There are plenty of corals that are available for your aquarium. However, there’s no doubt that leather corals are one of the most beautiful ones for your aquarium. Moreover, did you know that these corals are also considered the best for beginners?
Out of these leather corals, one of the special ones is the ‘Weeping Willow’ leather coral. If you have one of them, read to know more about this coral care and its various characteristics.
What is Weeping Willow Leather Coral?
Before we move ahead to know how you can take care of this leather coral, let’s talk about what it is.
Weeping willow, a type of leather coral, is an extremely magnificent coral that can brighten up your aquarium with its beauty. It is because this type of coral consists of polyps that may reach up to the length of four inches as they become more mature. Additionally, these polyps are also quite supple.
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Let’s see how to take care of it.
How to Take Care of Weeping Willow Leather Coral?
There are no specific guidelines on how you can take care of this leather coral. Yet, as mentioned above, keep in mind that most of the things are similar as seen in leather corals.
1. Flow of Water
One of the most important parameters when it comes to leather corals is the flow of water.
So, most of the time a moderate flow of water is best for your Weeping Willow leather coral. Moreover, the good news here is that as leather corals have soft exteriors but hard interiors, your coral can also bear high flow.
But, just to stay on the safer side, consider the moderate flow of water as a continuous high flow of water may destroy your Weeping Willow that’s not properly held in its place.
2. Reef Tank Lighting
The lighting of your tank is as necessary as the water flow. It is because there are algae present inside the corals that require a proper amount of light to function efficiently. Your coral is then dependent on these algae as well. Due to this reason, your coral needs adequate lighting.
Try to keep lighing moderate and anywhere between PAR 150 to 300. Here too, most leather corals, like Weeping Willow may survive at lower or higher lighting too but it is always better to go for moderate.
3. Shedding
If you haven’t heard of this term before, you might want to know what it actually stands for.
So, keep in mind that many corals, mainly leather corals, often go through a period wherein their polyps do not extend. Now, around this time, you may see shrinking as well as shredding of their skin.
Hence, it is possible that it may happen to your Weeping Willow too. In this case, don’t panic. Instead, stay calm, give it a few days, and watch your coral become more vivid and colorful than before.
4. Position of Coral
Many times you might find yourself confused regarding the position or the placement of your favorite Weeping Willow coral.
So, the best placement for any leather coral, including this one, is your tank’s middle third portion. Moreover, here too, make sure that you mount the coral on top of either the rock or ledge.
Do you know why? When you put it there, your Weeping Willow will get the proper and moderate amount of light as well as the flow of water that is required.
To reduce competition for light, consider putting the corals at some amount of distance. It is because when they are too close, the shade might inhibit the other coral from getting the required amount of sunshine.
5. Food and Nutrition
One of the best things about corals, including Weeping Willow, is that they are quite self-sufficient due to the presence of algae in them. So, the algae synthesize the required nutrients for them.
However, you may still want to consider providing phytoplankton as supplementary feeding.
6. Water Chemistry
Just like the lighting and flow, water chemistry should also be suitable to keep your Weeping Willow healthy.
First of all, you may want to consider providing more iodine that can help your coral. To increase the levels of iodine, you can go for many salt mixes.
Along with iodine, you also need to keep a check on magnesium and calcium. For calcium, around 435 ppm is suitable and for magnesium, anywhere around 1290 ppm is good. Proper levels of these can keep the growth of algae in check and thus, helping your Weeping Willow grow.
Also, when it comes to reducing levels, try to keep the levels of both Magnesium phosphates (below 0.05 ppm) and nitrates (below 5 ppm) low. If you find that the nitrate levels have increased, consider changing the water. As for phosphates, consider replacing the phosphate media.
7. Cleaning and Maintenance
Lastly, it is important to clean the reef tank as well for your Weeping Willow’s care.
As a standard rule, you may want to change at least 10% of the total water volume every 7 to 15 days. If you do this, it can help in removing any excess or toxic elements that are present in the tank.
However, that’s not all, if you notice high levels of nitrates and phosphates, then also you need to change the water and clean the tank.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, it is easy to take care of your Weeping Willow coral. You just need to ensure that all the levels are around moderate and there’s no increase in the concentration of toxic compounds.
Once you do this, you’ll find your Weeping Willow in the best condition.