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Something eating soft corals 2/29/08 Hi again. I have a question that is driving me crazy. I have looked on your site as well as goggled it. What could be eating my corals? I have a 10 gal tank that I use as a quarantine tank. About a year ago my brother quit saltwater because he said that too many animals were dying on him. So I received many of his LR, the pieces that had "character." There are about 2/3 rock and 1/3 water in this tank. I have cycled some fish through the aquarium without problems. Christmas I bought two mushrooms, one bumpy the other smooth, brown with purple highlights, looking at it at the proper angle. The bumpy one disappeared soon after introduction to the QT. I looked all over between the rocks and behind, could not find it. Thought that I just did not look good enough. A month later an anthelia, two stalks on a small rock was given to me for free. Two days later it is gone. Just the small rock was left. Looked for it again as I was told sometimes they just let go and float around looking for a better spot. Nowhere. I have a colt coral that I fragged and put into this aquarium. Sewed it onto a rock that I drilled a hole into. It was about 1 1/2 inches long. 3 days later It is gone, not a trace and this time I looked well. Last night it was all there and this morning 9 hours later not a trace. I am at my wits end. What do I look for? <Perhaps a predaceous worm of size, a crustacean... coming out at night... place a flashlight near the tank (one with a red filter if you can), and take a look periodically. Alternatively, rig or buy a trap (detailed on WWM) and try baiting/trapping out whatever this might be> The aquarium has the one brown mushroom, about 2" across, some sponges, and two small anemones (about 1" high) that I purchased with a LR. They have not moved ever. No snails or fish. I once cut a plastic pop bottle and put it together inverted for a crab trap. Put a bit of salmon into it, but all it caught overnight was a few bristle worms and some small shrimplike thing. I took it out because the water inside the bottle stunk, and I did not want to pollute the tank. The odd time I come home late and the QT's lights are out so I peek at it with a red light. Have never seen a crab, however little bugs seem to scurry away from the light. What would you recommend? Thanking you in advance. Dietmar <Trapping... Bob Fenner> Coral eater... prev. corr. Hi, I
have a sailfin tang, 3 Firefish, one false percula, orange Anthias, and
a two black spot yellow fish (I was told this fish will eat the bristle
worms). I have 10-12 hermit crabs. They have been recently hunting my
snails and taking over their shells. I am not sure which one of these
is eating off my leather coral. My white finger leather coral with has
been losing its small fingers. I can see most of them being nipped off.
I had one Firefish and then I introduced two more fire fishes. The one
that was already there is chasing the other two. The two victimized
Firefishes have their tail and fire fin torn off. But they still come
out once a day to get their food. Can anyone let me know which one of
these could possibly eat corals? Regards, PraKash Pods eating coral - Coral eating pods..? I was reading the Q&A forums trying to find out if pods were eating my xenia. The fish store that I shop at says that pods only eat dead or dying things. I have noticed, however that a few people seem to think the pods are eating xenia and Zoanthids. I have a similar story. First I had a small finger leather, that looked like it was ripped off it rock. I came home from work to find it floating on the bottom of the tank. There was a lot of "flesh" left on the rock, as I inspected the situation, I noticed several big pods eating the flesh. I tried to replant the leather but it disappeared over the next day or so. My hours of work don't allow me to keep a close eye on things so I don't know exactly what happened to it. As the leather disappeared, a colony of xenia began wilting. Upon inspection of the sick xenia I noticed that the pods had regrouped to the Xenia. I thought that it could be that conditions weren't right causing the xenia and leather to die and the pods were just taking full advantage. My pH was low 7.7 so I adjusted my power head to get more top water movement. However ,there is another colony of xenia 2 inches away from the one that died. There are no pods on it and it seems to be fine. If the water conditions caused the leather and the first xenia colony to die, why not the other xenia. It doesn't seem to be a coincidence that things are dying after the pods start to congregate. I thought I was just paranoid of some sort of pod conspiracy, until I started reading the Q&A. Is it just coincidence or could something be going on? Gary <IF, they are pods, they are not going to eat live coral. Your LFS is correct is saying they eat dead material, fish poop, waste, whatever. You may have another critter in there causing the damage. James (Salty Dog)><<RMF disagrees... whatever group of crustaceans these "bugs" are part of, they may indeed consume cnidarians that are compromised... and maybe ones not so... It may be that the "other" Xeniid colony was "aware", or just "different" in its tastiness, response... to these critters>> Colt coral decline - 11/17/04 Good afternoon~ <Good afternoon to you too> My boyfriend has a good size coral reef tank. In it he has a Soft Coral that I believe is a Colt Coral. It is light pink and looks spongy and has little "feelers" coming out of it when it is open. Recently we have noticed that gashes are on him. <Hmmmmm.> it looks like a fish has bitten him in about 6 different spots. We know that it was not a fish though. <How do you know? Enlighten me if you would? This is information I might need to make a diagnosis> The "bites" eventually turn the finger a darker color pink and it can eventually can be pulled off. <Not sure what you mean here? Do you have a picture you could send?> Do you think this Soft Coral is "sick"? <I can tell you there is definitely something wrong. There is just no enough information here to tell you what it might be, to be honest> Why do you think these "bites" keep appearing all over it? <I would look at night and see if something is no predating on the coral. Snails, crabs, Nudibranchs, worms, coral aggression and yes, maybe even fish> What can be done? <Leave it be until you have firm diagnosis, which is something we definitely don't have. What kind of fish are in the aquarium, other inverts, corals near by? What are the water parameters, lighting anything else that might help me diagnose the issue.> Is it better the cut the finger off right when you see a new "bite" or is it better to left the finger turn dark and let it just hang by a tiny piece and then pull it off. <I think the latter is better. Let the coral rid itself of the area> Please. Any information would help. This soft coral doesn't look very happy with these "bites". <I am sure it doesn't. Please send more information and a picture if you can. It will certainly help me to extract potential issues and give a more accurate diagnosis. ~Paul> Thank You.
Distressed Leather? (Removing An Aiptasia From a Leather Coral) Greeting WetWeb Crew! <Hi there! Scott F. here tonight!> Kudos to you all, for the time and effort that is put into this site. It helps people like me to better enjoy and appreciate this great hobby. <We're thrilled to be here for you...We have as much fun answering your queries as we do playing with our fish!> I've been reading your site now for about a year and have a 90 gallon marine tank for almost as long. My question is about a beautiful new mushroom leather coral I just purchased -Sarcophyton. The crown is about 4 to 5 inches across and is attached to an approximately 2 inch thick "stalk", about 3 or 4 inches long. On the very bottom the stalk is a piece of rock about the size of a quarter. Wedged in-between this piece of rock and the coral are a couple of nasty Aiptasia. Eeek!! If I am very careful, with a sharp scalpel, or Exacto-knife, could I or should I slice a very thin layer of the coral just above the rock, taking the Aiptasia with it? <I have experienced a similar occurrence with a Sarcophyton, and was surprised how easy it was to remove the Aiptasia without damaging the coral. The base of the Sarcophyton is surprisingly "tough", and you can practically scrape the anemone off of the coral without damaging it.> If so, what treatment should follow? <My best advice is to simply maintain very good water quality after this "procedure"> I have read in Anthony's Coral Propagation book that these corals are quite forgiving. I value your advice. What do you think? Thanks in advance, Brenda. <They are very forgiving! As Anthony and others have implied, you can practically run 'em through a blender and end up with a new coral. However, they do deserve the highest level of care we can offer, so try to be careful when conducting this "operation". Good luck! Regards, Scott F.> Sarcophyton Struggling with Bicolor Blenny Hi Anthony <cheers, my friend from Norway!> I have 2 questions that I need an opinion on. First I have a 6 inch diameter Sarcophyton, and all is not well.... it's just looking a bit beat. Extensions sometimes good, sometimes bad, and there doesn't seem much life in the centre. This might have 2 causes - inadequate flow, <this is the most common cause by far, yes. Is your tank getting 10-20X turnover minimum? Please do improve it if not. Aspire for 20X if possible> and it's become one of the favourite perches of a bicolor blenny. <Arghhh... yes, dreadful. Irritating to the coral, although some adapt in time. But blennies really are dubiously reef safe. Many will nip corals in time.> It's awful cute to see it's head peeping out but I can't believe it's helping. <agreed... on both counts> I have adjusted flow so there is some amount dropping down over and onto it. Tank specs - 30 Gallons, 75 degrees C, 1.025. Ammonia, nitrite 0,nitrate 5 -10. Ca 350, alkalinity 11, pH 8.0 (won't go up). Lighting by 2 10000K T5's , coral sits in 3 - 4 inches water. 2000 litres per hour total movement - 2 pumps + skimmer outflow. <not bad at all... maybe more adjustments of the delivery of the flow are all that's needed. Avoid laminar flow... try to get good random turbulent flow> I don't think it's the system as some frags are sitting next to it and thriving! Would iodine addition be of any benefit to it's health, or do I just have to live with the bicolor? <if you are not doing large weekly water changes, then yes... small daily doses of iodine will be helpful if not necessary IMO> Incidentally I am attaching the frags to milliput disk about 3 inches across. Is this too big. <no worries> My feeling is I want something the frag can grow on, but right now it's not pretty. <understood... the choice is dependant on how you are trading/distributing them. Different needs for different types of shipping/customers> Question 2. I have a 7 gallon acrylic that I am going to plumb into my 55 as an upstream refugium. I will have a double outflow. I wan to use it for pod growth and biodiversity, so will have thin layer sand, layer of live rock frags, then maybe Chaetomorpha on top, with a small PCompact (13 W) to light it. Will it work? <it sounds very good... although you will probably need to boost the lighting. And do try to adjust the water flow to get the Chaetomorpha tumbling always> I'm assuming a slow flow, maybe 20 gallons an hour, so I'm thinking will I need 20 or 25 mm (metric land) pipe for the outgoing water? <oh, no... please. This is a common mistake. Refugiums with slow flow become cesspools and do not produce well. They need good water flow... nearly as much as your reef. Try for at least 10X> cheers, Wayne Oxborough in Norway. <with kind regards, Anthony> OK, Who's eating my new Finger Leather Coral? 4/22/04 Hi Crew, Searched around the FAQ's and haven't had much luck. Would appreciate some help with this dilemma. <will do our best> I just bought a really nice looking finger coral from my LFS about 3 weeks ago. It has been doing great in my system, but began noticing that it was looking a little smaller than I had remembered. This leather is pure white (like hard boiled egg) with brown polyps. <pure white is not natural... you have a bleached animal that was stressed when you bought it my friend. Struggles you are seeing now may very well be the first signs of serious attrition or weakness to infection> I began to notice scalloped cut a ways (bite marks??) along the periphery of the coral and began to worry that someone was eating my new coral. <perhaps> Here are the usual suspects: Sparkey the Firefish - unlikely Nemo the clown (yep, Nemo, young kids really ruin the fun of naming fish, don't they??) - unlikely Bobo the clown (now there's a name) - unlikely Astro the Yellow Tang - not sure, but probably not Hermit Crabs - Hummm - don't know; I do have a rather aggressive one that is rather large - possible <do know that no hermit crabs are truly reef safe. They are all rather tricky in the long term> 3 large giant Turbo Snails - these guys made quick work of gobs of Caulerpa - won't think so Bristle worm(s) - set a trap for a couple nights; got nothing! - not likely <indeed, they are overrated as predators> I pulled the LR with the coral affixed from the main tank and put in my unpopulated quarantine tank. <I do wish this coral had gone into QT first for a solid 4 weeks on arrival. So many problems with pests, predators and diseases could be skirted if folks would obey this fundamental rule of animal husbandry. QT everything without exception!> Noticed a day or so later that there was some slug or Nudibranch looking creatures positioned around the coral. <yikes! Now this is a valid suspect> These guys (3 or 4 spotted so far) are pretty neat looking; very white, with projections coming from their backs that were topped with what look like snow flakes. Are these the dudes that are eating my finger leather?? <yes... quite possibly. The tassels on the back are cerata that evidence that they are carnivorous Nudibranchs. We have pics of these in our Reef Invertebrates book and you can see so many more online at the SeaSlug forum. More too in our FAQs and archives if you will take the tie to browse there> Not sure what to do. Should I remove the slugs and put the coral back in the main tank? <remove the slugs yes... but please (!) do not move this coral again in such a short period of time. Its a good way to stress and kill it. As it stands, it has been through no less than 4 different systems in the last month (perhaps more): wild to at least one wholesaler, then to your retailer, then to QT. No more moves please. Do let the coral stabilize for the next 4 weeks in QT> Should I remove the aggressive hermit? <a good idea to be safer in the long run, yes> What about the slugs? Suggestions please. <QT without exception for all new livestock in the future and you will spot these before they infect your tank> As always, I truly appreciate your help, comments and suggestions. Rick <best of luck, Anthony>
Please help ASAP: Mushroom Leather I have never used the site for a problem but I have one.<I'm all ears!!> I have had my tank for about 2 months now. I got it from a guy that was moving out of state, he had it for over a year. This is my first saltwater tank. It is a 72 gallon he said about 100lbs. of live rock and coral. I also have a Tomato Clown, Sailfin Tang, Coral Beauty and Neon Dotty Back I hope spelled all them right. Well I had a man who moves tanks and has a shop the move my tank and set it back up. He said it had some bad red algae and added chemicals which cleared up this problem.<what chemicals?> We went through a few little scares at least I was, my pump went out and I didn't even know it but I knew my fish weren't acting right.<agreed.. lack of oxygen in the system.. the fish tend to stay near the top of the aquarium> Anyway that was the first week and things were going really great, I love watching my fish and things I still don't know all there names.<you will in time> We did a partial water change when we set it up and a friend and I did one last Sunday. My nitrate had been high around 60 with the last water change it came down to about 30 or 40.<good, I would probably do another water change to get the nitrates down to around 20> Ok that was just a little history on my tank.<it helps.. believe me :)> My problem is Monday evening I noticed my mushroom leather looked kinda a brownish color on the bottom of the stalks. Well last night I noticed on the left stalk (it looks like two stalks Siamese twins like) has a notch/cut out piece that is little over ? inch high,about1/8 inch wide and 1/8 inch deep. When I first stared looking at it closely it looked like this little piece was lying right below the notch like it had been torn out. Well that's not the case because the notch started moving and crawled along the junction of the stalks to the to of the stalks right below the mushroom's umbrella (I guess is what you would call it) It looks a whitish color about the same size as the piece notched out of the stalk and has tiny tiny white things sticking out from it more on one end than both ends.<I believe you might have a leather eating Nudibranch.. best to remove him/her ASAP!!> I have been reading all I can on caring for my animals and I really won't to take care of them and I am not sure what this is. The only thing that have added to the tank a shrimp and I bought him from the guy's shop that moved my tank for me. That was 2 weeks ago. <It's probably a Nudibranch that found its way into your aquarium via LR... or maybe even by the coral itself lol...remove it before it finishes of your coral> Do you have any idea what this is?<above> Is it something I need to get out of tank?<yes> Please help ASAP. Thank You, Teri Coral Eating Crab (8-2-03) Hi, I've just noticed my
red-legged crab eating/nibbling on my soft coral. The crab is about the
size of Blue-legged hermits, but it's red and has one claw quite
bigger than the other. I thought those crabs were reef safe...? :-(
<They are supposed to be reef safe. Watch him some more
to make sure he is actually doing damage, then if he is take him out.
Cody> Thanks, Sick toadstool coral - parasite? Hi Crew, <Hey Matt> My
toadstool coral appears sick. Please see attached pic. He closed up
last week, and hasn't come back out since. <Not unlike a
toadstool to do this, but.....> There are what appears to be bite
marks on its flesh. <Possible stinging, poisoning, or is a clownfish
taking up residence in it> There is a Clarkii clown in the tank that
has began living in the coral the last few months as though it were an
anemone. <I see> Is it possible that he is responsible for the
damage? <Yes. Clownfish do bite to stimulate the anemone at times.
Check out our forums and ask around in there for more specific
information. Keep an eye on the toadstool however, as it has been noted
there are some mollusks that burrow into the crown or stalk of this
coral and feed from the inside out. May look unsightly, but keep your
water quality up and clean out the wound with a syringe or turkey
baster and I feel the coral will make a full recovery. Sarcophyton
corals are extremely hardy and resilient.> Or is there some other
forces at work? <Possible. These corals are also known for closing
shop for a few couple of weeks and shedding floc (chemical build-up,
digested foodstuffs, etc.) during growth periods. Keep an eye on it and
send us an update. Keep a journal if possible. You know, something to
reference at a later time just in case you see something like this
again. I just thought of something......... I remember Sally Joe over
at Graford working to connect clownfish to Sarcophyton corals. Do some
research on their site before calling them as they are with limited
abilities, trying to save money. (Aren't we all) If you can't
find anything specific to your situation then give Lionel a call. I am
sure he can relate some stuff he has seen or has heard discussed around
the shop. www.garf.org -Paul> Everything else in the tank is doing
great. <Glad to hear> Cheers, Matt Coral Slugs eating away I posted a message at 'About
Saltwater Aquarium' and was referred to this site ("Try
sending the pics over to wetwebmedia.com and ask Bob Fenner and the
boys they might be able to help"). <Anthony Calfo
in your service> Anyhow, here's my original post, I hope you
guys can help. Thanks in advance! <our great pleasure>
"I purchased a Sinularia coral about two weeks
ago. It's looked fine for the first few days but then
started closing up. I changed it's position in the tank
a few times but noticed yesterday that it was getting smaller and
portions appeared to be deteriorating. Well, upon closer inspection I
saw something eating away at the coral which looks like some sort of
slug (I've seen them once before eating my Colt coral).
<Correct... the same "Tassled" (cerata) Nudibranch
(Dendronotacea)> I pulled out the rock to remove the slug and found
a total of SIX, just eating away (coral is about 1/3 to 1/2 of it's
original size). Anyhow, I was wondering if anyone here can identify
these slugs (or whatever else they might be). <how
specifically? Not at all possible by photograph to species... perhaps
not even to genus. Suborder given above> Here are the pictures: One
last favor / question: I attached a picture of the coral (when it was
healthy). When I purchased the coral, the LFS said it was a
Sinularia BUT NOT a Finger Leather Coral. I would like to
narrow down the identification a bit further. It looks like
a Blushing Finger Leather (Cladiella) but I just don't
know. Any help would be great." <Hmmm... for the
record. The taxonomy has all changed for some of the Alcyoniids. The
tall branching colt corals we knew as Cladiella were moved to
"Alcyonium" then (now) to Klyxum. Your coral as depicted
appears to be a true Sinularia but may in fact be a legitimate
Cladiella>
Hole in my mushroom leather I have a large mushroom leather In my 125 gallon reef. Yesterday I noticed that half way down the stalk of the coral, there is a hole about the same diameter as a quarter. The hole itself runs toward the bottom of the coral about 2 inches deep, and up the coral about 1/2 inch. Today, the coral extended its polyps and seems to be acting normally. I have several other leathers, none of which are damaged in any way. Live stock in the tank consists of; one purple tang, one yellow tang, one yellow tail blue tang, one blue box fish, one yellow Coris wrasse, one six line wrasse, three cardinals, two peppermint shrimp, one banded coral shrimp, four emerald crabs, one arrow crab, and many different types of corals. The hole is on a side of the coral that is closest to a rock. No corals are close to the leather at all (at least 8 inches away in all directions). I do have a small case of flat worms, but I did not think they would damage corals. Do you know of any animals that could have inflicted this damage? By the way, my water parameters are always perfect. >> Hmm, a mystery... Well, as you allude to... could be the bristle worms getting rambunctious... Is the hole symmetrical? not obviously a sore? This could be (but doubtful) a type of scission... a splitting of the animal, a type of asexual reproduction... My best guess, most likely culprit is the Arrow Crab... Stenorhynchus... as these get bigger, they can become trouble... I would pull it and see if the nibbling ceases. Bob Fenner who remarks that even Mithrax Crabs may nibble at soft corals. |
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