Id/help request

[guitar8222]

I am having trouble finding out a lot about this merulina? coral I bought a month ago. I am concerned about the dark edges on the bottom two edges and the top parts rising up as you can see in the picture. The tops parts bother me because they look like a different coral. The dark spots don't seem to be advancing into the coral but the coral has been bleaching a little. It was not under a lot of light prior to my tank.

The top spires are dark red and has green grass like pieces that are coming out to feed. I don't really know enough about this coral to know what to do with it. The coral is orange with green valleys to it. I would love to get more info on this coral.

Also if the dark edges start advancing, how should I cut it off. I don't have any experience fragging anything like this.

Thanks!

Sorry about the bad cellphone pic.

[Wiskey]

Is there tissue on the majority of that plate that's light in color? Or is that mostly skeleton?

What is your lighting like? What are your tank perams? Are other SPS doing well in your tank?

Whiskey

[guitar8222]

There is tissue, it is just lighter. It was under 100 watt lights prior to my tank. I have two other pieces that are doing ok. I have a green slimer and some kind of thick cap like thing that I can't ID.

I have two 150 watt MH and two 130 watt dual actinic/daylight pc bulbs.
Temp stays at 80
no detectable Nitrates/trites or ammonia,
PO4 <.05 (not detectable)
calcium is staying around 440
8 dKH
Salinty 1.026 (w/refractometer)

Disclaimer: I don't have a skimmer on my system and I am doing weekly changes around 10%

[Wiskey]

You say before your tank it was under 100 Watts of light,.. what is it under in your tank?

Whiskey

[guitar8222]

I edited my post above with my tank parameters. I did leave it low in the tank for a week or so before I raised it up to the light. The back pieces on it are started to show more color than before.

[Wiskey]

What size tank is this?

Do you know if this coral was wild?

Whiskey

[guitar8222]

It is a 75 with a 30 sump.

I think it had to be a wild coral. I didn't pay a lot for it ($10) and my LFS has an identical piece without those spirals on it for $80. I think it came from them since this isn't a popular coral. No one at the lfs knows anything about the coral though.

[Wiskey]

Yeah - this is not a popular coral - and a quick google search reviels that only a few people carry it. If you like rare things then that makes this somewhat special

but! If your like me and just look for things that look cool - then the lack of information is just annoying

I really don't know anything about this coral specifically, but I can say that if moving it up made it bleach, then try moving it back down. Your perams look fine, I don't see anything way out of the ordinary, except that I suggest you look into a skimmer

Wild caught corals are sometimes tough to get to live,... they just die and there's nothing we can do about it,... or sometimes they get to the brink of death then make a turn around!

Whiskey

[Wiskey]

Oh - forgot your other question,.. to frag SPS I simply use a pair of edge cutters (Or wire cutters) and snip it off - but if the line of dead to living tissue is not advancing I'd be inclined to leave it alone, just to not stress it out any more.

Whiskey

[guitar8222]

Thanks for the help. Yeah it is annoying trying to find info about it. No one seems to really have any clue with it. From what I have seen though is that if/when it does grow out it will get pretty neat looking.

I am still not sold on the skimmer idea yet. The water changes seem to be enough along with daily filter sock cleaning. Maybe when I upgrade in a few months I will toy around with the idea of one.

[Wiskey]

A skimmer certinally isn't a cure all - but it does help to remove some junk from the tank,.. I figure every little bit helps

Best of luck! I hope it comes around for you,
Whiskey

[Fat Tony]

Lower the coral down, maybe even shade it a bit to let it get some of it's Zooxanthellae back (let it brown a bit) and then slowly start inching it up higher in the tank over several months. SPS likes really clean water, and will often stay brown if you don't provide the necessary cleanliness of the water. It's a nice piece whenever it comes back

[guitar8222]

Cool that seems opposite of my instincts but it makes sense. thanks guys for all of the help.

[Jadinop]

Merulina is a fleshy coral like Hydnophora and will benefit from direct feedings. At night, you should see short waving tentacles extended for feeding. I have always thought of Merulina as one of those corals open to the SPS or LPS debate.

Moving it down is a great idea because it looks bleached out and the tissue is retracted. Merulina does well under intense lighting normally but it does looks like yours needs to recover first. Good water flow is important otherwise detritus will buildup in the folds and cause dead spots.

Here is a pic of mine. Sorry it's a little old (Nov 2006) but it's current condition isn't as nice. I sold it about a year or so ago and recently acquired it back. It has browned out and receded on some edges but is currently recovering nicely in my frag tank. It's a slow grower in my experience. I would say it has maybe doubled in size in the last 3 years.