No coral growth

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Jpiotro

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Good morning. The last couple months I've noticed my corals are not growing and aren't opening up fully. I have not been able to get my nitrates up at all. I was feeding more, I changed some light settings, I skipped water changes for about 1.5 months and nothing. Any help on what to do or what to try is appreciated. everything I've tried to get the polyps to expand hasn't worked.

Thanks in advance.
 
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What corals do you have, what do you feed, how much are you feeding, are you feeding corals directly, what lighting do you use, how big is the tank, how many fish do you have, etc.? We need some more information here.
 
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Jpiotro

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What corals do you have, what do you feed, how much are you feeding, are you feeding corals directly, what lighting do you use, how big is the tank, how many fish do you have, etc.? We need some more information here.
I have all softies, I feed mysis shrimp and prime reef once a day. Ive never fed corals directly. The tank is a fluval flex 32.5 im using the stock lighting on it. Currently I have 2 clowns a pink spot goby and a kuekenthali cleaner shrimp.
 

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What softies do you have? Looking through your posts I thought I saw something about a torch coral. Is it possible the kuekenthali shrimp is going after some of your corals, and that's why they're staying closed up? Quick research shows the kuekenthali eat anemones, I don't think it'd be a stretch for one to gain a taste for coral polyps too.

I'd get an amino acid supplement to dose to corals directly, and wouldn't hesitate to feed the corals directly too. What you should feed really depends on the coral species themselves, more than anything else. Stock lighting on the fluval is probably good for softies, but as with all things in this hobby, it can depend. 3 fish for a 32.5 gallon tank is not a lot; they're not going to be putting off much waste, and if you're just feeding to sate them, that won't be adding a lot in the way of nitrates either, honestly.
 
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Jpiotro

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What softies do you have? Looking through your posts I thought I saw something about a torch coral. Is it possible the kuekenthali shrimp is going after some of your corals, and that's why they're staying closed up? Quick research shows the kuekenthali eat anemones, I don't think it'd be a stretch for one to gain a taste for coral polyps too.

I'd get an amino acid supplement to dose to corals directly, and wouldn't hesitate to feed the corals directly too. What you should feed really depends on the coral species themselves, more than anything else. Stock lighting on the fluval is probably good for softies, but as with all things in this hobby, it can depend. 3 fish for a 32.5 gallon tank is not a lot; they're not going to be putting off much waste, and if you're just feeding to sate them, that won't be adding a lot in the way of nitrates either, honestly.
I have a torch, some GSP and a gold hammer. The shrimp has never bothered the coral, from what I've noticed is the shrimp is nocturnal I hardly ever see him the most I see is his shell after he molts but anything possible. What supplement would you recommend for me to feed directly.
 

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The torch and gold hammer are both stony corals, so if you're not also testing alk, calcium, and magnesium, that could be part of your problem. Are the GSP all closed up too?

Check your tank at night to see if the shrimp is going after your corals. You can never 100% trust shrimp imo, it's possible the problem is your shrimp targeting your corals. Not a definite answer by any means, but a possibility.

In terms of supplements, Red Sea AB+, Reef Roids, phytoplankton, etc. There are plenty of options out there, you probably just need to find one that works for you and that you like. You can also probably feed the torch and hammer some mysis directly.
 
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Jpiotro

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The torch and gold hammer are both stony corals, so if you're not also testing alk, calcium, and magnesium, that could be part of your problem. Are the GSP all closed up too?

Check your tank at night to see if the shrimp is going after your corals. You can never 100% trust shrimp imo, it's possible the problem is your shrimp targeting your corals. Not a definite answer by any means, but a possibility.

In terms of supplements, Red Sea AB+, Reef Roids, phytoplankton, etc. There are plenty of options out there, you probably just need to find one that works for you and that you like. You can also probably feed the torch and hammer some mysis directly.
My alk is usually high its 10.5-11, calcium is 420 and mag is 1300. I'll hac to try and see if I can catch the shrimp hopefully that's not the problem but who knows.
 
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The torch and gold hammer are both stony corals, so if you're not also testing alk, calcium, and magnesium, that could be part of your problem. Are the GSP all closed up too?

Check your tank at night to see if the shrimp is going after your corals. You can never 100% trust shrimp imo, it's possible the problem is your shrimp targeting your corals. Not a definite answer by any means, but a possibility.

In terms of supplements, Red Sea AB+, Reef Roids, phytoplankton, etc. There are plenty of options out there, you probably just need to find one that works for you and that you like. You can also probably feed the torch and hammer some mysis directly.
yes the GSP is like half closed up.
 
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Polyp polynomial: How many heads do you start with when buying zoas?

  • One head is enough to get started.

    Votes: 27 10.6%
  • 2 to 4 heads.

    Votes: 145 57.1%
  • 5 heads or more.

    Votes: 65 25.6%
  • Full colony.

    Votes: 10 3.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 7 2.8%
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