Hi redkoicarp
I am of the opinion there are a number of issues including excessively high calcium levels, low PH, and potentially a contaminant in the water. The moon wrasse might also be picking at them. The corals could also be getting damaged during transit from the shop to your tank. The corals might be getting air bubbles on them when put into the tank.
First I would do a massive water change, 80-90%, using clean seawater, natural or artificial. If using artificial make the water up a week before and get the salinity exactly the same as the tank. Get the temp the same and do the big water change.
Then try a couple of corals but try not to let the shop wrap them in paper as the paper can damage the coral's tissue. Get the shop assistant to wave their hands around the coral and let the coral retract its tissue back into the skeleton. Get the corals bagged up with some water and take them home ASAP and float them in the tank for 10-15 minutes. Then put the corals in the tank away from the light. Tip the coral upsidedown when it is underwater and give it a gentle shake to remove any air bubbles that might be on it.
Try to keep the calcium levels around 450-500ppm and the PH around 8.4-8.5. The temperature should be around 24-26 degrees Celsius. Higher temps around 30C will stress the corals and cause them to bleach.
Ignore anyone who says you need to worry about strontium, and other things at this stage. You can worry about things like that later when the corals are living a bit longer.
Corals need clean water, good light and good water movement. Even in low light many corals should live for a few months gradually losing colour until they end up white. A 250w metal halide on a 50-gallon tank is ample light for virtually all corals. Make sure the light is at least 12 inches above the tank as metal halides can warm the tank water quite quickly. Fluctuating water temps will stress the corals so monitor the temp throughout the day. Have the light on for about 4 hours during the first week. Then increase it by an hour each week until they are on for 8-10 hours per day.
Have lots of water movement in the tank but don't have water currents blasting at the actual coral. Variable water movement is better than a constant stream in the same direction.
Try feeding the corals with some finely chopped shrimp or fish. A small amount of food every couple of days can make a huge difference to the corals.
Corals to try: elegance coral (cataphillia sp), anchor or hammer coral (Euphillia sp), corallimorphs, mushroom corals (Fungia sp).
ps: but small corals that are open fully in the shop. Smaller corals are cheaper to buy. If a coral is not open in the shop don't buy it. Check the corals for white patches or edging and don't buy any coral that has that.
I am of the opinion there are a number of issues including excessively high calcium levels, low PH, and potentially a contaminant in the water. The moon wrasse might also be picking at them. The corals could also be getting damaged during transit from the shop to your tank. The corals might be getting air bubbles on them when put into the tank.
First I would do a massive water change, 80-90%, using clean seawater, natural or artificial. If using artificial make the water up a week before and get the salinity exactly the same as the tank. Get the temp the same and do the big water change.
Then try a couple of corals but try not to let the shop wrap them in paper as the paper can damage the coral's tissue. Get the shop assistant to wave their hands around the coral and let the coral retract its tissue back into the skeleton. Get the corals bagged up with some water and take them home ASAP and float them in the tank for 10-15 minutes. Then put the corals in the tank away from the light. Tip the coral upsidedown when it is underwater and give it a gentle shake to remove any air bubbles that might be on it.
Try to keep the calcium levels around 450-500ppm and the PH around 8.4-8.5. The temperature should be around 24-26 degrees Celsius. Higher temps around 30C will stress the corals and cause them to bleach.
Ignore anyone who says you need to worry about strontium, and other things at this stage. You can worry about things like that later when the corals are living a bit longer.
Corals need clean water, good light and good water movement. Even in low light many corals should live for a few months gradually losing colour until they end up white. A 250w metal halide on a 50-gallon tank is ample light for virtually all corals. Make sure the light is at least 12 inches above the tank as metal halides can warm the tank water quite quickly. Fluctuating water temps will stress the corals so monitor the temp throughout the day. Have the light on for about 4 hours during the first week. Then increase it by an hour each week until they are on for 8-10 hours per day.
Have lots of water movement in the tank but don't have water currents blasting at the actual coral. Variable water movement is better than a constant stream in the same direction.
Try feeding the corals with some finely chopped shrimp or fish. A small amount of food every couple of days can make a huge difference to the corals.
Corals to try: elegance coral (cataphillia sp), anchor or hammer coral (Euphillia sp), corallimorphs, mushroom corals (Fungia sp).
ps: but small corals that are open fully in the shop. Smaller corals are cheaper to buy. If a coral is not open in the shop don't buy it. Check the corals for white patches or edging and don't buy any coral that has that.
? also bought colt coral this was ok for four days and then started to wilt looked closer at it and found a large gash right on the base witch i think happened at the shop as it was tied to a peice of polystyrene with a elastic band and was floating upside down in his tank think he was a bit rough when taking it off .
