Need Leather Help

I put my Leather in the 10th of this month and he got knocked over and closed up (turned a weird purplish color) and hasnt been out since. I was told to keep an eye on him and it could takes weeks or days for him to open up. How long can he live closed up like this?

The mucous coat he put over himself has taken on a plastic thick filmy look. I was told to keep him in medium flow and it would keep the coat off of him to a degree or he would suffocate from it. Will he?

I was also told they were very easy to frag just do it out of water. I was told I could cut the whole head and off and in a few months the head would grow a new stalk and the old stalk would grow a new head. Is this also true?

Is this what I should be doing at this time?
Or just let him set and wait it out. I am sorry but I totally freak out on these things and do not want to kill him out of my ignorance. Please give me a clue as to what is going on. Thank you all very much for your time....

 

Hi Danny, Yes, you could frag it as you mentioned, but I would only do that at this point in a situation where half of the leather coral is diseased or dying. I agree that you should get it up in some good medium flow, like 10 inches in front of a koralia #2 powerhead, to blow the slim skin off. Check your water temperature and salinity, etc also. If it's polyps don't come out in another couple of days, then I'd start to worry.

 

beforeAfter
this is what it looks like when you have to save a coral by fragging, its a lot but alive.

 

Hi Cold shot , if you put him in on 10th of this month , do you mean 10th of last month?

if it was 10th of this month its only been a couple of days, in which case I believe it just normal molting of shedding behaviour and I have had various leathers and toadies that can close for a week at a time prior to shedding a layer of skin

if it was the 10th of last month, and it spent some time open, then fell over , how long has it been closed for - the description you have given is very good, in that mine also took on a more rigid appearance

If this was my coral, I would not frag at this stage, because Im sure it will be OK

but if ever you do want to frag it, in order to have more than 1 coral, or it gets so big that it needs to be fragged or its against the tank walls or other corals, you can frag these easily

using the method you suggest above or

for toadstool leathers
cut a ring about 2cm wide around the circumference of the coral- cut this ring into sections. band each section gently onto a piece of rock or frag disc - place in an area of low flow, and within 2 weeks the frag will have attached to the rock or disc and the band can be removed

for finger leathers
if coral starts to open but show areas that are rotting, flaking etc
cut known healthy section and secure to rock or plug similarly to above

Steve

 

It was the 10th of this month and has been but a few days I dont mind dumping money in this hobby but I dont want things to die because of me. When I first started my LFS sold me an anemone before my tank was even cycled. He is in it for the money where as I am in for the life and the beauty of it all...I just dont want anthing to die because I didnt know what to do...thank you all for your time and I will set him closer to the flow on my Koralia #3...all i have a 3 and a 4 and the four is what blew hm over and it is now in my mixing barrel with 2 other smaller powerheads. I really have no use of the 4. it is way to much for my 55...the three covers the whole tank great but I would have been better off with 2-2z...thnx again...I still want to hear more from others about their experience with these animals....I know it is still early in the game I just want everything to be happy and healthy. How will I even know if he likes the spot he is in?

 

temp is 77 salinity is 1.024 no2 and 3 are 0 ph is 8.3

 

Hi Coldshot
the question at the end "how will I know, if he likes the spot he is in"

when this dormant period is over ( Im now sure its only shedding and probably more to do with new water conditions than with the falling over)

once the coral starts to open up and extend its polyps, normal behaviour IME is it will open for a few weeks and then closed for up to 1 week (sometimes only a day or 2)

if it seems to be spending more if its time closed then open, then its telling you either, it does not like its spot or the water conditions

lots of people have these corals , so hopefully lots of feedback for you
Steve

 

those are good numbers

Steve

 

You may want to tweak the heater up to 78-79, that might help. Hold on to the #4. I have a #2 and #3 in my 55, and now they don't feel like enough flow anymore.
I had a "devil's hand" leather when my tank was about as old as yours, but it didn't make it. Sometimes, even with the most experienced coral keepers, you don't do anything wrong, but the coral ends up dying anyway. Hope that makes you feel better about it, but there's still a good chance that everything will be fine with it. As a preventative resort, you could give it a freshwater dip with a few drops of Lugol's iodine solution.

 

I say the same, Its more likely due to new water and environment. Its gonna take a bit to get used to new water flow, lighting, and water conditions. I think the more you mess with it the longer it will take for him to open up. Make sure you have at least 3-4x his size to allow for him to stretch when he does open cause he will sting or kill other corals. It's really sad when you have to move him after he is happy.