|
|
FAQs about Caryophyllid Coral Disease, Pests,
Predation 5
Related Articles:
Coral Pests and Disease; pests, predators, diseases and conditions
by Sara Mavinkurve, Caryophyllid
Corals, Elegance Coral,
Related FAQs: Caryophyllid Disease 1,
Caryophyllid Disease 2, Caryophyllid
Disease 3, Caryophylliids 4,
Caryophyllid Disease 6, Caryophyllid
Disease 7, Elegance Coral
Disease/Pests, & Caryophylliids 1, Caryophylliids
2, Caryophylliids 3,
Caryophylliids 4,
Caryophyllid ID, Caryophyllid
Compatibility, Caryophyllid Systems,
Caryophyllid Selection, Caryophyllid
Behavior, Caryophyllid Feeding,
Caryophyllid Propagation/Reproduction,
Stony/True Coral, Coral System Set-Up,
Coral System Lighting, Stony Coral
Identification, Stony Coral Selection,
Coral Placement,
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,
Disease/Health, Propagation,
Growing Reef Corals, Stony
Coral Behavior, | 
|
Brown Spots on bubble tips of Torch Coral. 9/11/07
I just got this new torch coral from a reputable reef shop here, and
they had it for several months and was doing fine.
I'm not 100% sure
it wasn't like this to begin with, but I just noticed and now I'm
worrying; On quite a few of the bubble tips of the arms I have noticed
small brown dots, please see the attached Picture.
<Yes, I see.>
My SG is 1.025
PH 8.4
Alk 11 DKH
Calc 375 (yeah its a little
low)
Nitrate 5
Nitrite’s ammonia 0
[img]http://www.wootgold.com/algae/torch.jpg[/img]
Is this something
I should worry about?
<I would not worry.>
Or is it just
acclimation stress.
<Could just be a color variation, I wouldn't be
overly concerned.>
Oh and all my other corals: Zoas, A Brain, a
Hammer Coral, and a couple Candycanes - look fine.
<Just give them
all some space. Lots of potential for sweeper tentacles here! I hope you
run Carbon as well.>
Thank you
<Welcome! Mich>
Ryan
Hammer coral problem... just beh. 8/30/07
I have a younger branching hammer coral. It hasn't branched yet its
still a single piece.
As I was watching my tank tonight, aprox 15 min
before the lights would turn off, I noticed that a few of the tentacles
started to turn a dark brownish color and shrink in. Then a brownish,
stringy film started coming straight out of the center of the coral. It
would grow to about an inch or so then break off as it continued. Before
the lights had turned off, the entire coral had shrunk up and doesn't
look very healthy.
<So long as it returns to normal by the morning,
it's fine. Corals do this all the time. It's something like pooping (for
lack of a better word). They also do it to expel zooxanthellae.>
This
all took place 1 day after a 50% water change. Everything else in the
tank is incredibly healthy and as vibrant as ever!
What can I do?
<You don't need to do anything. Hakuna matata my friend.>
~Mike F
<Best,
Sara M.>
Bubble Coral, hlth., fdg., beh.
8/29/07
Greetings Crew,
I've had a bubble coral for about
2 months now and he has been doing very well. Recently with the last
few weeks he is just not inflating very much. He has 5 separate
stalks in which 4 of them will at times stretch out extremely far,
but one very rarely extends. The bubbles themselves have not
achieved the sized that I had recently had.
I have them under
power compact lighting in a 29 gallon BioCube ( 144 watt ) 2 actinic
and 2 10000 k sunlight. My water parameters are as follows
Ph 8.4
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
Ammonia 0
SG 1.025
Calcium 520 ppm
<whoa, seriously?!>
Phosphate 0
Temperature 78-79 F
<What
is your alkalinity?>
I have seen my temperature climbing in
excess of 81 degrees on occasion since I do live in Florida and it's
summer. I've recently propped up the enclosure so I have a 3/4" gap
around the tank and hood and opened the rear sump door and front
feeding door to get in some more airflow to see if this alleviates
some problems.
I'm also feeding some i some silversides once a
week to whichever stalks happen to have their "mouths" open. If it
turns out not to be a heat issue, what else could it be. I also feed
them phytoplankton and regularly does Coral-Accel and Coral Vita
<Ok, no more silversides unless you chop them up as small as diced
onions. A lot of people make the rookie mistake of thinking that
because the mouth of the bubble coral is so big, it must want really
big food. It doesn't. It's similar to the fact that you could
probably fit a whole lemon in your mouth but getting it down is
another matter. Try feeding the polyps much smaller pieces (Mysid
shrimp are a good start). I'd ditch the coral-Accel and coral
vital.>
Missing info ... I have the coral skeleton in live sand
at the bottom of the tank in mild water flow area. It is in the open
so it is also receiving direct lighting. I rearranged the live rock
a little bit so I could get him out of direct light per your
article.
<Also try to make sure that they can fully expand
without scraping the sand.>
Tim
<Best,
Sara M.>
Re: Bubble Coral, hlth., fdg., beh.
8/29/07
Lol... Yeh... I use a 2 part kit for calcium and
alkalinity ( B-ionic ) I ran out of alkalinity test solution so I
couldn't provide that :(
<Yikes! Dude, how did you even measure
that? My test kit only goes to 500ppm! lol Anyway... your alkalinity
is probably dangerously low. You should get an alkalinity kit ASAP.
If it's low you can raise it with baking soda (couple teaspoons at a
time).>
and yes I do chop the silverside up extremely small and
the bubble eats it very very slowly
<Ah, good... sorry I
underestimated your sophistication. :-)
Best,
Sara M.>
Re: Bubble Coral... hlth.
7/29/07
Actually had some more test fluid ... grr...
my
alkalinity is dKH 12 ppm KH 214.8
Is this too high ?
<It's a
little high. Which is surprising given your calcium level. But it
happens. You must be using one of those two-part solutions. Stop
using it until things fall down to normal. You'll have to keep
testing the water regularly to get a sense of what your routine
needs to be (how often to add the solution).>
I included a
picture of how he is at the moment. I have never seen him
extended this far, feeder tentacles are out also.
<It's really
closed up in the photo. Is this the one you meant to send? It looks
like it suffered quite a bit of tissue recession around the base.
But given the color of the skeleton I'm guessing that happened some
time before you got it, right? The polyps still look ok, except for
being closed.>
I decided to feed him some Kent Phytoplex at this
point.
<That's not going to do anything. The corals we keep in
aquariums don't eat phytoplankton (at least not directly). If you
want to feed it something small besides the minced silversides, try
Cyclop-eeze or brine or Mysid shrimp.
Warming up the water a bit
wouldn't hurt either. 80 to 83F is usually the best temp range for
these indo-pacific corals.
Best,
Sara M.>
Re: Bubble Coral... hlth.
7/29/07
Your
right on the money there, I'm using Bi-Onic two part solution
<Ah, that would explain it. The two part solutions are great for
smaller tanks (except that they're sometimes easy to over dose). It
gets difficult to afford using them in bigger tanks. I mean,
seriously, $20 a bottle?! At that price you'd think it involved the
feces of some exotic bat found deep in the rain forest, harvested by
an Incan priestess and dissolved in holy water.>
I'm not sure
what you mean by tissue recession and he picture doesn't quite show
it, but tissue is actually up very high (may be the angle I took the
picture at, here is second one
<On pristine bubble corals, there
is tissue covering the whole base and completely covering the
"teeth" of the polyps. When, because of stress, starvation, etc.,
tissue recession starts, it often starts at the base and works its
way up. If it keeps going, it will leave only part of the polyp
tissue left (it looks like this happened on at least one of the
polyps of your coral). When it recovers, it doesn't grow back the
way it came. As far as the coral is concerned, its dead skeleton is
now just another rock. It can grow new skeleton and tissue over the
old skeleton, but this takes time. And in the mean time, you can
have a bubble coral that's a little funky looking. A lot of
aquarists don't recognize this because they don't have any mental
image of what the coral should look like. They only know what other
store and aquarium corals look like. And it's rare to see a coral in
an aquarium that's in pristine condition.
But don't get down
about it. Your guy is a survivor. The coral looks like it's been
through hell (likely quite some time before you first saw it). But
it also looks like it's been healing and growing back. It just needs
a little TLC to keep it going. Ideally, you should feed it at night
(after lights out).>
Grrr... guessed I wasted my money on that.
<Happens to the best of us... ;-) Phytoplankton can be useful for
other reasons, but I probably wouldn't use PhytoPlex this way.>
I
feed frozen brine every day to my fish, will the coral get enough
nourishment out of this.
<Probably not (not for this kind of
coral). The best thing you can do for this coral is to target feed
it at night. Don't over do it (obviously), but don't get discouraged
if it doesn't start opening up right away. Give it a week or two.>
I was worried when my temperatures got to high. Would 80 be a happy
medium for most species ?
<Yep. Do keep us updated! :-)
Best,
Sara M.> |
|
Candy cane/ torch coral loss, help please! 8/23/07
Hi Crew,
I have a 37 gallon salt water reef tank. My nitrates are in the o.k.
range, and my filtration system is (2) 50 gallon aqua clear filters,
lighting is coral life, 30in 130 watt fixture, (1) T-5 30in 36 watt
fixture, salinity perfect, 50 lbs of live rock.
I have torch coral
that shrivels, falls apart, dies one head at a time, (no brown slime). I
also have been battling red algae (with frequent water changes & rock
cleaning) which seems to also be on the stem of the torch coral.
<These events may be related...>
I do maintain an arsenal of snails
in the tank. How can I salvage what is left of my torch coral??
<Break off the living heads, or the dead ones... move the live part/s to
another system>
I also have candy cane coral which appears to have
some sort of pale yellow calcified growths with one small tube
protruding out per growth. The growth surrounds the base of the heads
and at this point I have lost 3. The growth is starting to appear on the
live rock at various points in the tank. What should I do to save the
rest of my coral and do I need to eradicate the growth, and if so, how??
Thanks, JP
<"Frag momma frag, whatcha gonna do?" Need to discern
what the real/root cause/s of the trouble in this one system is/are...
and fix... "Small systems are hard to keep stable, optimized"... Perhaps
a cursory reading on WWM re toxic tanks will bring something live to
your consciousness. Bob Fenner> Can
Frogspawn pull a Lazarus? Mmm, yes... Euphylliid hlth, octopus Systems
5/7/07
Hi, I recently purchased a small green frogspawn coral
from a local LFS. It seemed to be fine viewing it in the store but upon
bringing it home and acclimating it the coral refused to open and soon
afterwards had this whitish stringy goo coming off it. It then proceeded
to degenerate rapidly until it appeared only a skeleton was left. I
moved the remnants of the coral to the 30gal
<Mmm, a comment for
all... re order of operation... Better by far to isolate all new such
incoming livestock up front... to "harden", observe...>
I had set up
for the octopus
<? For a cephalopod? This is too small a volume for
most all available species>
(temp quarantine tank now I guess).
Shortly after this move the coral seemed to be showing signs of life.
whitish filamentous tissue began growing inside it. Over the last few
days it has rapidly began to look like a piece of cauliflower attached
to rock. I am observing it now hoping it is indeed alive and it isn't
just "mold" growing on it. Is it possible for a stony coral to regrow
from a skeleton if the tissue inside the disk was still alive?
<Oh
yes>
How might I help this process (other then leaving the poor guy
alone already)?
<Posted...>
Should I try and feed it some
micro-vert if I think it's exposing tentacles?
<This and other
materials, yes...>
The octo tank is fitted with a single actinic
strip
<Not useful... needs other wavelengths, intensity...>
and
an undergravel filter. I have a nano-skimmer on order (should arrive the
middle of next week). The last test for things showed ph at 8.2, ammonia
and nitrite 0, and nitrate at 1. The tank is still relatively new. Just
some of the old h2o was saved from the move to the 55gal to help the
cycling for said future dwarf octo home.
<Much, much to relate...
Thankfully you can find/access all on your own... Please learn to/use
the search tool, indices on WWM... Your answers (and more) are already
posted/archived there. Bob Fenner> Re: can Frogspawn pull a
Lazarus? Mmm, yes... Euphylliid hlth, octopus Systems – 05/07/07
Hi Bob
Thank you for the reply. I had tried looking but didn't see
the info I was searching for. I will try again tonight to find info on
regenerating corals/frogspawn.
<Yes... use the search tool on the
"Asking the WWM..." page that can/will highlight cached view terms...
Euphylliids and many other stony corals can/do regenerate thus... esp.
important in the wild re "bleaching events">
The coral has began to
show a greenish brown around the base to middle portion of the main
stem.
<Mmm, might be just algae...>
I will add more light and
continue to observe it. My research showed they liked lower light levels
and relatively still waters. Is this incorrect?
<... I REALLY don't
like to just state qualitative terms... please see WWM re actual values>
The octo I intend to acquire is the Atlantic joubini species. Is a 30
not recommended for them?
<Mmm... might do here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Pygmy_Octopus>
I am taking
my time with finding one. The tank will need to cycle for at least
another 2 or 3 months before I am ready for him. Thanks again.
Jon
<Do take care to ensure the top is COMPLETELY escape proof... Not just
with the water level lowered... BobF> Strange
"hand" Coral Barnacle (Pyrgomatid) 4/24/07
<Hi Harry,
Mich here.>
I purchased a nice size torch coral 3 days ago, and have
noticed this strange looking white thing that appears out of its hole
(about 1/8 of an inch in dia.) It appears every few seconds and seems to
be coming out then popping back inside its hole. The "thing" in question
has approx. 10 to 12 very thin white fingers . Attached are 2 pics. the
first one is the hole and the second is the "thing" coming out of the
hole,,,, hope the pics help
<Yes, photos are usually very
helpful. This is a barnacle. It shouldn't do any harm and will likely
not survive more than a few months in captivity.>
Thx for your
help,,,,,,,,, Harry B
<Welcome! Mich>
Hammerhead coral, hlth., beh. 3/31/07
Hi Guys
<Hi Sue, Mich here!>
Love you all lots
<Gimme some lovin!>
- so much information in these QA's its mind boggling!
<Or as
Chaz Michael Michaels would say it's "mind bottling">
Thanks.
<Welcome!>
I have a problem with my Hammerhead coral which is in
a nano reef 15gals. I've had this coral for about six weeks and its
been fine then, of all things a snail push this off its perch at the
top of the tank and it had a fall onto a ledge below. As you can
see from the photo, one of the three branches has since withdrawn
and does not come out. Is this shock? and/or is it dying?
<Either are possibilities.>
Do you think it was the fall that
caused this or something else;
<Yes, likely the fall caused
this.>
water quality is fine. Is there anything I can do?
<I
would keep a close eye on it. Watch for signs of Brown Jelly
disease and if it occurs, quickly and I do mean quickly, remove this
head (you should be able to break it off relatively easily) and dip
it in a solution of 10 drops of Lugol's in a quart of water. More
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/caryophyllids.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corldisfaqs.htm >
Should I
attach the coral to the life rock permanently (assuming it lives
long enough!)?
<Once it either returns to health or kicks the
bucket, attaching it would be wise.>
The corals are fed on a
weekly basis.
<I would encourage you to soak your foods in a
vitamin supplement such as Selcon, which also has HUFAs (highly
unsaturated fatty acids) and while you're at it take your vitamins
too! More here also:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corlfdgfaqs.htm
Also I need to
mention in your photo there is a Catalina goby pictured. This fish
is completely inappropriate for your system. Catalina Gobies
(Lythrypnus dali) are a cool water species, preferring water temps
between 64-71 F.
Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lythrypnus.htm
Your corals are found in tropical waters. An appropriate
temperature would be around 78-79 F. The elevated temperature will
cause this beautiful fish an early death. I would encourage you to
find this fish a more suitable home outside of this system.>
Thanks
<Welcome! Mich>
Sue | 
|
Caution: Falling Rocks… Possible Damage to Frogspawn (Euphyllia divisa)
3/18/07
Hello,
<Greetings! Mich here.>
I have a 24
gal nano and I have had it for three months and every thing has been
great but today some of my rock has collapsed and my frogspawn is very
mad along with every thing else.
<Yikes! Can't say I blame him for
being mad. Kind of rocked his world...>
Will they die
<Hopefully not!>
or can I rebuild and replace them?
<You can
make him better than he was before, better, stronger, faster! OK, maybe
not faster... Rebuild! Keep your water quality up. You didn't say
much about anything else in the tank, but the frogspawn may product
mucus that could be harmful to tank mates. If possible I would add
either carbon or a PolyFilter, both would be better. More here and the
links in blue: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/caryophyllids.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/caryoeuph2.htm
Good luck! Mich>
Re: Caution: Falling Rocks. Damage to Frogspawn (Euphyllia divisa) and
Others. 3/21/07
<Hi again Tyler, Mich here.>
Sorry for not
giving the details I was kind of traumatized at the time.
<Understandable.>
I have the following in my tank frogspawn, xenia
that just died due to an ammonia spike,
<Sorry for your loss.>
green and brown star polyps,
<Pachyclavularia violacea is quite
capable of allelopathy.>
multiple mushrooms, four zoas well three
one was lost in the accident, Fish: a Rainford goby, red firefish, and
a 6 line all of which are doing fine,
<Very good.>
but it's the
coral I am worried about. My green Zoa that was doing absolutely fine
and now it will not open nor anything else except the frogspawn.
Surprisingly he has coping with it more than anything else.
<Well
this is good.>
How long does it take for a tank to get back to
normal?
<Depends, give it some time.>
Thanks for responding.
<Welcome -Mich>
Tyler Kohring Re:
Caution: Falling Rocks. Damage to Frogspawn (Euphyllia divisa) and
Others. 3/21/07
<Hi Tyler, Mich with you again.>
I have tried to stay alert with my tank but the frogspawn and candy
alike have their skeletons sticking through them
<Hang in there my
friend. They can recover. They may benefit from some supplemental
feedings with meaty foods soaked in the vitamin supplement Selcon.>
Star polyps have algae all over them.
<Move them to an area with
more circulation.>
every thing except the mushrooms and fish seem
doomed to dieing I don't know what to do
<Well, don't
give up! You are fortunate you didn't loose any fish. I'm sorry about
the problems you're having. The good news is these corals are
relatively hardy and could very recover. They may need some time. Are
you running carbon and a PolyFilter? I think these would help. A
well-matched water change wouldn't hurt either. -Mich> Re:
Caution: Falling Rocks. Damage to Frogspawn (Euphyllia divisa) and
Others. Follow-up 4/1/07
Hello sorry I didn't email
you my computer had technical difficulties. I am happy to say that my
tank is doing better
<Great!>
it seems I had a broken heater and
once I fixed it every thing flourished.
<Yes, this could create a
whole host of problems.>
I have one last question since my frogspawn
has come back out his arms aren't long like they use too be. Will they
grow long again or will they stay short?
<They may extend with
time. Glad to hear things are improving. Mich> Example of how
NOT to ask for advice 2/14/07 ...? Or not how to respond...
I
had two torch coral frags, one of them recently died. (All of the soft
membrane torches detached from the stony body and landed in the sand, I
am no longer able to see them) The remaining frag is now starting to
detach also, I have one of three corals on the frag that is literally
hanging by a thread to the stony body. My water is fine, as per my local
marine aquarists store. What is going on?
<I wish I knew. Maybe your
retailer wants to sell more corals to you in the future. You didn't
include any of these "fine" test results, nor any system specifics. This
job of determining cause/effect is extremely difficult to perform *WITH*
the pertinent info. Imagine how that difficulty increases when given
none of it. Hmm? Firstly, I suggest you decide if your system meets any
of the basic needs of the animal you are trying to keep, by looking at
the index under corals and finding the Catalaphyllia section. Then read
read read.> <<Mmm... who is this? Torch corals are Euphyllias... RMF>>
Tale of two polyps ... Plerogyra beh., hlth. 11/16/06
<Hi
Brian, Michelle here.>
Thanks again for answering another
question. Last week I purchased a small green bubble coral. <I'm
assuming you are writing about Plerogyra sp.> Looked good at the LFS as
usual.
Placed him medium high in the tank, 2x96 watt PC 10k and
actinic. One polyp does exactly what I expect it to do. Nice bubbles
during day, tentacles at night and readily accepts, Mysid shrimp and
small pieces of squid. <Sounds happy.> The other polyp, not so
good. During the day, only sort of half fills up with bubbles. <I am
assuming you mean the bubbles are only partially filled? Lot of times
the mouth looks wide open. At night, it shrinks down to a white flesh
next to the rock and it will not accept food. The tentacles sort of
dangle.
What's going on here? <It's not happy.> Is the one dead or
dying. <maybe, maybe not> If you loose one, does the other one die?
<If it is a separate branch, it should be ok.>
Any
help would be appreciated. <There are several reasons one branch may be
unhappy, while the other is ok. Some things to consider: water flow,
neighboring corals (chemical allelopathy) and possibly injury to a
branch during transport.
Thanks <You're welcome!>
Brian F Green hammer coral 11/8/06
We have a 72 gal
tank with 130 lbs of rock. Our lighting is 4 X 96 watts, 2 of the
6,700/10,000K and 2 of the 420/460 actinic that are 7 1/2 months
old. We leave the full light on 8 hrs a day. We have a wet/dry filter
with a Pro Clear 150 Skimmer. I also have 3 Maxi-Jets to push the water
around. My water tests our pH 8.2-8.3, ammonia is 0, nitrites 0,
nitrates are very low, salt is 1.022,
<Too low...>
phosphates
are 0.2, and calcium is
420.
<Alkalinity?>
We have an old
green hammer and a new one. Both are about in the middle of the
tank. The old one faded and is a light pink color now, but it was never
that colorful to begin with. We just bought another bright green hammer
that was full of color.
<Mmmm, what about whatever was the cause/s
for the old ones demise?>
It has been in there for about a
month. It seems happy and is extended nicely but the color is
fading. Any clue why it would be doing this? Should I change the type
of bulbs? Thanks a lot Chris
<... please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/carydisfaqs.htm
and the linked files
above. Bob Fenner>
Hammer Coral in Peril - 11/04/06
I have a soft hammerhead coral
<<Euphyllia ancora is a "stony" coral, often referred to in the trade as
an LPS coral (Long Polyp Stony)>>
which is actually two separate
corals on two ends of one piece of rock. One side of the coral appears
to be dying. Some of the tentacles are shrinking and others are very
light colored on the end, but very dark red at the base.
<<May be
environmental/water-quality related...may be bacterial>>
I noticed
this evening after the lights were turned off and then back on that
there is some type of very small crustacean-like creature, which appears
to be living in the rock too. Could this be the cause?
<<Maybe...but more likely these are a species of harmless amphipods...a
beneficial detritivore>>
I cannot find anything about this
online. How can we save the coral?
<<Sometimes a temperature and pH
compensated freshwater dip (with or without the addition of mendicants)
will help, but depending on the degree of deterioration, you might be
better breaking-off/removing the afflicted coral head. Please do start
reading here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/caryophyllids.htm)
and here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/carydisfaqs.htm)
and do follow/read among the related links at the tops of the
pages. Regards, EricR>>
PLEASE HELP ASAP!!! Ammonia
spike!!! Cnid., Anemone incomp. 9/30/06
Hey crew. I
need your advice. I have (maybe had) a 29 gallon reef with a 15 gallon
refugium. I was gone for 2 days and came back to see I had a bubble
coral looking like it had died twice! I removed it, and took a water
sample. Ammonia was .25 ppm. Well, I just so happened to be out of
salt and needed to wait till the morning to go get some. All of a
sudden... white slime (looks kinda like mucus) come off of
everything. Every piece of live rock, every mushroom... everything. I
tried syphoning as much as I could.
<Yikes>
I ran and got
an old Fluval and threw some carbon in it and ran it for the night.
<Good try>
I woke up the next morning to about 10 dead mushrooms, a
dead hammer coral, and a rose bubble tip
<... incompatible>
that
was not looking good at all. I removed all of them..
<Best... but
not back together... the root cause...>
and noticed lots of goo
coming off over every part of the anemone. So, ... as I tried not to
freak out, but rather act quickly..... I went as fast as I could and
got some salt. I did a 10 gallon water change right then, and had to
run into work. I cam back from work and did a water test and the
ammonia was 1.0 ppm. I was at a loss of what to do. I contacted my LFS
and asked what they recommended. I was instructed to do a very very
large water change.
<About the best stop-gap measure>
I changed 21 gallons of the 29 or so (less cause of live rock) and
left the water that was in the refugium. I added a bag of live sand and
mixed it with the sand currently in there hoping not to destroy all the
helpful bacteria. I then added 21 gallons of freshly made water and
added a packet of bio-Spira marine. Before the water change...
everything looked like they were saying good bye to life... now they
look like they want to fight to live. I have a strange feeling this
large of a water change will cause the tank to cycle again. I was
hoping to defeat this fear with bio-Spira.. but only time and your
advice will tell.
I did a full water test. Here are the results:
Ammonia - .25 (maybe .5, holding the test tube looks like both of
them. More so the .25 but I guess I should error on the side of
caution)
Nitrite .05
Nitrate 5.0
Alk 2.9
Ph 8.4
Ca - 300
Salinity 1.026
Please give me some
advice on what to do. Anything and everything I can do. I was planning
on doing another 8 gallons tomorrow to try and lower that ammonia. Are
the benefits of doing the change worth the risk of further causing the
tank to cycle? I am soo lost and need your help.
Josh Henley
<Mmm, something "caused" the initial stress/reaction
of the one Euphylliid... very likely something to do with the presence
of the Anemone... cascade of bad-events after this... Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompfaqs.htm
and the linked files above, particularly re Anemone Incompatibility with
other Cnidarians. Bob Fenner>
Dead hammer 9/15/06
Hey guys:
First thanks for all the
great advice and information I’ve received from your site. I have a
hammer coral that I picked up from the LFS about a week ago. Within
about 8 hours of being in my tank, two of the three heads expanded out
really well, but the third has gotten progressively worse and now I fear
has died.
<Happens at times>
There isn't any of brown slime or
evidence of any parasites or infection. Is there anything that can be
done to try and stimulate it to re-grow, or, if its too late, was there
something I could have done? Also, probably just wishful thinking, can
it re-grow after it has completely receded to just the skeleton? thanks
you guys; you're always lots of help.
<Yep. Read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/caryophyllids.htm
and the linked
files above. Bob Fenner>
Dying torch coral 8/12/06
Hello. Your site is
great. I have had a torch coral in my 75g tank for 4 months. About a
month ago it started to not look so good. Some of the tentacles were
not reaching as far out of the arms as before. One of them
eventually died completely.
<I see this>
I attached a
picture of what it looks like now, with part of the picture showing
it before. I do regular water changes, have a skimmer, and also have
star polyp, mushroom, green finger, and elegance coral that are
fine. Is there anything I can do for this coral, or is it doomed?
Thanks - Jake
<Mmm... I would not "break off" the limb that
appears lifeless... it may well become re-populated. Please read
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/caryophyllids.htm
and the linked
files above re Compatibility, Systems... You may have an instance of
negative interaction/allelopathy here... and need to improve water
filtration, move the other cnidarians... Bob Fenner> | 
|
- High Temp Problems 6/15/06 -
Hey guys, I have a problem in my
tank. The temp is usually 76-77 Recently The temp shot up to 81 in a few
days time. All inhabitants are doing fine but My torch coral has some
what it looks to be bleaching in the base of it, this is one all of the
polyps. I have a big fan cooling it down. Will the torch recover? <Only
time will tell. Keep that fan running. Cheers, J -- >
Re: Aiptasia and Frogspawn corals 5/31/06
Hello Bob.
The return of the Aiptasia, imagine that!
A strange thing noticed on
the specimen growing among the frogspawn colony: The tentacles closest
to the frogspawn polyps are receded and wilted while the pest tries to
avoid these polyps.
I found several others growing near the top of
the tank where the P. skimmer empties into the water. I know why they
grow here though only discovered their presence in the passed couple
weeks. This is where I put food for dispersion by the flowing water and
it sometimes collects near the top of the rock.
I purchased what I
thought are Peppermint shrimp but I am not so sure as these are larger
than usual and the coloration seems more subdued and the specimens
darker. These are neat little guys at any rate even if they do happen to
be the wrong shrimp. I am still looking for the Berghia but have never
seen one offered at any of the LFS(s). Right now I am using my QT tank
for control though the one rock is exceptionally large where these pests
reside. I may restart my 55 gallon tank and purchase a Copperband
butterfly or similar species for control... not sure though as incurring
more expenses and maintaining yet another tank might get real old real
fast. Maybe if I can repair the light fixture on the 24 gallon (I think
the external ballast went) then the new light I got could get moved....
Decisions, decisions....
Sincerely,
James Zimmer
<<James: Frogspawn has a powerful sting. Sounds like it is stronger
than the sting of an Aiptasia. Peppermints are hit or miss. When I
have bought them, only about 1/2 to 2/3 eat Aiptasia. Berghia are
available online. If you do a search on www.reefcentral.com and other
sites you may find people selling them. Unfortunately, if they work,
they will die once they have eaten all the Aiptasia. Rather than use
critters, if you don't have too many, I like to make a batch of Kalk
paste and inject it into the Aiptasia holes with the plastic syringe you
get with baby medicines. After you inject it, don't scrape the paste
off. Eventually coralline algae will grow right over it. Best of luck,
Roy>> Re: Aiptasia and
Frogspawn corals - 06/01/2006
Roy.
Thank you for the
advice on Aiptasia control.
I have used the Kalk paste or slurry
also and depending on location or orientation to preferred animals I am
sometimes reluctant. Yes, this
latest crop will have my work cut for
me. I may just use the paste method again for the large rock as it is
too much to move into the
smaller QT. As for smaller rocks I can
move them and train, hopefully, the shrimp to eat the pest anemones. I
will not use concentrated Ca(OH)2 near the frogspawn if I can at all
help it.
Again, thank you.
James
<<James: You're
welcome. Based on my experience, the Peppermint Shrimp will either like
Aiptasia or not (that's why if you have a big enough tank, it's good to
buy 2 to 3 to see who will eat them). In my best case, one peppermint
ate about 100 Aiptasia within about a day. It was amazing to see him
attack them. He looked like a boxer working on a speed
bag. Unfortunately, for that Peppermint Shrimp a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
attacked him and ate him. I guess the Skunk Cleaner liked the taste of
Aiptasia fed shrimp. If you are careful with the baby medicine syringe
and make a thick enough paste, you can inject the paste with a lot of
control (like you are decorating a cake). If some of the paste starts
to float off, just disburse it as fast as you can. In my experience, if
a little bit brushes a coral (such as your frogspawn) as it floats buy,
it won't hurt anything. Best of luck, Roy>>
|
|
