Can someone help explain something?

First I got a leather coral today as I love them and it has shriveld up and turned a light purple, is this normal when entered into a knew environmrnt?

Second can someone explain what corals are safe to mix and what not to.

I currently have 1 sea mat, ricordia, regular brown and grn mushrooms, tiny candy cane, feather dusters, and some hitchhiker corals and I think some small polyps. Is this unsafe because I'm really worried.

 

Hehe, there is really no such thing as mixing corals that will not sting or fight with each other. It's in their nature. You are only safe if you mix coral of the same species. You can avoid fights by distancing them from each other.

 

Having that been said, regarding your leather shriveling up, leathers will from time to time do this as a way of possibly ridding itself of detritus(also will form a mucus). Also if the lights go off or something brushes along it or chemical warfare is going on, they will alot of times shrivel up and retract their polyps.
I really wouldn't be too concerned with it right now unless it continually does this and doesn't open up fully.
Nice answer RICKZTER, by the way- Always competition going on for space/food/domination by corals, thus the need for toxins/nematocysts/sweeper tentacles and the like...
Always have to be aware of placement of corals with regards to one another-and even taking it one step farther, you have to be aware of water flow as well. Some corals will shoot out nematocysts(such as Galaxy coral) into the water column(paleagic areas of your tank) in hopes of killing neighboring corals. Another good example is the Sinularia sp. soft corals. They will release mucus into the water and if it touches other corals it could possibly injure if not kill the unlucky coral...Just becareful with the powerhead placement etc. and the coral environment!

 

I just added the leather last night so I am to asume it will go back to normal in a few days. I have spaced my corals at a distance from eachother.

 

Running carbon 24/7 also helps keep coral toxins down to a minimum.

 

Oh That's Good To Know About The Carbon Because I Run Mine In My Filter 24/7.

 

It amazes me how in the last 10 yrs it seems many got away from the use of a good carbon. Sure it will remove some wanted and needed elements from the water but on the other hand it removes many far worse and unwanted nasties from the water . And what is removed can be replaced with supplementation of a simple multi element replenisher.. or a water change that many do. I myself am not a water changer to lazy so carbon is a must for me..

 

a little adjustment time can be nothing to worry about- Leathers are fairly hardy and easy to take care of. As far as mixing 3 out of 4 of my local reef stres will tell you not to mix leathers with sps corals as they can be detrimental to them- this shouldn't be a problem for any of the livestock you have listed.

 

Well the leather is weird. one day it starts opening then the next it starts shrinking. I have tried sending more flow towards it and it opens up then it closes and the polyps on it go away. it's still purple too and half the size it was in the store. none of my corals have taken this long to adjust? with my lighting do you think it would be happier higher?

 

Nemo79, one thing about leathers I have noticed is that they do not like change. When I change the water movement in my tank my leather will shrink up. However when you allow them to acclamate to the wate change they will open in all there glory.