vanz Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Ok....how do you know if your leather is dead or not? I have this toadstool leather that has remained dormant for over a year now. He has not grown, but probably shrank to half his original size. He was doing well the couple of years before that. Leathers are like one of the easiest corals to care for, but I dunno what happened...everything else in the tank has been doing good. Oh yeah, I tried yanking him out of the hole has grown in, but he's not letting go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 He's not dead, he's only stunned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Nice Monty Python reference lol I don't know about a year hiatus, but I have a devil's hand leather that has been acting strange so I've been reading up on their behavior and I've heard that they can close up and look waxy for a while for no apparent reason and then open up like nothing happened. I also read that if you have one being really strange and unhappy you can frag it and the frags can be happy even if they mother isn't?? And a less appealing option - is most people who couldn't get their leathers to open again gave them to a friend and for whatever reason it opened there and was problem free... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 I'm going to lop off his head soon. We'll see if that does anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oxx155 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I have lost probably two leathers in my time (and seen others lose them). Almost every time they seem to almost fall apart, deflate, and just crumple on the ground. I have seen that if you move them into a little more flow they seem to perk up a little. Even though its hard to get him out of the hole, I really do recommend changing his spot, it might help. Just my two cents 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I'm going to lop off his head soon. We'll see if that does anything. That would be a mere flesh wound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I had one that was that way for 7 months maybe. Never saw a polyp in that time either. Now all of a sudden, it is back and getting huge again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quigley Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Mine crusted over had and algae growing on it. there were even chunks falling off it. I moved it to a lower light area of my tank and increased the water flow. Now it has completely recovered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Does anyone know where the photosynthetic parts of the coral actually are? It is in the large disk? Is it in the polyps? Are the polyps just for gathering "food?" Someone must have done some research on this. I have had a couple of small leather frags in my tank for almost 1.5 years. They will go through phases where the polyps are out, and phases where they are never out. The coral seems to also have growth related to the polyp extension. When the polyps are out, the coral grows faster. When the polyps are not out, there is little or no growth. Go figure. I am wondering if it is a photosynthesis thing, or a food gathering thing. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Does anyone know where the photosynthetic parts of the coral actually are? It is in the large disk? Is it in the polyps? Are the polyps just for gathering "food?" Someone must have done some research on this. I have had a couple of small leather frags in my tank for almost 1.5 years. They will go through phases where the polyps are out, and phases where they are never out. The coral seems to also have growth related to the polyp extension. When the polyps are out, the coral grows faster. When the polyps are not out, there is little or no growth. Go figure. I am wondering if it is a photosynthesis thing, or a food gathering thing. dsoz I don't have an answer, but I know mine never showed a polyp for a very long time. Even before he looked very "dead" no polyps ever came out. After it came back all of a sudden, the polyps still didn't show. It took about 2 months for them to come all the way back in. That leads me to believe that it isn't in the polyps but in the skin on the top side maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I have a devils hand that was the showcase piece in my 55 gallon...it hates my 110! It seems to be trying to "move down" to the rock below it, its polyps come out, but not completely. There is a small frag of it on another rock, and it is doing great! My big one is mid-way down with a pretty good amout of flow. The small frag is in the same area but on the opposite side of the tank....I just keep waiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 +1 on the Snowpunk experience. I had one for quite some time that didn't open, then one day it decided to spread it's wings and did so everyday since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 It my have to do with location in the tank or changes in lighting, flow, etc. too. I have a sarcophyton that took a couple of months to acclimate and start opening up in my tank. It would get a kind of waxy buildup on it. When I got it into a higher flow area, it really opened up nicely, and the waxy stuff would blow off. Seems much happier in a high flow area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Actually that is a very good point. when I moved mine I moved it into the main flow area and he seemed to bounce back pretty quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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