Battlecorals Snipes Blue Discussion Thread

[thaveteran]

Looking at my sad pathetic frag of Snipers got me thinking. Everyone who complains about the price of frags needs to be required to enter a growout competition. Maybe after 7 months or so they will realize why some of the most sought after corals aren’t sold for $30.

 

[marlinmon]

Looking at my sad pathetic frag of Snipers got me thinking. Everyone who complains about the price of frags needs to be required to enter a growout competition. Maybe after 7 months or so they will realize why some of the most sought after corals aren’t sold for $30.

Understatement of the year lol. My BC set for stun hasn't budged in 6 months.

 

[ESH]

Pretty sure mine is defective too lol. Someday it'll start growing

 

[Caravanshaka]

Understatement of the year lol. My BC set for stun hasn't budged in 6 months.

you bought the "BC set for stunt"....rookie mistake

 

[marlinmon]

you bought the "BC set for stunt"....rookie mistake

Lol that’s funny right there

 

[MTBake]

I'm most likely out of this one. Encrusting growth deteriorated after a drop in alk. It's making a comeback now but the damage is apparent. I'll post pics this weekend. Been super busy with life lately and tank maintenance has taken a back seat.

 

[Caravanshaka]

I'm most likely out of this one. Encrusting growth deteriorated after a drop in alk. It's making a comeback now but the damage is apparent. I'll post pics this weekend. Been super busy with life lately and tank maintenance has taken a back seat.

I had a similar issue. Change from ATI Essentials to Essentials Pro had a massive change in Calcium, causing all growth to halt and I nearly lost a few. I have it turned around now, but the damage was done as far as a growth contest is concerned. Should have my calcium reactor running on it soon though...no more dosing!

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

A little taste of what awaits you guys as your frags fill in!

 

[thaveteran]

Can’t wait to take this month’s pic. It’s not as sad and pathetic. Things are back to being stable-ish. I'm increasing my alk dosage almost weekly. I may be forced to get a calcium reactor soon because I hate the constant mixing.

 

[bubbaque]

Here’s my March update. Still growing!!

I think so far you are in the lead! Looks like you have a nice healthy colony already.

Nice job.

 

[WWIII]

I think so far you are in the lead! Looks like you have a nice healthy colony already.

Nice job.

I think he is too! His last 3 months I'd incredible growth...

December...

March...

Really nice job @Frizzles7 !!! Keep her going!

 

[Frizzles7]

I think he is too! His last 3 months I'd incredible growth...

December...

March...

Really nice job @Frizzles7 !!! Keep her going!

Thanks!! It’s really taken off, and I hope the growth keeps up.

 

[thaveteran]

Here's my update for April:

GAME OVER!

 

[ESH]

So by now, do we have enough data to say what the Snipes likes best for conditions?

Personally I'm just lucky I've kept mine alive this long. In the past year, so far I've moved the Snipes Frag to a larger tank, went through a second mini cycle when I had a yellow tang disappear and die on me while on vacation followed by a GHA outbreak in the tank due to nutrients getting out of whack. Since battling things back, in these last 2 weeks I've had random frags that were otherwise healthy and growing pretty well die out on me.

 

[Mrx7899]

I think so far you are in the lead! Looks like you have a nice healthy colony already.

Nice job.

agreed

 

[bubbaque]

My update for May:

I give up, lol.

 

[Frizzles7]

I give up, lol.

 

[thaveteran]

I think I will officially be out. I am upgrading tanks and I don’t have a ton of space in the new tank and I’m being very selective of what corals I’m transferring and this one isn’t going to make the cut.

Good luck to everyone!

There’s only 3 months left. Just put it in and cut it out in later. It’s probably going to stall again when switching tanks. Shouldn't be too hard to remove after the contest.

 

[ESH]

action photo of taking this months photo. Not sure what took so long but 10 months in Im finally seeing growth.

 

[kurtp]

I hope others in the contest could give me some advice/offer theories as to why acropora (in this case the Sniper's Blue) will some times stall out after apparently thriving in my tank. Although not a realistic contest contender at any point, I was still quite pleased with the growth, coloration and PE with the snipers for the first 5 months in my tank, as shown in the composite photo below.

But then, from January until present day, the Snipers growth just halted. There has been some slow encrusting but no discernable branching growth.

There really were no significant changes in my maintenance routine, salt mix (Fritz RPM), flow properties, basic parameters (calcium/alk/magnesium/pH/specific gravity), lighting, etc. I sent off a sample to Triton to see if one of the minor elements was off, but that test really didn't show anything that I thought explained the change in the Snipers.

In May I tried increasing the water change frequency to every week instead of every 2 weeks, replaced my T5 bulbs (even though they were only 10 months old), but that didn't rekindle the Snipers. I am stumped....Why did the Snipers stall out when most of my Acros have continued to grow at their previous rates (although my 'blueberry' acro stalled out at about the same time and has actually faded to an ugly brown). I suspect there must be some unknown element that the Sniper's needs which was initially present in my system but then became depleted.

My Sniper's 1 year anniversary is coming up in 8 days so the contest is basically over for me, but I still would like to figure out how to 'revive' this beautiful piece. If anyone has some suggestions or theories about what happened to my Snipers, I'd sure like to hear them. I'd also be grateful if those contestants who have had such remarkable growth (Frizzles, MRX789, Hieger, etc) would be willing to share any details about their systems.

I sure have enjoyed being involved in this contest and wish you all reefing success.