When Corals Die...

What happens to corals when they die? Do the bleach? I assume it's
different for hard or soft corals?

The coral in question would be a zooanthid.

I was at an LFS today for the first time. Although they had a fair
selection, their equipment was very under sized. And their prices seemed
very high to me.

The wanted $52 for ALL assorted corals. I had my eye on this zooanthid with
a bright orange center. But the rock they were on would fit in your hand,
the colony of zoos were a little bigger than a quarter with the individauls
being a little larger then the diamer of the cap of a pen. Not to mention
half of them were closed and almost white and that this rock had green
bubble algae on it. I wanted to rescue the poor thing but for $52, they can
stick it where the sun dont shine. I offered $20 but the lady said only the
owner could change the pricing and he wont be in til Friday.

Anyway, will introducing half dead coral cause an ammonia spike?
I was counting on the deadones to just bleach out and be done. Is this
correct?
I am sure the cause of death is inadequate light and poor water quality. I
bet the nitrates were really high. The water had a brown tinge to it.

What do you think?

~Mort

I used to have a job a long time ago, in a pet shop, I would take the "half
dead" corals home into my tank to try to save them, I only saved one, a
green brain, but the dead area's never recovered. I only "saved" the parts
that were still ok.

in Summary, if it looks "half dead" it most likely is dead. Its like being
half pregnant.


As for the price Who ever heard of One price for all ???

Steve

"Mort" wrote in message news:OJGPb.2841
What happens to corals when they die? Do the bleach? I assume it's
different for hard or soft corals?

The coral in question would be a zooanthid.

I was at an LFS today for the first time. Although they had a fair
selection, their equipment was very under sized. And their prices seemed
very high to me.

The wanted $52 for ALL assorted corals. I had my eye on this zooanthid
with
a bright orange center. But the rock they were on would fit in your hand,
the colony of zoos were a little bigger than a quarter with the
individauls
being a little larger then the diamer of the cap of a pen. Not to mention
half of them were closed and almost white and that this rock had green
bubble algae on it. I wanted to rescue the poor thing but for $52, they
can
stick it where the sun dont shine. I offered $20 but the lady said only
the
owner could change the pricing and he wont be in til Friday.

Anyway, will introducing half dead coral cause an ammonia spike?
I was counting on the deadones to just bleach out and be done. Is this
correct?
I am sure the cause of death is inadequate light and poor water quality.
I
bet the nitrates were really high. The water had a brown tinge to it.

What do you think?

~Mort

but the dead area's never recovered. I only "saved" the parts
that were still ok.

in Summary, if it looks "half dead" it most likely is dead. Its like
being
half pregnant.




I'd say about half of the colony is definately gone then. But the other
half still looks ok/pretty good.





As for the price Who ever heard of One price for all ???



Not me. I've seen ranges of assorted corals like, the ones in this tank are
all 29.99 and the ones in here are all 39.99 and THESE are all 49.99.

But never have I seen 52.00 or any one price for ALL corals. Not only is it
a silly concept but the price is way too high.

~Mort

there is this place in the Florida called "Panhandle Pets" that has a one
price for all corals. its 35 bucks and goes for anything they have, be it a
2 stalk shriveled up almost dead Xenia or a 4 lb multi colored zoa's rock.

sometimes its a good price, sometimes not.

kc

"Mort" wrote in message
m...
but the dead area's never recovered. I only "saved" the parts
that were still ok.

in Summary, if it looks "half dead" it most likely is dead. Its like
being
half pregnant.




I'd say about half of the colony is definately gone then. But the other
half still looks ok/pretty good.





As for the price Who ever heard of One price for all ???



Not me. I've seen ranges of assorted corals like, the ones in this tank
are
all 29.99 and the ones in here are all 39.99 and THESE are all 49.99.

But never have I seen 52.00 or any one price for ALL corals. Not only is
it
a silly concept but the price is way too high.

~Mort

With zoanthids, it can go either way. I've got some that responded perfectly
and did quite well. Others looked great and shortly thereafter withered away.

A small cluster that dies away will be consumed by the cleanup crew and won't
affect water parameters.

When hard corals die, they bleach first of all their zooanthellae, and then
green or brown algae will begin to grow on the skeleton. You'll note hermits
and snails on the branches looking for food where the rest of the live coral is
left alone.

I think you need to wait for the owner to come in and talk about a price
reduction. I offered a low price on a bleaching table Acropora, but the store
wouldn't budge from $100. Later I heard it died. Glad I didn't buy it! Btw,
that store closed its doors last month. Uh-oh, looks like they should have been
a little more reasonable.

Marc


Mort wrote:

What happens to corals when they die? Do the bleach? I assume it's
different for hard or soft corals?

The coral in question would be a zooanthid.

I was at an LFS today for the first time. Although they had a fair
selection, their equipment was very under sized. And their prices seemed
very high to me.

The wanted $52 for ALL assorted corals. I had my eye on this zooanthid with
a bright orange center. But the rock they were on would fit in your hand,
the colony of zoos were a little bigger than a quarter with the individauls
being a little larger then the diamer of the cap of a pen. Not to mention
half of them were closed and almost white and that this rock had green
bubble algae on it. I wanted to rescue the poor thing but for $52, they can
stick it where the sun dont shine. I offered $20 but the lady said only the
owner could change the pricing and he wont be in til Friday.

Anyway, will introducing half dead coral cause an ammonia spike?
I was counting on the deadones to just bleach out and be done. Is this
correct?
I am sure the cause of death is inadequate light and poor water quality. I
bet the nitrates were really high. The water had a brown tinge to it.

What do you think?

~Mort

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

Algae will not grow on a stony coral until it has actuallly lost tissue.
Many/most corals can easily recover from a bleaching (expelling their
xoozanthella)event. Its when they actually lose tissue, is when they are in
real trouble.. Many people confuse bleaching and and tissue loss and causes
more confusion when they are looking for help. Bleaching can be helped with
certain treatments, that will not help a coral from tissue loss, and visa
versa. some treatments that may help in tissue loss can harm a coral that has
simply bleached and would otherwise recover.

When hard corals die, they bleach first of all their zooanthellae, and then
green or brown algae will begin to grow on the skeleton.


Rod Buehler
www.asplashoflife.com

"Mort" wrote in message om...

Not me. I've seen ranges of assorted corals like, the ones in this tank are
all 29.99 and the ones in here are all 39.99 and THESE are all 49.99.


Are you by any chance referring to the Living Seas Aquarium in Park
Ridge, IL?

They tanks with these labels on them, and I've always wondered whether
it was a good deal or if it was just a gimmick ...

Fortunately for me, I don't lose too many corals, but every time I've had a coral
bleach a few branches, it was white and the tissue was just gone. I don't know
if my hermits are just incredibly smart and rush over to pick it clean or if they
just happen to be there at the right time, but I've almost never had anything
bleached come back.

Marc


Rod wrote:

Algae will not grow on a stony coral until it has actuallly lost tissue.
Many/most corals can easily recover from a bleaching (expelling their
xoozanthella)event. Its when they actually lose tissue, is when they are in
real trouble.. Many people confuse bleaching and and tissue loss and causes
more confusion when they are looking for help. Bleaching can be helped with
certain treatments, that will not help a coral from tissue loss, and visa
versa. some treatments that may help in tissue loss can harm a coral that has
simply bleached and would otherwise recover.

When hard corals die, they bleach first of all their zooanthellae, and then
green or brown algae will begin to grow on the skeleton.

Rod Buehler
www.asplashoflife.com

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

Fortunately for me, I don't lose too many corals, but every time I've had a
coral
bleach a few branches, it was white and the tissue was just gone.

Thats the point I am trying to make.. the corals that have done what you
described above are not simply bleaching. They are doing more than bleaching,
They are losing tisue.. Bleaching is basically only a loss of zooxanthellae.
Not a loss of tissue.


Fortunately for me, I don't lose too many corals, but every time I've had a
coral
bleach a few branches, it was white and the tissue was just gone. I don't
know
if my hermits are just incredibly smart and rush over to pick it clean or if
they
just happen to be there at the right time, but I've almost never had anything
bleached come back.

Marc


Rod wrote:

Algae will not grow on a stony coral until it has actuallly lost tissue.
Many/most corals can easily recover from a bleaching (expelling their
xoozanthella)event. Its when they actually lose tissue, is when they are in
real trouble.. Many people confuse bleaching and and tissue loss and
causes
more confusion when they are looking for help. Bleaching can be helped with
certain treatments, that will not help a coral from tissue loss, and visa
versa. some treatments that may help in tissue loss can harm a coral that
has
simply bleached and would otherwise recover.

When hard corals die, they bleach first of all their zooanthellae, and
then
green or brown algae will begin to grow on the skeleton.

Rod Buehler
www.asplashoflife.com

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com










Rod Buehler
www.asplashoflife.com

Are you by any chance referring to the Living Seas Aquarium in Park
Ridge, IL?

They tanks with these labels on them, and I've always wondered whether
it was a good deal or if it was just a gimmick ...

No Joe, actually I was reffering to Scott's Pet Shop in Westchester IL.
Does Living Seas have a decent collection? I may need to check them out.

~Mort