Bubble Question

[Creetin]

My newly bot bubble coral is giving out brown strands of slime...I wonder is it normal? Its placed quite high in the tank with medium water flow...

Appreciate your comments!

[dodo]

newly acquired bubbles will do tat...at least for my case i guess it is getting used to it's new environment it will open up in a day or two, i believe

[Creetin]

i was looking and tinking and i tot "dun tell me its melting?!??!?"

Phew!

[mv3i]

post pics when it open, ok !!!

[Achilles Tang]

They are releasing excess zooxanthelia... it could be a stress response or it could be too much light... hard to say.

[dodo]

bubbles do well with moderate lites...low water flow...i placed my bubbles under tis way...i thk try putting in a lower area instead of high up if it dun open up in a day or two

Below are my U-Shape bubbles

[bawater]

i've had this guy for over 3 yrs- i think coming 4yrs.

stings everything around it & its abt 6"(15cm) when stretched out. Now i'm stuck with it & had to put it in a corner all by itself.

Bubbles need supplemented feedings maybe once every week or fortnight,

i tried feeding every 3 days: resulted in expelling excess zooxanthelia every 5days to a week. & it grew 3 mouths

Here is one of it eating, that's a whole market prawn>

this is a nite shot- note minimal bubbles- more tentacles>size comparison:that cleaner shrimp next to it is 1yr old & 5cm body length(2")

here is a Top shot- u should be able to make out 3 distinct feeding areas>

since Nov'02 i have lowered feeding to monthly, seems its going back to normal as bubble(for light collection) area increases.

[onghm]

They are releasing excess zooxanthelia... it could be a stress response or it could be too much light... hard to say.

Understand that several factors could cause coral to expell their zooxanthellae. Especially increase in temperature over prolong period.

Change in lighting is also another factor.

But what I'm confused is, is it too much or too little light which trigger coral bleaching ?

Can someone help me to understand ?

Thanks

[dodo]

it is high temp for prolonged period tat contribute to bleaching for corals

remember reading in a book... saying that a large area of coral reef in South America will bleach during their hot season

[Tanzy]

Many causes of bleaching. Always related to stress.

High or low temperature for prolonged periods, UV, low or sudden high light, disease, toxins, etc.

[onghm]

Hi Dodo,

Thanks, I understand the temperature part.

Its the lighting factor which I don't get it.

By right, if light level is too low, it would require more zooxanthellae to absord the light right ?

So logically, zooxanthellae should only be expelled if light level is too high.

But an article in the net explains otherwise :-

Quote....

Further natural disturbances that can cause coral bleaching include high levels of ultraviolet light, sudden salinity changes, extended low light conditions, and diseases

Unquote...

It says extended low light...

[onghm]

oops, Tanzy has explained. So it could be due to either too little or too much light...hmmm...not easy to troubleshoot

[Tanzy]

When there is low light, the zooxanthellae cannot proliferate and release less food to the coral, so the coral will start 'eating' the zooxanthellae to get energy.

[onghm]

Thanks Tanzy.

[Creetin]

hmmm Tanzy are u saying that the coral is eating the zoo thingy by expelling them (due to low light?)

[Tanzy]

Some corals can move zooxanthellae into their stomach to be digested or expelled. After they are done eating it, they will pass it out of their body. Other corals can directly absorb the zooxanthellae within the polyps.

[Creetin]

based on the comments posted so far here, i am not sure whether to move my coral or not. Issit too much or too little light?????

[Tanzy]

Leave it there for a while longer and see what happens.

[Creetin]

hi everyone, just an update, mi bubble no longer spitting brown strands of goo...

just to be safe, i moved it lower since its like so near the water surface.... anyway looks nicer as i can now see the whole of the top portion.....

tks!

[anakjoh]

I have my bubble directly below the MH n it seems to bloom n bloom...

Temp's 27-28C max.

Had it since late Nov. I suppose bright light with moderate temp is ok. Otherwise,(touch wood) God help me!

[dodo]

Bubbles are quite hardy lar and will adapt to their new environment fast my bubbles has been wif me for 2 yrs liao...i am sure pple out there have bubbles longer than mine

[yazid]

It seems it looks like a norm for a bubble to throw out brown strands of goo. Probably it is not zooxanthellae and probably it is a waste product.

I have been observing my bubble and it keeps doing that once a day an hour before the night light kicks in. There are no signs of bleaching.

[mv3i]

think they do once in a while .... especially when they are first intro into the tank .... here's a pic of mine

place it at the bottom of my tank with weak / moderate water movement ... and of course MH light

[mv3i]

a better pic of the bubble

[Achilles Tang]

Want to see a cat's eye bubble coral in the wild?

I shot this in ... maybe about 25ft? I didn't have a strobe... so I was using my dive torch to illuminate it.