Like any other weekend, I had just finished a water change and was checking the parameters when my wife asked, “Where’s the candy cane coral?”
Sometimes I find the candy cane coral on the bottom of the tank after waking up or coming home from work. I assumed the snail had pushed it over again, so I said, “If it’s not where it was, isn’t it on the bottom?”
“No, its body came off.”
“What?”
I had never seen its body come off before…. What happened? The candy cane coral had been fine right up until the water change.
The candy cane coral was the last living thing added to the tank.
It has already been three months since I wrote that post. Unlike the other corals that had issues along the way—the leather and torch not extending their polyps, the acan losing color—it had never looked bad even once.
I keep thinking it looks exactly the same as when it first arrived, but when I look back at photos, it has grown little by little. It is fun noticing that, and despite looking still, it has been a dependable, reassuring coral.
A coral that had never caused a problem, and did not seem like it ever would, had come apart. I was completely taken aback.
When I checked, the connection between the frag base and the candy cane coral had snapped.
Luckily, the coral itself had not come apart. It looked like only the part that had been glued on had come loose, so I just needed to attach it again. Really, really lucky.
It should have been as simple as gluing it back on. But I remembered being told at the aquarium store that regular super glue could be bad for the candy cane coral and the other living things in the tank.
As I was wondering how to reattach it, I remembered the frag station and coral glue I had bought. I originally bought them because the frag base that came with the acan was so small and I wanted something to reinforce it with!
You soak those little white beads in hot water over 61°C. They soften up like clay, and once they are soft, you shape them, apply a small amount of coral glue, and attach them to whatever needs securing, like a frag base.
I was in such a rush getting it out that I dropped it and made a whole mess, but I got it out in one piece and prepared for surgery.
Whenever I take corals out of the tank, I think this: corals always look strange outside the lights… lol
First, put a small amount of the white bead-like frag station material in a bowl and pour in hot water at about 80°C.
It changes color in this order: white -> gradually transparent -> fully transparent. Once it is fully transparent, take it out of the water and shape it.
If you do not get the shape right, it loosens again when you put it back in hot water. But once it is attached to the coral, I cannot put it in hot water, so I think it is important to wait until it is completely transparent.
The instructions say over 61°C is enough, but that felt like it took too long. Using a higher temperature did not cause any problems.
While the frag station material was soaking, I tried to put a little coral glue on the frag base in advance. Then I ran into a problem.
Ah… the glue had hardened and would not come out. When I squeezed it, the tube split in half.
Was there something wrong with the conditions in the tank cabinet, or is this just a product that does not last long? I needed to do something right away….
GPT has been really helpful with running the tank. It advised me to stand it up using only the frag station as a temporary fix, so I decided to leave it like that until the glue arrived.
First, I spread the frag station material, softened in hot water like clay, flat over the frag base and set the coral on top.
I shaped it evenly so the frag station material could support the coral’s body well.
If it stands on the bottom without wobbling, it is done! To keep the coral’s stress as low as possible, I immediately put it in some tank water I had set aside and checked one more time that it was standing properly.
This little one has such an odd color and is standing just fine. Torch and leather corals with long polyps look pitiful when they droop out of water, but the candy cane somehow looks strong even out of the water. Very reassuring.
So that was the rushed emergency treatment, somehow finished. It is only a tiny 45 cm cube tank, but why do so many things keep happening in it? It gets pretty dramatic for such a tiny 45 cm cube tank, lol
Once the emergency was over, I did not want to go through the annoyance of dried-out glue again, so I looked into why it had dried out.
I keep the glue in the tank cabinet. Water sometimes splashes during water changes, and the cabinet itself can be humid, so I guess moisture got in after I used it before and made it harden.
I hope this little friend lasts a long, long time.