Green Nepthea

Ok I need some help:

40 gal breeder
250 20k MH
80 deg F
Skimmer
Hang on Ref w Cheato

I have a green nepthea that I just bought along with an open brain. I had my water perams tested at the store 2 weeks ago before I bought the coral. I was told they were wnl. I don't have a test kit I probably should get one. Anyways I have done a 50% water change last week. To no avail the nepthea (which was 12" when I bought it) is now 6" and is hunched over and looks withered. It extends but the fingers are very slim and it doesn't sit up right it just falls over. Other corals I have: 10 head frogspawn, 1 head frogspawn that I have grown from a frag the size of a nail head, lettuce montipora, open brain, zoas, palys, green star polyps, riccordia. All corals are doing great and growing well. The LFS told me that nepthea like slow flow, but now that I think about it there was a power head right next to the one at the store. I just added a power head so I'll see how that does. Does anyone have any exp w nepthea? I feel if the power head doesn't solve it, it will be a total loss : (.

 

Welcome to 3reef

If you just bought it give it time to acclimate to your tank. How long have you had the nepthea?

 

agreed with above

plus a couple of additional thoughts

1) if the parameters are tested as Wonderful - why the 50% water change? as that amount of new water may have caused the nepthea to close down, in order to release the fluids it has internally and then will inflate thus it will be in equilibrium with surrounding water

2) lighting - what was it under at the LFS? I would guess T5s and as such it needs time to adjust to your MH lamps possibly again this would account for the deflation

3) get an image up if you can so we can asses the health of the coral at present

Steve

 

I did the water change because I couldn't figure out what else I could do. Within an hr of acclimating to the tank it just hunched over : (. Water change didn't help. It was under 10k mh lamps and VHO actinics at LFS. I will get a pic soon, hopefully by tomarrow. Now my powerhead keeps falling off the glass. This is a disaster. I am going to take my water in for a test tomarrow at lunch time and I will get specs to post. It was been in the tank for 2 weeks, the brain coral is doing awesome and I acclimated at the same time, they were in the same tank at the lfs.......

 

the deflating and hunching over is very normal for soft corals
this can last as little as 1 day (following day open) but its not uncommon for them to stay this way whilst adjusting to the new enviroment for a week or more

you want to check out magnet mounts for your power head
all of us that have used suction cups , have experienced that problem at one time or other - magnet mounts are the solution and since swapping to magnet mounts (even did some DIY on power heads that did not have magnet mount option using superglue to fix a magnet onto the sucker plate after suction pads where pulled out)

Steve

 

Update**

I did not get a pic yet, hopefully I can get my camera back soon so I can take one. After adding the power head the fingers of the nepthea puffed up but it still hasn't opened all the way. Also I wedged the stem down in some rocks so it cant fall over. (Is that a good idea?) I looked at the stem today; I had to cut it from its original rock because the foot was starting to rub off and was getting every where. (1 week ago) I did it outside of the tank in a stainless pan with a very sharp knife, clean cut. The stem is still eroding and getting worse daily. No brown jelly or black necrosis just falling apart. Is there something I can apply to stop this? Should I frag the branches before its too late? And how would I stop the same thing from happening to the frags? Ugh this is my favorite coral and I don't want to lose it...

 

I really do hate to see this, as it sounds like this has not gone well at all. I can not claim to be an expert on Nephtheae. However, I do have a bit of experience with "leathers" (I have about 15 or so of them, some of which are actually Nephtheae).

I will agree with everything that has been noted previously, but would also like to add a couple of comments.

1) Most people can not distinguish a Nephthea from a "leather" (sarcophyton, sinularia, flexibilis). In fact, the only way to distinguish some of them is by their interior structure, which most people don't ever see (for good reason). If we are talking about something on the order of a dendronephthea, these are a bit different than stereonephthea or other related critters. Quite honestly, although gorgeous, many of these should never be brought into the trade. Survival rates are not even mentionable. It is discouraging to see them in aquaria, as they almost never survive.

As yours is green, I suspect we are talking about something more akin to the prototypical "leather." Excellent critters, hardy, and stunning.

2) Most "leathers" prefer higher current. I am not clear where the opinion about them preferring low flow was derived.

3) 250w over a 40g tank is quite a lot of light for many leathers. I have a neon mumps leather that won't come out at all if it is in a tank with more than 100w over it. He/she will stay dormant (closed-up/shriveled) for months if left alone "in the light." Of course, I have some that simply love light, apparently as much as they can get. This appears to be "specimen-specific." However, you do have quite a lot of light there for the average "leather," especially given the intensity of a 10k bulb.

3) Leathers hate to be disturbed. If at all possible, leave it alone for a while.

4) If you have cut the base, its current status can not be known without seeing it (a picture, at least). The base of leathers becomes hardened, and to all appearances no longer "living." Star polyps, etcetera, will even grow up the sides of leathers at their bases. If you have cut this, there should be little issue (aside from the mess it is making). Of course, tissue in this state will not attach to a rock.

However, a certain sign of death of a leather is its "coming apart." In this case, it would be the normal tissue of the leather that is disintegrating. This is generally fatal, and untreatable. Even necrosis (black spots) can be removed with facility. But, a leather that is coming "unglued" is very near its end. In my unfortunate experience, fragging/salvaging would do little for it.


What is critical here is a picture. There is almost no way anyone could make the determination of your issue without seeing one.

It is very important to note that, if your "leather-like-nephthea" is coming apart, it will make a huge mess in your tank. It is not something I would ignore. It could come completely apart in a matter of hours. Thus, making a diagnosis would not be necessary, as you may have an unfortunate answer in very short order.

If you have any questions, I will be more than happy to help you in addressing them. Again, it is not certain that I can answer them. However, I will do whatever I can. Private message would be the most efficient/effective means, as I might overlook any update here. We could then post the details here, as others might be interested in following along.

 

Pics

Ok these are some pics. I didn't take pics of the eroding of the stalk because I really don't want to pull it out and screw with it anymore than I have to. The Nepthea was 10x bigger when I bought it no joke. There are 2 pics of the nepthea. And one pic of the brain coral just to show how well the brain is doing because they came from the same tank at the lfs and were acclimated at the same time to my tank.

 

Well, I am very happy to say this.

I don't see a serious issue here, at all.

This guy/gal looks fine to me.


If it were me, I would leave it alone, if at all possible. My guess is that you have cut part of its tissue that shouldn't affect it much. I would try to keep the "debris" cleaned up (where he was "falling apart.")

It is hard to tell much from the picture about this, but I would keep an eye on the right side of it. I suspect this is nothing to be concerned about, but I would just make sure the discoloration doesn't "do anything strange."

Please do provide an update when it is warranted. I personally would like to see how this comes along. I suspect others will as well.


P.S., You have quite a lot of light for the R. Florida, as well. You could probably save a few bucks in electricity...and sunscreen.

 

I agree. My buddy has a giant Nepthea, and it's directly in front of a powerhead. When he cuts frags off of it, it doesn't even close up, just slimes a little.

I'm, wondering if someone tried to superglue it. It's a very resilient coral, and can take a lot of abuse. Very pretty softie.