Only one of my acans is pinching?

[Grantp611]

Hey everyone, I’m wondering what would cause one of my acans to start pinching at the edge. I’ve had the one that’s pinching for a few months now and it’s been big and puffy the whole time, and eating readily. All the other acans that are right next to it are doing fine. I’m not testing the water currently (I know I should start) but I’m keeping up with 20% water changes every week and the salinity is 1.025, any help on what would cause this would be appreciated! Thanks

[Christopher Marks]

It seems likely that the coral is working towards growing a new head @Grantp611

[Grantp611]

26 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

It seems likely that the coral is working towards growing a new head @Grantp611

I was wondering that! I saw what looked like new calcified skeleton around it and the whole acan looked healthy but I didn’t know that was the way they grew. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it to look for any changes. Thanks!

[burtbollinger]

brother, i learned the very hard way...you gotta keep track of your alkalinity if you wanna keep your nice LPS healthy long term.  get at least an alk. test kit when you can.  if its a small tank your weekly changes may be all you need to keep doing, but def. get an understanding of where youre at and how you keeping it there.

 

 

[Grantp611]

1 minute ago, burtbollinger said:

brother, i learned the very hard way...you gotta keep track of your alkalinity if you wanna keep those guys healthy long term.  get at least an alk. test kit when you can.

I know man I’ve had the tank for a few months now and haven’t just haven’t got around to getting one. It’s next on my list, luckily all my coral is healthy and growing fast, this single acan was the only one I was wondering about. I know that can change in an instant with a major swing though

[burtbollinger]

21 minutes ago, Grantp611 said:

I know man I’ve had the tank for a few months now and haven’t just haven’t got around to getting one. It’s next on my list, luckily all my coral is healthy and growing fast, this single acan was the only one I was wondering about. I know that can change in an instant with a major swing though

you'll be fine but you should make it your next purchase.  Ive lost hundreds of dollars in LPS due to not understanding and knowing my alk.

having shrimp is also not ideal...especially peppermint.  the cleaner should be ok i think

[Clown79]

Alk is the one thing that I check regularly- twice a week.

 

I highly recommend the hanna for ease of testing but Salifert is another good kit as well.

 

Nitrates and phos are another 2 that are important. Too high gives you issues, too low can cause major issues.

[blasterman]

Acans in these pics are all very healthy. It's pinching because it's growing over substrate and substrate moves. This is why I mount acans to to flat'ish rocks so they can have a stable pedestal to grow out.

 

Unlike most other LPS acan polyps tend to grow faster than their skeletons, and this is a result.

[Grantp611]

2 hours ago, burtbollinger said:

you'll be fine but you should make it your next purchase.  Ive lost hundreds of dollars in LPS due to not understanding and knowing my alk.

having shrimp is also not ideal...especially peppermint.  the cleaner should be ok i think

Gotcha, my cleaner is only a nuisance when I target feed maybe once every week and a half. It just tries to grab the food out of the mouths but I’m easily able to defend them with a turkey baster, I’ve never seen him picking on anything. Would that be the main worries of having the shrimp in the tank?

 

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Alk is the one thing that I check regularly- twice a week.

 

I highly recommend the hanna for ease of testing but Salifert is another good kit as well.

 

Nitrates and phos are another 2 that are important. Too high gives you issues, too low can cause major issues.

Ok point taken, I’ll get a test for alk, nitrates and phos. Thanks! 

 

43 minutes ago, blasterman said:

Acans in these pics are all very healthy. It's pinching because it's growing over substrate and substrate moves. This is why I mount acans to to flat'ish rocks so they can have a stable pedestal to grow out.

 

Unlike most other LPS acan polyps tend to grow faster than their skeletons, and this is a result.

Awesome! That’s relieving lol, I wish I had enough rock to put my acans on there. I only have a 10 gallon long and a lot of the rock is taken up already with zoas and other stuff that I want to grow out on the rock. Within the year I’m upgrading to a 75 and will be able to stick them on the rock and let them encrust. Then keeping the 10g for a zoa only tank 😆

[burtbollinger]

16 minutes ago, Grantp611 said:

Gotcha, my cleaner is only a nuisance when I target feed maybe once every week and a half. It just tries to grab the food out of the mouths but I’m easily able to defend them with a turkey baster, I’ve never seen him picking on anything. Would that be the main worries of having the shrimp in the tank?

 

 

main worry would be a pest peppermint shrimp tearing at acans and killing them without rhyme or reason.  never get a peppermint.

 

a second annoyance but not a worry is any shrimp in an LPS tank walking on and making my pretty LPS close.
 

[NMMark]

Acans are animals they do what they want, did you ever get your cat to do a handstand? If it's eating don't worry, you worry when it's turning to goo.

 

[Grantp611]

47 minutes ago, burtbollinger said:

main worry would be a pest peppermint shrimp tearing at acans and killing them without rhyme or reason.  never get a peppermint.

 

a second annoyance but not a worry is any shrimp in an LPS tank walking on and making my pretty LPS close.
 

Gotcha. Good thing I didn’t plan to get any peps since the cleaner shrimp is already pretty large in the 10g. It seems like my lps for the most part have gotten used to him lightly walking over it, if they close it’s for a very short time. Looks like I may be in the clear 😎

 

35 minutes ago, NMMark said:

Acans are animals they do what they want, did you ever get your cat to do a handstand? If it's eating don't worry, you worry when it's turning to goo.

 

Understood lol no goo so far and they look puffy so I’ll keep riding it out the way it is. Thanks