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12-07-2002, 12:42 AM
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#1
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Plankton
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: California's Death Row
Posts: 45
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leather appears to be molting
I have a small finger leather frag that has not been doing too well since I got it. It has been in the tank for about two weeks and is still very droopy, dark purple in color. It has finally attached to the rock it was sewn to, but now it looks like it is molting. I know it is not a snake, but a thin layer of its skin (Does it have a skin?) is peeling of. Looks like there is cob webs stuck to it as the pieces of (skin) drifts with the current from the powerheads.
I can't imagine that this is good, but what do I know, I'm new at this.
Should I pull it out of the tank, or give it a little longer to come back to life?
Tank parameters seem ok, and everything else in the tank is thriving, I don't want to pull it out if the is a chance it will survive, but I don't want it to leave it and and have it die and hurt other things in the tank.
Any advise is appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob
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12-07-2002, 04:20 AM
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#2
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Crazed Fish Whisperer
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Kansas City, MO
Posts: 2,578
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The molting should be fine. Corals will do this to expell algae and other things from the skin. Esp. now that he has attached to the rock, once he molts he should be fine. One possible reason for his coloring right now, is cause he as expelled most of the fluid in his cells. Once he absorbs water again, he should get back to a more normal color. My leather does this all the time.  And it is growing quite well. |
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12-07-2002, 05:58 AM
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#3
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Good boy
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Marietta, GA, USA
Posts: 7,889
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Put the coral in some current to help clean it off. As long as there isn't any decaying tissue then the coral wiill probably be fine. It's not uncommon for a leather to retract it's polyps for an extended period of time.
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12-07-2002, 10:01 AM
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#4
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Plankton
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: California's Death Row
Posts: 45
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Quote:
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As long as there isn't any decaying tissue then the coral wiill probably be fine.
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I'm new at this, what will the decaying tissue look like, is it obvious, or is there a subtle clue I need to look for.
Other than the molting and the coloration, it looks fine to me.
Thanks again
Bob
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12-07-2002, 10:07 AM
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#5
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Good boy
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Marietta, GA, USA
Posts: 7,889
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It will be obvious. The tissue will start falling apart or it may develop a hole in it. Many times you can save the coral by cutting away any dying tissue. I wouldn't be too quick to pronounce it dead though. Can you get a pic of it?
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12-07-2002, 11:53 AM
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#6
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Ghost of reefers past
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Southern Oregon, Way West of Dimples ;)
Posts: 25,141
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Most of the soft corals like Sarco, Lobos, and the like will shed mucus from time to time, at one time I had a group that seemed to go into pout and shed cycle at full moon, while another group seemed to trigger on new moon phase.Sloughing of the slime coat is normal but chunks falling off or holes in tissue is not a good thing. Some corals will self frag tho, and drop little pieces that seperate from the main coral. Esp commom in smoe of the tree type corals, tho I had a leather that used to drop babies all the time
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12-07-2002, 06:14 PM
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#7
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Southern Ca.
Posts: 315
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The leather Bob is refering to is a small frag out of my tank. I had an experience with another finger leather(same as Bobs) several months back. This particular leather looked fantastic one day< and over night went to heck. It was shedding tons of garbage, and in a period of about 32 hours looked like death warmed over. I was advised by people at REEFS.ORG to get it out and trash it before the sheddings destroyed the water. I truly thought it was a gonner and there was no going back  I still wonder what would have happened if I had waited 
Harpo |
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12-07-2002, 07:48 PM
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#8
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Plankton
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: California's Death Row
Posts: 45
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The leather definitely does not have any holes in it. The trunk is in one piece and actually looks healthy (compared to how it has looked the last few days that is.) Still molting, but it does appear that the polps are opening up slightly on the areas that have already shed its skin. Color is a little paler than yesterday, which should also be a good sign. It is located is fairly high water flow, and good light.
Note to HARPO,
Your quote is exactly why I posted the question here and not on that other board. Even with my very limited knowledge, I knew some of the advise from there was bad.
I will keep an eye on it and report back in a few days.
Bob
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12-07-2002, 08:30 PM
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#9
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Big Fishy
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Martinez, CA
Posts: 568
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I had a toadstool leather with a hole in the top. Squirted it with a turkey baster daily for a month. It recovered and now, two months later is splitting where the hole was. I do squirt mine with a turkey baster to help them get rid of the mucus. Seem to be most happy if I do a large water change monthly.
Good Luck,
Bill |
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