Toadstool advice

[eskimoigloo]

Put a toadstool in my tank on Friday, and he hasn't been happy since I put him in. I thought it was my water, but it wasn't... I'm now suspecting he doesn't like my lighting (T5's)? He improved slightly when I moved him from mid tank to sitting on the bottom, but still isn't happy. He is only partially inflated and keeps changing colour, first he went purple, then he went pink, and now areas of him are turning white http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif see picture below.


Chris.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56/eskimoigloo/DSCF2030web.jpg

[Tetley]

Hi,

Your lighting is ok.

Just give a little more time, try not to disturb.

HTH

Ian

[Paul P.]

As Ian said, the lighting should be fine,

leathers are notorious for sulking for a while when first added to a tank or when moved and sometimes they will sulk for no apparent reason

don`t be surprised if you see a slimy mucus coming off it soon, this is perfectly normal and it will go through this shedding phase on a regular basis to rid itself of any debris or algae that is on it`s surface

hth

[eskimoigloo]

Ok, I will leave him be for now, if he's still not right by Sunday I will be back for some more advice!

Chris.

[celtic fish]

funny that,ive got one doing the same at the minute,he has been fine for 2 months and all of a sudden hes gone all sad on me, ive noticed some white bloches appearing any one got any ideas kev

[Tangman]

Hi leathers will shut down and shed a mucus coat every few weeks or so, and if you constantly move them they can shut down for weeks on end. I was once told by someone that if you get a tooth brush and stroke the leather gently it helps them to shed. I have found the best way is to leave them and let them recover on there own. HTH. Eric

[robbie]

And make sure that it is in a place with a reasonable flow across it as this will help with the shedding.

My toadstool shuts down around once a month for anything from 1-3 days.

[eskimoigloo]

Just learnt that the Phosguard i was running is aluminium based and not good for soft corals? could this be the problem? if so how do i get the alu out of my water?

Chris.

[Tetley]

Just learnt that the Phosguard i was running is aluminium based and not good for soft corals? could this be the problem? if so how do i get the alu out of my water?

Chris.


Hi Chris,

The advice given to you on UR is sound advice. (Try polyfilter to remove Alu)

In the words of "Douglas Adams" - DON'T PANIC.

Give it time. When you go to the meet on Thursday - ask the members they no doubt will echo the advice.

ATB

Ian

[eskimoigloo]

Alas, the toadstool it died yesterday! Am working on a phosphate reduction program at the minute, as that is all we could put it down to!

Chris.

[Tangman]

Hi Chris. Sorry to hear your coral has died, if you are only keeping softies i would not bother with phosphate remover as it is not as critical as keeping SPS to use it. As long as you do regular good quality water changes you will be ok with softies as they are more forgiving to nitates and phosphates, i have all soft corals and have only used Rowaphos once it filled my tank with orange gunge and made a right mess so i have not bothered since. HTH. Eric

[Kev]

Eric. Good point. I never use phosphate remover in my largely soft coral tank.

Kev

[eskimoigloo]

Well that's the only reason we could think it had died... so I obviously need it in there! In the fish shop it did open out again but the damage had already been done and it just dissintegrated... so it was obviously something in my water or the lighting (highly unlikely). Everything else in my tank except phosphates are fine.

[Kev]

How high are the phosphates?

I have 2 leathers, both doing great. I have not measured phosphates in my system, and have no real concern on this issue, and would be pretty surprised if this was the leathers demise. I do regular water changes mind you.

Kev

[Blue]

Hi,
regarding the phosguard, I think this may help you in deciding for yourselves if this product is any good. Personally I prefer Rowaphos to them all, but, I have had no adverse affects from phosguard. I have four tanks in the shop that are linked, with various corals in them, all softies and no troubles at all I'm afraid. I use it correctly, washing first in r.o. and keeping an eye on phosphate levels. I remove the product when the readings are zero. Rowa phos seems to me to be faster acting and for me it is a product that has been around for a long time. The choice is yours.

[robbie]

I Find the Rowaphos sponges great if you just want to run this for a short time as they are also impreganted with Carbon, which helps clear the water. Does not make any mess as all the media is impregnated in the sponge and is very easy to remove when you have finished with it.

[Blue]

Nice 1 Robbie.
I have also used these, they are great for nano tanks also.

[Blue]

More info on phosphate removal.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

[robbie]

Cheer Chris,

BTW will be up at the shop on Tuesday to collect some clean up crew I have ordered from James at Reefcritters

How are the mushrooms doing ?

[Blue]

all gone but 1 mate, thanks

[Buster]

Cheer Chris,

BTW will be up at the shop on Tuesday to collect some clean up crew I have ordered from James at Reefcritters

How are the mushrooms doing ?

My mushies (red) are doing great thanks robbie.