Tip of the Day – 5/19/2014

New corals take plenty of time to adjust to your aquarium, but there are several things you can do to ease the transition. For one, put the coral in place and leave it alone. Constantly moving the coral causes more stress on an already stressed out coral. Another thing to do is scale back on the lighting, or at least dim the light. Chances are your new coral came from a tank with less intense light than what you currently run on your tank. Let the coral adjust to the new tank under dim conditions, then slowly bring the intensity (or duration) back to the normal operating level. One more thing you can do to give your new coral the best chance is to feed it. In fish stores, there are usually tons of corals that don’t all get special one-on-one treatment. So, give the new coral some much needed TLC and watch it thrive in response. If at any point you see the coral taking a turn for the worse, don’t freak out and do something regrettable. Perform your water changes, analyze what could be causing the issue, and think things through before moving the coral or altering much else in the aquarium.