florida ricordea (question)

[Pacifique]

I added a purple florida ric earlier today (about 4 hours ago) and i'm noticing this brownish stuff coming out of it's mouth (guts?). The ric is open, although not fully. Is this brown stuff caused by the stress of being placed in a new environment?

 

I added a bright pink ric as well, and it seems fine (although it's not completely open).

 

How little flow do they really need?

The purple one is placed at the bottom of my tank, a few inches right of the filter runoff.

Should I leave it to settle, or just relocate it?

[Pacifique]

well the brown stuff is gone, and its mouth looks clear.

[rics4me]

This is a common symptom of adjusting to a new environment. Usually the "brown stuff" is zooanthelle (sp.) being expelled due to higher light levels. I suspect that your ric is recieving a greater deal of light due to increased wattage or a placement closer to the light source. A lower Kelvin rating can cause this as well.

[Pacifique]

thanks.

i just wanted to be absolutely sure.

 

they are both quite beautiful specimens. i'll take some pictures later today.

[EtOH_is_good]

just confirming that rics commonly do this when added to a new tank. even when i've been super careful about drip acclimation the rics have done this.

[Pacifique]

update.

 

the purple florida looks super hot, and is fully opened. (it glows green at night)

 

the pink one, however, isn't opening as much. although it is a lot smaller in size.

[Pacifique]

 

(there is a pink feather duster just to the right of it)

 

 

 

 

the pink ric doesn't seem to want to open fully.

[coolwaters]

did u do a light acclimation?

[Pacifique]

did u do a light acclimation?

 

 

well i kept the lights off for the first 4 hours. then switched to actinics, and then the timer went into night mode, so they never saw daylight for the first day.

 

and the next day it just went into its normal cycle.

[c est ma]

I think the pink one should open in time...rics are pretty hardy. If it continues to be stubborn, you could move it to a lower light area. Wow, those are beautiful colors!

 

--Diane

[shift_9k]

Whats a bigger issue with rics, light or flow?

[c est ma]

IME, with floridas it's light. Mine don't like a lot. (I have a 5.5g with a 40w Satellite over it.) My floridas are doing especially well on the left side substrate of my tank...where the LR "cliff" next to them cuts out some of the light they might otherwise receive (some pics here: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=110792&hl= ).

 

I was amused by your pic of the purple one, because it seems to be doing what mine have...i.e., walking off the rock it's mounted on to get to the substrate. My floridas do this very slowly, but they sure prefer the substrate when they have access to it, and will gradually move off the rock they're mounted on.

 

--Diane

[Pacifique]

My pink one still won't open up fully.

I moved it partially under a cave (a lower light area), but it doesn't seen to be improving.

[c est ma]

As long as the tissue you can see still looks healthy--plump, colorful, etc.--I'd still advise just patience. Perhaps it was newly glued to it's rock when you got it and it's still upset over that.

 

All my floridas respond noticeably to frozen Cyclopeeze...

 

--Diane

[coolwaters]

OMG thos look great...

 

how much did u get them for???

[Pacifique]

the purple one, which has since almost doubled in size, was 25cdn. and the pink one was 40cdn. (all from this reef shop in the area) tax free.

 

update: the flesh of the pink one looks perfectly fine. it's still as vibrant as it was when i got it. i just noticed a grayish-white sponge right behind it, almost touch it. i wonder if that has anything to do with it's inability to open fully.

 

i also discovered a yellowish sponge, of the same size, on the underside of a crevice on the rock that it was mounted on.

[c est ma]

My orange ric came on a rock with a couple of sponges and it has since overgrown them; i.e., mine showed no ill affects from the sponges. That's just one instance, though. Tho I don't remember hearing of many problems with sponge irritation in general.

 

I guess you could tell if the ric seemed to be more folded in on the sponge side...

 

--Diane

[Pacifique]

Well the sponges were exposed to air when the rock was moved out of the tank into the bag when i purchased it. and it also came in contact with air when i moved it into my tank after acclimation.

[c est ma]

You know, I have to think that mine were exposed to air too, as I only noticed them after the rock had been in the main tank for a few days. And that's probably been true for most hitchhiking sponges. I have to think they're hardier than some of the showy, expensive sponges one can buy, just like many of our other types of hitchhikers.

 

--Diane

[Pacifique]

are hitchhiker sponges non-beneficial? as in should i remove them from the rock where the ric is attached?

[joesmoe517]

I would just leave it, youll p.o. the ric by messing around with it/near it more than just leaving it be. diane is right there are some hardier sponges and since they dont need light to grow your ric can open up and spread over it/around it.

[c est ma]

I've heard of a very few that are invasive but most are harmless and interesting. I once read that if they were thriving, it was a sign your tank was doing well. OTOH, as filter feeders, maybe it just means your tank needs cleaning. J/k!

 

I'd say, enjoy them while they last. They represent yet a different phylum in your tank! And don't be surprised if the same or different sponges pop up here and there, now and then, throughout the life of your tank. They usually show up under rocks or overhangs, not because they avoid light but because they don't need it and are often outcompeted by other critters on lighted surfaces.

 

--Diane

[coolwaters]

sponges can really take over a tank. so be careful.

[Pacifique]

The colour is diminishing and the tissue no longer looks healthy.

Should I discard of it, or try placing it in a shot glass with a small piece of rock, and see if it reattaches and recovers?

 

It really doesn't look great.

[c est ma]

Gee, I'm sorry to hear that. I haven't had a ric go south, but I've lost a few other things from time to time. It would seem that you've tried the usual fixes so there may not be much more you can do. As it is a pretty new purchase, it's entirely possible that it's slowly deteriorating in response to some handling stress it encountered before you even acquired it, so I wouldn't feel bad personally if I were you, but you will probably still be out the money if you lose it! Bummer.

 

If it's still hanging in there, I suppose you have nothing to lose by offering it food, though it may be too weak to eat. My rics respond well to Cyclopeeze...

 

And by your shot glass question, I assume it detached from its rock? Maybe it was having a bad reaction to the glue.

 

If you haven't already discarded it, but it's still looking iffy, I would say that there's no need to remove it unless/until it starts to look rotten--slimey, messy, etc. IME some corals can sort of shrink away without polluting the tank...I suppose at some point a scavenger takes care of them.

 

--Diane