If were talking about the shrimp in the video, it's blurry footage but I'd be surprised if that was a Lysmata Wurdemanni (the true peppermint) or a Lysmata Boggessi, which are similar & what usually gets sold in the hobby trade as "Peppermint shrimp". There are many shrimps sold under the name "Peppermint" & they are very difficult to tell apart, which is exacerbated by the fact there is quite a lot of variations between individuals within the same species. Some are behave the same way as a Wurdemanni & some do not. Even amongst Wurdemanni (& Boggessi) there will be some coral eaters just like with cleaner shrimps, bloods etc. I've constantly kept around 25 to 30 "Peps" amongst my various coral tanks for the last 10 years & touch wood I've not had a coral eater as yet although I have had a cleaner that loved to eat Xenia. I'm sure I will get one 1 day but it seems as though they are the exception rather than the rule (with certain species) & considering the amount of work they save me by keeping my tanks Aip free it's a gamble that's well worth it for me anyway ✌

Thanks Jay, appreciate it 🙂

Probably bad bacteria built up.

Maybe it's flow of lights. When you say parameters are spot on give a list maybe I can help ?

@@richishere82 always appreciate help! 35.2ppt, KH 9, calc 450, mag 1400, nitrate 10, phos 0.08. light is 100 par on the rock that the hammer lived and I just dropped the flow as "a just in case" but it shod it's other head today. I've stuck them in a plastic tub with some rocks, I doubt they'll live but I can hope

Possibly a bacterial/pathogenic issue

@@Pastronomer69 yet nothing wrong with those parameters TBF. Have you ever sent off for an icp ???

Torches are a pain in the arse!

Mine seems to have lost a head in 2 days, no idea why

What do you recommend for the most accurate salinity measurement?

@@fadijohn tropic Marin hydrometer That’s your source of truth Everything else is a backup test to use for a quick gauge

thank you! @@Merknilash

​@Merknilash this is a good hydrometer, ? Thanks

@@jacklawer6389 it’s not like other cheap ones It’s basically a super accurate thermometer looking device Very fragile

Great video mate. The old classic salinity pen issues. I have 2 pens and within a week, one dipped to 1.020 whilst the other was 1.025

A lot of people seem to overlook their salinity which can directly have an impact of the corals health. Well done Alex.

Yes, absolutely - 32 is too low. 34 is ideal, 33 or 35 are acceptable

Interesting stuff 👍

Yep, my Waterbox. I'm going to shut down my main tank soon and move these corals into the upgrade...

@@ReefDork nice mate can’t wait to see updates 👍

LPS can tolerate much more flow than most people think, but they don't like strong flow and really don't like direct flow.

I love Hanna checkers generally but not the mag one. I use Salifert - it's quick and easy and not difficult to read the result, unlike say nitrate and phosphate tests which is where Hanna shines.

@@ReefDork thank you! I'll give it a try.

Hanna Mg just doesn't work. Lots online about it.

Corals recover slowly so you're talking weeks, not days.

Kessils 12 hours, Blades about 11 hours

@@ReefDork thanks Alex, About gonis, would you say as long as the parameters are in range that you don't really need the additional manganese for gonis.

@@jameswithers3066manganese has definitely contributed to my success with gonis, but they're still a tricky coral and the coral I have most problems with in this tank

@@ReefDork thank you

Optical refractometers (especially good ones like the D-D or Red Sea) are more reliable

This one!

Yep - he's grown on me and I think he's cool as well as functional now!

It's a glitter bomb goni - this exact one to be precise prestigereef.co.uk/collections/lps-corals/products/glitter-bomb-goniopora

Raise nitrate to 20 , keep phosphate at 0.5

Nope, they're good boys. They might steal any food it catches though.

@@ReefDork Yeah, I've learned to feed the shrimp first (preferably lure it as far away as possible from the coral I'm feeding). Cleaner shrimp are greedy little bstrds but are fun to watch.

Calcium too low, defo test your Magnesium and your alk. Otherwise good!

I'm looking forward to that service coming to the UK

Yeah, it looks bad! Same as the powerheads at the end of my peninsula tank.

@@ReefDork would gyres on the side give you the flow you want with less obstruction?

@@so_so_reef no, it'd still only be coming from one direction - I tried just 2 powerheads either side of the weir box at first but the flow is so much better with this setup. If the tank was bigger, it'd be easier to place the powerheads for aesthetics and performance

Ah, I've just remembered I had a sexy shrimp nibble on my SPS corals in this tank a couple of years ago too! Little blighters.

@@ReefDork cant move them to bigger tanks cause they are just snacks for my wrasses lol

Many people say that usually indicated low iodine

It's a blessing mate hahaha!

Xenia can be like that, sometimes easy, sometimes a bit of an enigma. But I'd double check all your test results as a start point.

I put a little xenia frag in my tank and it just sat there for a year. Then I quit buying saltwater from the LFS (Inst Oc) and got an RO/DI and Tropic Marin Classic salt and the silly thing started pulsing and then started growing. Now it is everywhere!!! 😋

They can do but that's often a death sentence - superglue is better than epoxy. Torch corals are difficult to keep - I'd personally avoid them for now if they keep dying in your tank.

Are you saying low magnesium and high salinity won't harm corals...?

So much of this hobby is based on anecdotal advice...true scientific methodology/experimentation is expensive and time consuming. Just ask anyone that works in a real-world lab.