whole, and of the parts where the color is "peeling".

hth,
horge

[ckreef]

Tha Pagoda I had originally was only under about 5 inches of water directly under a 250 watt 10k MH. I gave that coral to a friend and it's directly under his MH at the top of the water column. It has always opened up with the polyps big and fluffy. And it eats like a pig.

Doesn't really help your situation but thought it might give you some insights on the lighting other pagodas are under.

Charles

[Alice]

My T. peltata is a pig for light and food also. When it was smaller, I gave it a go in my nano and while it was able to snag plenty of food, the light was not to it's liking (not enough) and it faded to yellow. I brought it home to the big tank and it recovered its nice deep bright green color in a fairly short amount of time.

Alice

[edkao]

I finally got a picture of the Pagoda.

I did find out my PH was low for a week. It was at 7.8.

Ed.

[dark horge]

That's tissue loss all right, and NOT bleaching.

I take it from the tone of your last post that the deterioration hasn't accelerated, so there's still a lot of hope. While your pH is low and could stand correction, you may need to try feeding and gradually upping light levels and duration.

You can try offering a small morsel of fresh shrimp (pinhead size to begin with) by touching it lightly to one of the polyps' tentacles, and letting the polyp grab it. Observe for any ingestion.

Now you did mention that polyp expansion ws normal with the lights on, so there's your opportunity right there.

If it eats, and holds the stuff down, we're in the game.

It will then probably get more and more adept at grasping and ingesting food, so you can then offer chow more frequently, or even try larger morsels.


Good luck, Ed.

[ckreef]

Not sure when that pic was taken (time of day) but just for reference: That is nowhere near normal polyp extension. WHith the polyps fully extended you really shouldn't even be able to see the base (plate).

Not sure if this post was really needed but I thought I would mention it just in case.

Charles

As an after thought. Sometimes stuff (detritus, sand ect...) gets down on the plate between the polyps. If left there it will usually cause some harm to the tissue after a while. Periodically I would touch the polyps (to make them retract) then I would fan my hand over the plate to get anything settled on it back into the water column.

[horge]

Originally posted by c_k_kuehne
Not sure when that pic was taken (time of day) but just for reference: That is nowhere near normal polyp extension. WHith the polyps fully extended you really shouldn't even be able to see the base (plate).

Not sure if this post was really needed but I thought I would mention it just in case.

The post is VERY much needed.
I just assumed the polyps had been made to go shy in order to show the damaged areas. Looking harder at the pic, I see that it's more likely a case ---as you suggest-- of polyps simply not extending far enough.

Excellent point, Charles.
That thing should look more like a bunch of upright mopheads being tousled by the current.

Originally posted by c_k_kuehne
As an after thought. Sometimes stuff (detritus, sand ect...) gets down on the plate between the polyps. If left there it will usually cause some harm to the tissue after a while. Periodically I would touch the polyps (to make them retract) then I would fan my hand over the plate to get anything settled on it back into the water column.

Excellent point #2.

[edkao]

Hi,

The polyps do extend out farther. Tonight I hand fed the Coral. The polyps grabbed the chopped up krill, a few actually ingested. However, I had to keep my sixline from grabbing the shrimp away from the polyps.

I do dust the corals and have not noticed any substrate on the Pagoda.

So, is there a better way to feed the corals? Techniques, tools, and type of foods?

Thanks for all the help.

Ed.

[Dad]

Ed,
here is an interesting idea for feeding....not sure how big your pagoda is, but this would keep the wrasse from eating the food first....
HTH
bob
http://thesea.org/asp/tubfeed.asp

[edkao]

The Pagoda has been eating for the past 3 days. However, the tissue loss continues. Am I just jumping the gun? Will the tissue loss stop soon? Or is there other thing I can do?

Ed