White Spots On Finger Leather Coral 2/17/09 And Not Enough Information Hello, <Hello Mari> I have a finger coral that I placed in the tank over seven months ago. This coral has been doing well. It has just recently developed a lot of little white spots all over it. I have included a jpeg of the coral maybe you could shed some light on the problem. <Appears to me like this coral is bleaching. Bleaching is the term used when corals are expelling their Zooxanthellae, and can be caused by one or more of the following. A sudden rise or drop in water temperature, low water flow, a change in lighting, improper lighting, excess nutrients/poor water quality, low pH/dKH, and exposure to air are just a few reasons for this. You did not supply enough information for me to even guess what has caused this. What are your water parameters, flow rate, tank size, type of lighting used, age of lamp(s), photoperiod, supplements being added, etc.> Thank you in advance for your assistance! <You're welcome Mari. James (Salty Dog)> Mari Read

Flash and dying. RMF.

Re: White Spots On Finger Leather Coral 2/18/09 And Not Enough Information You are right!!! I did not give you enough info... My husband is the tank guy and I am the computer gal. Once I sent the email to you he told me that I did not give you guys enough info. <No problem, we just can't do much the first time around.> Tank size is 140 gal Lights are T-5 (3 day lights and 3 blue <This is not enough light for Sinularia corals and is likely why your coral is bleaching.> Temp is at 79 + or - 1 Flow is Mag 1800 pump Filter is refugium and Euro Reef protein skimmer Last water test ammonia 0, nitrates 10 ppm, nitrites 0, SG 1.023, ph 8.2 Talked to LFS and they suggested testing Magnesium, Iodine and Strontium Water changes 20 gal once a month Alk and Cal slightly high since tank set up. <What is slightly high?> This is a relatively new tank about 8 months from set up in fact this was one of the first corals in tank. Fish pop. Low 10 small fish (damsels and tang largest) Had some mushroom corals dissolve. LFS said this coral may be low on Iodine and to dip in Iodide bath for 20 min. we have not done this yet... waiting to hear from you if this is a good idea. <This coral appears to be too far gone for this to do much good, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. I don't know what dosage your LFS recommends, but I've read where Anthony Calfo recommends 10 drops of Lugol's per quart of aquarium water for 15 minutes.> Thank you so much <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Re: White Spot On Finger Leather Coral 2/19/09 James( Salty Dog) thanks so much!!! <You're welcome.> We will try the dip... you can't blame a girl for trying, who knows it may just work. How much light do you suggest??? We do not want Halogen lights, <meaning metal halide?> could you suggest a different set up on T-5's bulbs. <Yes, but first I need to know the length, width, and depth of your tank, and the wattage of your present lamps.> Thanks again <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Mari Re: White Spot On Finger Coral 2/20/09 Here is the info on the tank Length 48 inch Width 24 inch Depth 29 inch 3 day lights and 3 actinic Current lights are 48 inch T-5's 6x54 watts= 324 watts <Mmm, a pretty deep tank here. Increasing the lumen output of the lamps will help you here providing light loving corals are kept in the upper one third of the aquarium. I suggest to replace the three daylights and two actinics with 10K lamps which will give you much more intensity. I'm also thinking your daylights may be of the 50/50 type, that is 50% daylight/50% actinic, and if so, that configuration or your present, is not going to produce the amount of light the Finger Leather Corals require. Do read here and related articles/FAQ's. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marlgtganthony.htm> Thanks so much for your help! <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>

Soft Coral tank 01/12/09 Hello, I was wondering why some of the my soft Corals shed so much. I have inquired here before regarding my Toadstool and although it is o.k. it seems to want to shed a lot along with another Toadstool I have and my Cabbage Coral. Here is what I have in Corals;2 Toadstools (one Brown, one blond) Green star polyps (growing like crazy), I colony of Brown button polyps (open, but not in full "bloom") 1 Colt coral (always looks good, full and tall), 1 Cabbage coral (on one rock but two colonies, assorted mushrooms (doing well, spreading). I have 4 HO T5 lights, 2 actinic and 2 10,000k plus 2 PowerBrite strips (nice shimmer). Mag = 1280-1320, Calc = 400-420, Alk = 9-10 dKH, Temp = 80 degrees and SG = .025 <Salinity would be better at closer to 1.026.> I guess the two main concerns I have is about the Toadstools and Cabbage, especially the Cabbage. The Cabbage has a pattern of half of it shuts down to shed and the other half looks beautiful then the beautiful bunch closes down and the other bunch finishes shedding and looks great. This goes on CONSTANTLY. It is well over 1 year old and is spreading (but not like I have heard it would) and there is new growth. The Toadstools are shedding every 1-2 weeks. <wow> I inquired earlier about toxins and have added Chemipure elite but that didn't seem to change anything. I have a skimmer in the sump and all parameters are good. What would be your assessment of the constant shedding and any remedy is appreciated. <Interesting... well, leathers tend to shed to rid themselves of external irritants. Do you have any algae or other corals stepping up onto their space? Best, Sara M.>
Re: Soft Coral Tank 01/13/09 No offense Sara but I did not purposely mention that nothing is bothering them as I thought anyone responding would not give such a simplistic answer. Of course, there all type of people and some may overlook a simple thing like crabs walking over them, however that does not explain the constant shedding. I took painstaking effort to describe my issues if someone else could give me a more useful explanation of what may be going on in the tank it would be appreciated. <Good Sir/Madam-- I'm sorry if my answer to your question did not give you enough information. Shedding once every 1 to 2 weeks is just not all that unusual for Toadstool leathers (i.e. for Sarcophytons). These leathers just seem to shed more for some reason. Thus, I just don't think you need to worry about the Toadstools. As for the Cabbage coral, it sounds to me like you have two individuals that have grown together and are now "stuck" together, something like "Siamese twins." This might likely explain why they are shedding all the time. One of the corals might be constantly trying to outgrow or shed off the other one. They're stuck together and irritating each other and both trying to shrug/shed off the other, which ends up actually slowing them both down since they're "wasting" so much energy shedding. This explanation is what makes the most sense to me. However, I didn't want to say this was the case until you confirmed for me that there weren't any other obvious irritants. The irritants aren't always things we can see (they can be chemical too). I hope I've given you enough information now. If someone else would like to add to my input here, they are welcome to. Best, Sara M.>
Re: Soft Coral tank, Alcyoniid shedding... beh., hlth.  1/14/09 Yes, yes....this was my thinking about the Cabbage as well. I at first dismissed it because they were so close together when it was smaller I thought it was one colony but as it grew larger I can see the distinction. Thank you for the reply, have a great day! <Cool... a great day to you as well! -Sara M.>

Devils hand dying? 11/13/08 Hi, Can anyone please advise me? <I'll certainly try> I purchased a Devils Hand Leather Coral about a week ago - very large about 14inches across, in the LFS tank it was beautiful, all its polyps were out and it looked like a flower bed. I got it home and settled it into my tank. It was naturally all closed up and looked green, It is still green although the shade of green has lightened considerably over the last few days. I have 2x250 MA lights, 2 Actinic 54W and two Blue Actinic 54W. <Mmm, how does this and other conditions compare to where it was housed previously?> I wasn't too concerned about it staying closed as I thought it was just settling in. Last night I noticed that it is splitting along a fold. I can see clean white flesh, also by one of its fingers I can see a hole. I have checked my water param.s and all seem okay, Phosphate 0, <Mmm, why? As in, by what means? All life needs some HPO4> Calcium 450, Strontium 1500, <Mmm... likely you mean/t Magnesium> Nitrate 0.01, nitrite 0, Ammonia 0. The tank is 450ltrs and I am skimming 24/7. I feed phyto every couple of days and I add iodine weekly. Neither the tear or the hole appear to be necrotic, both showing clean white flesh. The tear has occurred where the leather has 'folded' himself. What could be causing this and what can I do to save the coral? <Mmm... if this animal is opening, appears fine otherwise, I would not be overly concerned... Alcyoniids do split asexually under very good and dire conditions. Perhaps the move elicited this behavior. Bob Fenner> Any help much appreciated Regards Pauline
Re: Devils hand dying?  11/17/08 Hi Bob <Pauline> Many thanks for your reply. Just to update you, on closer inspection I noticed that the Devils Hand had grown onto two rocks and that the 'split' had occurred where the rocks met each other. He has now fully split so I now have two!! <Can, does happen> The exposed flesh still appears clean and white and there are no apparent signs of necrosis. He hasn't opened up yet but apart from that still appears okay. He is in good flow and currently 'shedding', I'm keeping a close eye on him and have set up a QT tank 'just in case', I was about to remove him from the tank as I was concerned that if he died he would cause the tank to crash but on receipt of your reply I decided to leave him as is and just continue to watch for signs of necrosis. <Good. This is what I would do> Again, many thanks for your quick response, I wasn't too sure if you would respond to appeals for help from the uk. <Heeee! Some of WWM Crew are natives... no hard feelings being an ex colonial... Ha!> Your site is a brilliant source of information and just by looking through other QA's I have gained so much reassurance and knowledge. Much regards Pauline <Cheers! BobF>

Alcyoniid hlth. reading   10/22/08 Hi, I have a new system of 175l with external canister filter, internal filter 2 Power heads so good water turnover, temp is stable 78-80 ph of 8.0 nitrates is Creeping to 20, <Mmm, do read on WWM re NO3 and canister filter use on/with marine systems> calcium of 440, phosphate 1.0 <High> salinity of 1.023, <Low> carbonate Hardness 214.8 troubles is I have a devils finger coral that overnight has Detached itself from its rock and crumbled mostly in to a chalky powder, <Bad> I am Worried this is predation or disease <Environmental> please could u <...> give me any information, I Have 2okg of live rock so it's a reef based aquarium. Thanks Donna P.S My apologies for the bad grammar, I was rushing when typing and forgot to run a check. Great site also by the way. Many thanks Donna <Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/softcrlsysfaqs.htm  the linked files above, and where you find yourself embedded links of interest. Bob Fenner>
Alcyoniid hlth., reading   8/24/08 I have a green finger coral in my 55 gal tank, I also had a brittle starfish, I took the starfish out of the tank, and the coral started to look wilted, does the starfish give off any toxins when frighten? <Mmm, not as far as I'm aware, no> I changed about six gallons of water, and still the coral doesn't look any better...can you please help? give me any info on what I should do? <Well... need to know a bit more here... re other tankmates, the system gear make-up, foods/feeding... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/alcydisf10.htm and the linked files above... till you have an idea of the sorts of data we're looking for... Bob Fenner>

Lobed Leather Coral Problem   7/12/08 Hello, <Greg> I recently purchased a rose colored <? Have never seen such in the wild...> leather coral for a reef aquarium. Other inhabitants at the time were an open brain coral, some platypoa (sp?) <Maybe Palythoa> polyps, pipe organ, and a mushroom rock. Everything was going great for weeks. All corals were healthy and opening fully, including the leather.? I then added one other mushroom rock and a single large hairy mushroom. <Oh oh...> The leather still had plenty of room to open and not be touched by any other coral. I left for vacation a few days later and returned today. I have now noticed some yellow spots on the rose leather coral, with one spot turning into a yellow ring with darker tissue inside the ring. There is also a blotch of pale yellow on one area of the coral. I am assuming this is some type of necrosis. Am I dealing with some type of chemical warfare or may it be a water quality problem. <Likely the first, perhaps some of the second> All other corals are acting fine. Tank parameters are: pH: 8.4 Salinity: 1.024 Temp: 80 F Ammonia:?0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate:?0 I did notice that there was a power failure while I was gone, but I don't know for how long. Also, the pH seems to have been unusually stable while I was gone.? Usually it drifts down to 8.1 - 8.2 over several days and I buffer it back up to 8.3 - 8.4.? <Mmm, through water changes, gradually I hope, trust> However, after leaving for a week, the pH stayed right at 8.4.? This hasn't happen before.? I did change some activated carbon and cleaned out the skimmer cup before leaving on vacation.? Should I leave it alone and see what happens or take some action. Thanks, Greg <Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: Lobed Leather Coral Problem  7/18/08 Greetings, <Salutations> Still having a problem with a leather coral.? <You are??> It appears to be in the process of shedding, but there are several spots of a yellow dried wax like substance.? The yellow substance comes off easily when rubbed with a dull plastic tip.? <Good... likely natural material... exudate... thought to be useful in preventing fouling organism establishment and more> No tissue necrosis underneath, but the tissue color appears different than surrounding tissue.? Coral has been closed up for about a week now.? It is not showing any tissue degeneration, but does slough off some mucous on different? spots every night.? Lastly, I have notice some very small flat worm looking organisms on the coral after lights out.? <Might be... flatworms> I siphoned them off, but can't tell if any damage was done.? Some small shrimp looking animals have also been seen after lights out crawling around on the coral.? What should I do from here?? <Mmm, keep on, keeping on...> How long should it take for the coral to shed?? <Usually hours to days...> Is a week unlikely?? Two weeks? Thanks, Greg <Boosting health, circulation, water quality... should help all the way around... Read again where you were referred to. Bob Fenner>

Soft Coral Rotting -- 05/13/08 Hi there. <<Hello>> Was hoping you guys can help and quick! <<Let's see>> I got what I believe is a medusa soft coral about 6-8 weeks ago and was doing fantastic, but now is looking really worse for wear. <<Hmmm, hard for me to tell without the polyps extended 'but it looks more like a Sinularia species rather than a Sphaerella species, to me. Not that it likely has any bearing on your problem>> I have tried to include some pictures to help but not sure how clear they will be. <<Clear enough I think>> He has slowly refused to open more and more and for only very short periods when he does. My other soft coral has also gone through a bit of a rough patch and I thought it may have been down to a water change. I added my pH buffer to the new water and it went cloudy, this took a long time to disperse and seems to when they both closed down, could this have been the problem? <<Ah yes, sounds like you had a precipitation event from over-dosing the buffer 'is very hard on your tank inhabitants. Do have a read here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm) and also perform a Google search on our site re 'precipitation event'>> My other one has now recovered to almost full health. What do I need to do?? <<Not much to do at this point other than maintain your water quality and ensure your bio-minerals are in 'balance' (reference the article)>> Any thoughts or suggestions will be of great help. <<The precipitation event was likely the 'last straw' so to speak for this coral. It was probably already in a weakened state from its close proximity to that Anemone I see in your tank. Judging from the pictures, the tank seems 'just big enough' for the Anemone alone 'and certainly too small to be housing it with sessile inverts too 'in my opinion>> Most appreciated Wayne Tunnah <<Happy to share. EricR>>

Re: Soft Coral Rotting -- 05/14/08 Thanks a lot for your help. <<Welcome, mate>> This has been of great use. <<Ah'¦good>> Perhaps I'll try moving him further away from the Anemone? <<Won't make much difference I think 'not in this size tank>> Or should I just sit on my hands for now? <<Best to move the coral to another tank altogether>> I've also made the water a bit more brisk around him to also try and help any recovery he might make. <<The increased water movement, though not likely to 'cure' anything in this instance 'is still of benefit to the tank as a whole>> The Anemone was only half the size in the dealers display and looked almost fully open at the stage of purchase. He just inflated massive when I gave him his new home! Guess he's happier now then? <<Mmm, maybe 'or maybe trying to gain more light from an insufficient source by making itself larger/increasing its surface area 'is only a guess>> Thanks again and I'll let you know whether he pulls through or not..... Wayne <<Please do'¦ EricR>>