Red Ferrari and ARC Proximo secret sauce?

[SaltyArms]

So, I've now had my second Red Ferrari frag look great for a few weeks, begin encrusting, and then boom RTN over night. I'm also having my second ARC Proximo lighten in color slowly over the two weeks despite moving it to lower light, area (I even put it under another frag rack for shade...)

Is there some secret with these that I'm missing? I have MANY other acros doing just fine (PC Rainbow, sunset milli, pearlberry, JF Jolt, decent sized TSA Optimus Prime, etc.) I just can't seem to figure out what's going on with these two. The only thing I can figure is that these are just more sensitive to nutrients than others for whatever reason. I've been working on stabilizing PO4/NO3 at lower levels. Everything else is growing and seems to be doing fine.

All of these were purchased from TCK in their auctions. Anyone have experience with these varieties needing/liking conditions that are "out of norm" for typical "high light/high flow" acros?

 

[am3gross]

Do you know what TCK is running there systems at, PO4 and NO3 wise? What about your lights, do you know how much par they are getting? Might be higher/lower then where they were compared to now.

I usually add my frags to a frag rack, low in the front of the display, then move it up slowly every couple days to weeks. With my frag rack being on the front glass it gives me the opportunity to keep a close eye on them, like with a magnifying glass so that I can see if the polyps or any other abnormalities are on them.

You have the other SPS in there doing fine, I just wonder if there is a big difference from where the new ones are coming from.

 

[SaltyArms]

I usually add my frags to a frag rack, low in the front of the display, then move it up slowly every couple days to weeks. With my frag rack being on the front glass it gives me the opportunity to keep a close eye on them, like with a magnifying glass so that I can see if the polyps or any other abnormalities are on them.

I do the same with frags I bring in. Since the tank crossed over the 2 year mark I haven't had any trouble from any of my acros (knock on wood) outside of these two varieties.

I've ordered roughly 20 acro frags from TCK (and most recently 11 from TSA) and treat them all the same. Everything has done well putting them low and center in the tank on a rack and letting them acclimate for a couple weeks before doing anything else.

The Proximo both times has started to lighten (bleach but not die) in the first week both times, and both times I've moved it into the shade, to no effect. It will continue to lighten and eventually fully bleach. (My second piece is doing this now.)

The Red Ferrari will seemingly do fine for a month, and then I'll place it on the rock work and within a week or two something happens and it RTNs overnight. (My third piece just did this last Monday.)

I know TCKs nutrients are probably lower than mine, but that's not seemed to bother anything else. So that's why I questioned whether these two were just more sensitive. PAR at that point in the tank is ~275, sometimes slightly higher. It seems like a lot of light is bouncing off that front glass and PAR reads a lot higher right next to it than it does when I'm 3-4 inches away.

 

[m0nkie]

My tank has same issue with Little Red Ferrari, Red Dragons, etc. All these thin sticks. They seem very sensitive to nutrient fluctuation. And high nutrient kills them fast

 

[Big E]

From personal experience---

ARC Proximo likes a lot of light......... keep it higher up or it goes pale and loses the red/pink coloration on the branches.

Red Dragon thrives under lower par and the reds are much deeper in coloration.

 

[MrGisonni]

My needle in a haystack is getting under 150 par and is growing like crazy. My nitrates fluctuate between 10 and 20 btw. I know, not very helpful.

 

[SaltyArms]

ARC Proximo likes a lot of light......... keep it higher up or it goes pale and loses the red/pink coloration on the branches.

Really? Going pale from to little light!? That’s a new one but would explain why it doesn’t seem to recover when I shade it.

I’ll give it a shot. I had a wwc baby death widow come in a while back that paled out and WWC even gave me a refund, but I could still see it holding skin… so after a few weeks trying to baby it in lower light with no changes, I just put it in the highest flow and light I had and it regained full color and is now encrusting.

Maybe Proximo want the same thing.

 

[CK00020]

I have tried red Ferrari twice with the same results you had, must just be that sensitive.

 

[Big E]

Really? Going pale from to little light!? That’s a new one but would explain why it doesn’t seem to recover when I shade it.

I’ll give it a shot. I had a wwc baby death widow come in a while back that paled out and WWC even gave me a refund, but I could still see it holding skin… so after a few weeks trying to baby it in lower light with no changes, I just put it in the highest flow and light I had and it regained full color and is now encrusting.

Maybe Proximo want the same thing.

Yes, this is a fact people sometimes are unaware. Some acros can go to a light tan coloration with not enough light, it's very common. Pale isn't associated with being bleached, that's different.

In this scenario the coral has less color and grows slower.