Saltfishlover Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 So I got a Duncan coral about a week ago. I acclimated it and placed in lower light area at first due to shipping in dark. A week later it still won't fully extend. It is barley visible poking out past the skeleton. Tonight after lights went off it came out and is now full extended. Is this normal? It's sitting in at the bottom of my tank on the outside of a 100w led light. I checked water and it's all normal. All other coral is popping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Can you provide more details? For example: How old is your tank? How strong is the water flow near the Duncan? What are your specific water parameters? Salinity Temp Nitrates Phosphates pH range Alkalinity Calcium Magnesium When you say your other corals are "popping", what kinds of corals are they? Are any similar to the needs of Duncans, such as hammers, torches, or frogspawn? Any photos? Without this kind of detailed information, it's really difficult to provide any guidance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfishlover Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 Tank is 40 gals, set up for 7 months now, other corals doing fine, mostly softies. Water flow low/moderate Salinity 1.026 Temp 78 Nitrates .25 Phosphates 0 pH range 8 Alkalinity 9 Calcium 425 Magnesium (no test) Not sure the parameters matter to it since it fully expands at night with lights off. It retracts even if lights are at 5% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 My guess is that it’s due to very low nitrates and phosphates. With levels that low, you may want to target feed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfishlover Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) So you think it's just out all night to feed? Should I adjust the location to a darker place in my tank? I may be able to find a shaded area Edited March 16, 2020 by Saltfishlover Added question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 I've got similar water chemistry but my nitrates are actually lower than yours (about .1 - .15) and my Duncan fluffs up just fine during the day. When I initially bought the duncan, it would do the same thing, open at night and mostly close during the day. I found out that it would get fed during the night before i got it and started adding coral foods, that center on polyp extension, during the day and basically switched its feeding hours. And now it just opens during the day time period without the addition of food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfishlover Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 High lights? Flow? That's a good idea tho, I will do thaat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 My duncans are my indicator coral. They tell me when something is off by not fully extending. If something major was off or changed they take time to reopen all the way. When they are first introduced if coming from an environment with different parameters they may take a few weeks to settle in. With stability they will adapt to their new environment. Once they settle in they should stay open and happy most the time. Since you say they are opening at night they must be healthy, just adapting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Saltfishlover said: High lights? Flow? That's a good idea tho, I will do thaat Mine is in random medium flow, enough to push the polyps all around. And I have mine at about the same level as some of my sps, so probably around 300ish par Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfishlover Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 57 minutes ago, Oregonic said: My duncans are my indicator coral. They tell me when something is off by not fully extending. If something major was off or changed they take time to reopen all the way. When they are first introduced if coming from an environment with different parameters they may take a few weeks to settle in. With stability they will adapt to their new environment. Once they settle in they should stay open and happy most the time. Since you say they are opening at night they must be healthy, just adapting. Yea, it fully opens within 30 mins of lights going off and stay open until they first turn on. Confused, but im happy if they are. I'll take the advice and try to feed with lights on and see what happens next few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 They were one of the first corals I added to my reef 3.5 years ago. They have survived everything from major swings to a tank move. Originally they were in a much lower flow then my tank has now and much lower light as well. They currently are in fairly strong random flow and about 300 par. Throughout all these changes as my reefing skills grew they have survived, but have thrown many fits along the way. When they are happy I know my tank is happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Saltfishlover said: High lights? Flow? That's a good idea tho, I will do thaat This should give you a good sense of the flow mine likes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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