What is this bubble on my frogspawn? 10/11/09 My Frogspawn seems to be healthy however it has developed a rather large bubble on it. I have researched quite a bit however I am not able to pin point the problem, if it is indeed a problem. <Mmm, please do send image/s along with such questions> My local reef stores just keep suggesting water changes, implying my chemistry is off or bad husbandry. My water chemistry as well as filtration is all proper for a healthy marine aquarium. Also of all the photos posted online, I have yet to see anything like it. By the way I have a 75 gal. with power compact & T5 lighting. Kayla Bowden <Expansions of tissue are not uncommon in Euphylliids/Caryophylliids. I would not be concerned if all else were/is fine with your system/livestock. Bob Fenner> No worries here. RMF Re: What is this bubble on my frogspawn? 10/11/09 Did you receive the photos of the bubble? I wasn't sure if they went through or not. If you saw the pics, and still stand by your response then what a relief. <Yes> I am glad there's nothing wrong with it!!! I thought it may have been reproducing?? Thanks for the speedy response!!! Kayla Bowden <Please see WWM re the family, Behavior, Health... BobF>

Frogspawn coral problems   8/24/09
Hi
<Hello Jessy here>
Just wanted to ask a question regarding my frogspawn coral.
I've had problems with ammonia from what could have been caused by a bad batch of salt - everything seemed to cope except the frogspawn, which was very sensitive.
It stopped eating shortly afterward, and although I changed brands of salt, the ammonia dropped to zero straight after, it doesn't seem to be able to recover properly. Still not eating and polyps on some of the branches often shrink up or withdraw. Can this coral survive on photosynthesis alone for long periods of time?
<This coral does not need to be fed at all. It can live very happily without being fed directly, I've had frogspawn go from 3 heads to 50+ heads and never fed it once.>
I have noticed that although I have had no recession some of the tentacles shrink up, turn bright green and start breaking off. I am worried this could be harmful to other fish and corals should they eat them by mistake.
<This is not harmful, its parts that are damaged from whatever water quality issues you've been having most likely. Just make sure if you see one landing on a surrounding coral you take a turkey baster and blow it off. They will sting other corals.>
Also there is very high flow in the tank but my bubble coral is a very happy coral -is this a factor in its recovery? All other corals in this mixed tank doing very well - no problems at all.
<High flow shouldn't be a big issue if your bubble coral is happy in the same tank.>
Water param.s are:
PH-8.3
Nitrite-0
Nitrates-0
Ammonia-0
Phosphate-0
Calcium-420
KH-8
What can I do as I'm very worried about this coral?
<Looks like your parameters are okay. Just allow it some time to recover and adjust to the change of salt. Don't try and force feed it. It will be fine if your tank is healthy>
Also would like to know your impressions of Tropic Marine (thinking of using) and Tetra Marine (recently switched to) and in your mind after Seachem (not available here) what would you say is your preferred salt?
<I've heard great things about Tropic Marine although I've never used it myself. I've never used Tetra Marine either. I've never heard any problems with Instant Ocean or Red Sea Coral Pro salt.>
Thank you so much - I value your advice tremendously
<Regards, Jessy>
Many thanks
Anonymous
<If you do write in again, please take better care with grammar and sentence structure. I had to fix a lot of errors to make it presentable.>

Re: Devastating Tank Loss: Overstocked tank crash. Nothing really to refer. 7/13/2009 <Hi Melissa, sorry for the delay in writing back, I've been in Montreal for the last week or so.> I am writing back to give an update because we have had a small miracle. <Oh?!> Our TR clown has pulled through. His recovery from being on his side and gasping the entire day after the equipment disaster, to swimming around this morning has been a wonderful surprise. <Excellent News.> I haven't yet seen a fish come back from this. When he was on his side we thought him gone and were going to scoop him out but he swam away and kept at it, something about him gave me hope even though I really know better. He was very healthy and fat before the rescue operation, I suppose this aided in his ultimate survival. <Indeed.> I did a huge water change 40%; the ammonia & ph are 0, nitrates cut down by half at 0 and nitrites 0. As of this morning, all corals (2 torch, a frogspawn and mushroom are open and looking good so far). Also I grabbed a bit of water last time I was in the LFS and tested it when I got home, I was amazed at the PH levels being off my charts; is this normal? Everything else tested at 0's. <Depends on how they make up their water.> As an answer to your question the extra "emergency" fish were in our tank for close to three weeks, not even regular water changes kept the levels down. One other thing that you mentioned regarding how it would have been better to take the fish back to store, but we really don't have a store that will take them back. When I took out the chromis, I had no idea where to take them and stopped at a Petco where they surprised me by taking them as a donation. But years ago I had some fish that needed a home when my tank cracked and the local stores there wouldn't take them. <I can understand their position as well, as they do not want to potentially introduce disease to their tanks.> I finally found one even though they still gave me a very hard time. Had I known they would not come through and get their animals back I would have set something else up. Live and learn, at my animals expense! <Yes.> So I thank you for your time and again wanted to celebrate the survival of a very tough TR clown. Now I have the levels back to safe levels, got the spg up to 1.024 (the spg is hard to keep up in this system, funny as years ago we had 100 gal+ tanks and we had to add fresh water to keep this down) and eventually get a new cleaner shrimp or a pair and get back to enjoying our tank again. <Very good.> I also attached some photos of my torch coral as there is a large "something" on the side. It is hard like the base, but it separates from the base ever so slightly. I tried to show the side so this can be viewed, but wasn't very successful. I included the pics anyway. I would appreciate your comments/info. I tried to search but the general terms I used didn't locate anything similar and I didn't have any more descriptive terms. <Hmm... will refer to others more knowledgeable on corals.> Thank you M <MikeV>

Re: Devastating Tank Loss: Additional Crew follow-up: From MikeV 07/14/09 Crew, Can someone look at the two pictures of the Torch Coral I haven't seen anything like that before. Thanks MikeV <Am looking at right now Mike. My comments below. BobF> I am writing back to give an update because we have had a small miracle. Our TR clown has pulled through. His recovery from being on his side and gasping the entire day after the equipment disaster, to swimming around this morning has been a wonderful surprise. I haven't yet seen a fish come back from this. When he was on his side we thought him gone and were going to scoop him out but he swam away and kept at it, something about him gave me hope even though I really know better. He was very healthy and fat before the rescue operation, I suppose this aided in his ultimate survival. I did a huge water change 40%; the ammonia & ph are 0, nitrates cut down by half at 0 and nitrites 0. As of this morning, all corals (2 torch, a frogspawn and mushroom are open and looking good so far). Also I grabbed a bit of water last time I was in the LFS and tested it when I got home, I was amazed at the PH levels being off my charts; is this normal? Everything else tested at 0's. <Mmm, normal? Yes... marine systems that are "large, stable" enough, can/do recenter themselves... bio-, chem-, and physically> As an answer to your question the extra "emergency" fish were in our tank for close to three weeks, not even regular water changes kept the levels down. One other thing that you mentioned regarding how it would have been better to take the fish back to store, but we really don't have a store that will take them back. When I took out the chromis, I had no idea where to take them and stopped at a Petco where they surprised me by taking them as a donation. But years ago I had some fish that needed a home when my tank cracked and the local stores there wouldn't take them. I finally found one even though they still gave me a very hard time. Had I known they would not come through and get their animals back I would have set something else up. Live and learn, at my animals expense! So I thank you for your time and again wanted to celebrate the survival of a very tough TR clown. Now I have the levels back to safe levels, got the spg up to 1.024 (the spg is hard to keep up in this system, funny as years ago we had 100 gal+ tanks and we had to add fresh water to keep this down) and eventually get a new cleaner shrimp or a pair and get back to enjoying our tank again. I also attached some photos of my torch coral as there is a large "something" on the side. <The green, uniform area?> It is hard like the base, but it separates from the base ever so slightly. I tried to show the side so this can be viewed, but wasn't very successful. I included the pics anyway. I would appreciate your comments/info. I tried to search but the general terms I used didn't locate anything similar and I didn't have any more descriptive terms. Thank you M <I think this is likely an algal colony/growth... from opportunistic chances, ongoing changes, trauma in your system... I would not "treat it" in any way... Will likely cycle out in time on its own. Bob Fenner>

Removing Bristle Worm From Bubble Coral 7/8/09
Hi,
<Hello from Key Largo!>
I have a bubble coral that I purchased 10 months ago. It was injured and only had a few bubbles on it when I bought it (they said it had a 50/50 chance).
<Impressive you've managed to keep it alive this long!>
Anyway I read up about them and started to target feed it.
<This will benefit this coral. I would also recommend you soaking your food in Selcon as well.>
It started to look better. About two months ago it began to grow a new skeleton.
<Very good.>
So far so good. Then last night I saw 2 bristle worms poke out from the skeleton underneath the bubbles. First I was wondering if they are eating the bubble coral?
<Likely not. Generally bristle worms eating dying/decaying matter, not living tissues.>
Second, How do I get them out of there without causing damage to the bubble coral.
<I would likely not remove, you can observe the coral, but even if you see tissue loss, that does not necessarily indicate that the bristle worms are doing the damage, more likely they are doing a beneficial service of removing the damaged tissue.>
Your help would be greatly appreciated. I have a 180 gallon tank with 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 fire shrimp,
<I would add another so they might pair up and the spawn can feed your tank.>
1 blue hippo,1 kole tang,1 clown, 2 mandarins,1 Flameback angel,1 Foxface, and 1 yellow tang.
<Watch all those tangs!>
Also have many snails and hermits, and 2 feather dusters.
Thanks,
<Welcome!
Mich>
Jeanine

Euphyllia Eating Flatworm? Polyclad – 4/30/09 Hi! <Hi there, Cath!> I've lost several of my Euphyllia corals in the last couple of months. <Uh-oh> This morning, I've found what I think is a kind of flatworm on many of my frog, torch and ancora pieces. With a close look and more attention, I saw that all my Euphyllia are literally infested by this ”little” (some are up to ½”) beast. <Yikes!> There are also a lot of yellow eggs around them. Here is, in a joined piece, a picture of the beast. The shot was not taken by me, but by a fellow reefer of my area who has the same problem. What exactly is this flatworm? <Looks like a Polyclad of some sort to me (see link below for more info).> Is there a way to get rid of them? <Manual/diligent removal of all visible worms/eggs. In addition, check any and all other corals (and rockwork if possible) for further evidence and remove any you come across. I’d also put the corals, one at a time, in small tub or container with tank water, and using something like a turkey baster, blast any areas of dead skeleton/rockwork with water to hopefully dislodge any unseen juveniles.> I've made a lot of searches and haven't found anything about it. <That’s understandable. I looked everywhere and only found a couple of unconfirmed hobbyist reports related to Euphyllids and suspected Polyclad predation. Furthermore, I was unable to find any documentation, anywhere, confirming actual predation of any coral species by these worms at all. That’s not to say that it’s not possible however. Apparently, there’s a lot of information still needing to be discovered/revealed regarding these large worms. The general consensus is that they’re all predatory - consuming various colonial or sessile organisms such as Tunicates, Bryozoans, bivalves, barnacles, etc, as well as other small invertebrates such as amphipods, small snails, Polychaete worms, and even other flatworms. Also, some evidently feed on algae, especially diatoms, but only as juveniles. The problem with this situation is that unless you’ve actually seen the worms eating live coral tissue, you have to consider that their presence may be secondary/incidental. Perhaps the corals are dying due to one or several other reasons – for instance environmental issues (water chemistry, chemical warfare/allelopathy, etc), or due to fish/crabs, etc picking at them. The culprit could even be another type of flatworm (perhaps Acoels?) or something else entirely. The Polyclad flatworms could be there to prey on the real predator(s), or other incidental/harmless amphipods, etc, that have congregated to feast on the sudden bloom of algae and/or dying coral tissue. Admittedly, an infestation level of anything near a damaged coral doesn’t look good, but I’d rule out other possibilities just to be sure. I have to admit, if I were in your shoes, I’d likely err on the side of caution and remove as many Polyclads as I could. Had there been just one or two, I’d have left it/them, but in the case of many – bye bye! I’ve got some links for you to read through. Here’s a similar situation: FAQ titled “Euphyllia Health issues / hitch hiker ID... likely allelopathy, env. 6/9/08”, at this link: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/carydisf7.htm Allelopathy issues: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcomppt3.htm Flatworms: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatworms.htm > Thank you! Cath <You’re very welcome! Take care, LynnZ>

Frogspawn Parasite, or just feeding, barnacle  04/02/09
Picked up a Branching Frogspawn from our LFS today, There are four heads, and directly in between two of the heads is a round piece of skeleton that sticks out about 1/4 inch farther then the other parts of the skeleton.
There is a hole on this piece, and periodically, little "feathers" come out, spin a little bit, then retract.
<This sounds like a barnacle. A picture would be helpful to confirm. Some can be trouble depending on their location on the coral.>
It kind of looks like a feather duster, but has only a few, (less than ten) very thin feathers, and they are arranged in a sort of crescent shape, not even a half circle. They really don't seem to be affected by light that
much. Is this a parasite, or is it a part of the coral and the way it eats or something. Thanks for your continued help.
<I don't know if I'd call it a "parasite" per se, but if it is a barnacle (and if it grows too big in the wrong place) it can cause some annoyance to the coral. I wouldn't try to remove it at this point though. Please do try to send a pic.
Cheers,
Sara M.>

Re: Frogspawn Parasite, or just feeding 04/02/09
I have confirmed through pictures online that it is a barnacle, so i should leave it?
<I would remove it IF it is easy to remove. Try breaking it off with a pair of needle-nose pliers. If it comes/breaks off easy, good... if not, I wouldn't go to any extreme measures to remove it.>
If a picture is necessary to tell me if i need to remove it, or to leave it, i can take a pic tomorrow morning when the lights come on. Do barnacles pose any threat to the other members of the tank?
<No. I'm not even entirely sure they cause frogspawn any trouble.
However, I have heard stories (and seen pictures) of barnacles growing in/on the actual polyps, close to the mouths. Some people swear that a barnacle growing in such a place has killed their polyps... but I don't know. I think the barnacles (filter feeders) just grow where they grow, and sometimes it's inconvenient for a coral.>
we have cleaner shrimp, clownfish, mandarin, hermits, all types of snails, open brain, lobos, torch, spaghetti leather, mushrooms, Acros, and pulsating xenias.
<Best,
Sara M.>

Torch coral... hlth? Beh.?  03/01/09
Hello good day to you. Have a small question today. I have a few Hammer and Torch corals in my tank. All are doing great, with excellent polyp extension. I provide them with moderate flow and moderate lighting. So far they look very happy and reward me with beautiful and healthy looking extension of their tentacles. However, I did notice something. One of my Torch and one of my Hammer Corals seem to have lost its stickiness on its tentacles. The others are doing fine, with sticky tentacles that enable them to catch mysis and the occasional table shrimp. I just wanted to know if the coral is declining? I really hope not because it is one my favourite corals. I feed my tank 3 small portions a day, rotating between mysis, pellets and my own blend of seafood. I have a healthy amount of fish that produce waste (I heard some corals like fish fecal matter?), and 20% water changes about once a week. Please advise on my situation..I do hope that they are still getting enough food via photosynthesis and the dissolved organics along with some very fine food that they might get through absorbtion. The only thing that they cannot seem to get hold of is bigger pieces of food due to their non-sticky tentacles.
<Kai, I'm not even sure this seeming lack of "stickiness" is even a problem/concern. If the corals are not receding and are extending as normal, I'd assume they're ok. But you have a lot going on in a relatively small tank. You have a Moorish idol in a small tank with corals... maybe that's the problem. Or maybe your corals are just getting plenty to eat.
Again, if you're not seeing any obvious signs of decline, I wouldn't worry.>
Just a quick update on my Moorish idol since I am already writing to you. 2 and a half weeks old and going strong. Had fight off ich and has gained good immunity against it (hopefully). Fat and alert, and have taken a strong liking towards New Life Spectrum pellets and mysis enriched with Selcon. Feeds aggressively on = anything except flake which it seems to hate.
<That's good. But you're still going to have to find another home for this fish.>
Have a pleasant weekend.
- Kai
<Cheers,
Sara M.>

Caryophyllid losing    2/17/08
Hi guys
<John>
First some info on system.... 400 litre mixed reef tank established around 4 months now running at SG 1.026 and 26 degrees C. Skimmed 24/7, 30kg live rock, external filter with LR rubble, carbon, and phosphate remover. 30+ tank volume flow per hour. 2x150 halides and 4x24 power compacts
Very stable and parameters last night as follows
NO2 0
NO3 less than 2
NH3 0
Ca 400
Mg 1200
dKH 10
pH 8.1 plus or minus 0.1 over 24 hrs
Stock ... selection of LPSs, mushrooms, zoos, 1 Acropora, Duncans, scoly.
Various snails, hermits etc
1 yellow tang, 1 Sailfin,
<Will need more room>
5 chromis, 1 clown tang
<Definitely more room>
, pair of Percs, blue cheek goby, 6 line wrasse
Ok the problem... over the last week our 6 inch hammer coral started to bail out from one end "head to head" until nothing left. The same has started with our bubble coral. No signs of any jelly like material, parasites, etc etc. All other corals are very happy and well expanded. Worried now in case this spreads to any of our other Euphyllias.
<The Zoanthids likely, maybe other Cnidarians here... Allelopathy... Please see WWM (the search tool) with the terms, and read here generally: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm>
Any ideas
cheers
john in UK
<Bob Fenner in not-so-sunny S. Cal.>

Question on further treating Hammer Coral – 02/01/09
Hello there everyone... & Thank You ahead of time for any help you can offer!
<Welcome>
I received a green hammer coral as a gift - It was doing good for about a day, then I noticed that one end was shriveling up and being covered by a white film. I syphoned it off and saw brown stringy stuff and started doing searches. It appears to be Brown Jelly disease. I did a fresh water dip with Lugol's Iodine for about 5 minutes and syphoned off as much of the diseased area as I could. I returned it to the tank and has been about 2 hours since and it has opened back up with the exception of some still ailing areas.
<Mmm>
My question is two fold. How long should I wait to see improvement before I decide to take further measures?
<A few days>
And also since it did seem to spread to the other two heads if I decide to have my husband break out the Dremel are there any good photos or instructions on fragging a hammer coral?
<Likely in books, articles... See Anthony Calfo's work>
I read some people say in the case of an infection to just cut right through the flesh to remove the diseased portions and then iodine dip them. I would like to try and avoid causing any further stress or damage - I did make a concentrated iodine solution and use the turkey baster to shoot it right at the coral which I thought might help without the stress of the dip.
<Mmm, the breaking, rinsing need to be done out of the water... over a bucket or such>
I just want to react quickly enough without being hasty and over reacting... I did not QT this coral as I didn't have the proper lighting in my QT.
My specs are
12g Nano
<Hard to keep small volumes stable, optimized>
temp: steady 77
my ph was 8.0 yesterday and I dosed Super KH Buffer
<Needs to be done through pre-mixed water changing>
Nitrites and Amm. 0
and Nitrates <10 ppm
Sal 1.022
<Much too low... see WWM re NSW strength seawater use>
Some pics taken with my phone was the best I could do... I hope it helps!
Hammer Coral Dying - a set on Flickr
I think that covers it. I have read many threads but it seemed necessary to get more specific help as it seems I can still save this beauty.
<I would take your time here... Read re Euphylliids... on WWM at least. Bob Fenner>

Injured fox coral   1/28/09
Hi crew, i have a semi-urgent matter to share with you guys, and hope you could help me. I have a turbo snail that likes to walk all over his favourite piece of rock, which so happens to house my fox coral. Today, he knocked over my fox coral while he was twitching and twisting his shell...
When i discovered it, and re-located the coral, i found a small 0.5cm piece of it's skeleton break off, along with some "meat" of the coral. I have asked my LFS for advice, and he advised me to place it in an area with moderate to high flow to wash and clean the wound.
<With what? I would further encourage you to consider adding a modicum of iodide/ate here (perhaps Lugol's solution)>
Seeing that my fox coral does not like high flow, i place it in an area with moderate flow. What are the chances of recovery?
<Mmm, depending on its initial health, pretty good>
I am very afraid it might contract brown jelly disease.... it is only a 0.5cm breakage, but it seems like quite a substantial injury....help please. My fox coral is my favourite....and i don't want to see it die! Thanks for the help thus far
Regards - kai
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

CORAL GROWTH 01/22/09
I just bought a bubble coral and its coming out, but not as full as it was in the petstore and I've noticed when its retracted it has some brown algae looking stuff on the ends of the spines(the skeleton)
<Oh, not good. It sounds like the coral is receding.>
I've noticed when it does come out the bubbles are never fully inflated the way they were in the store. All my levels are in check, Nitrate.30
<Did you really mean to type .30 as in 0.30, or did you mean 30? If the later, this is too high.>
ph 8.3 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 phosphate 0 calc 450 , should I try to manually remove this stuff or what. Also I've noticed when it retracts there's some stringy looking brown stuff coming out of it is this the zooanthelia coming out,
<Could be... and/or waste being expelled.>
what should I do. Thanks, Devin
<Unfortunately, there's not much you can do except target feed the coral and try to improve your water quality.
Best,
Sara M.>

Re: CORAL GROWTH 01/22/09
lol, yes I did mean .30 not 30,
<Ok, cool... just checking. :-)>
sorry for the typo and thanks for the help, do you think a freshwater dip would do anything for it?
<No... please don't do that. At this point, that will just stress the coral out. Again, about the only thing you can do now is target feed it and up your water changes. Sometimes all your parameters/nutrients can read to be within acceptable ranges, but your water quality might still be sub-par for one reason or another. Or, it's possible that you just didn't acclimate
it slowly enough.
Good "luck,"
Sara M.>

Re: CORAL GROWTH 01/22/09
sorry to keep bothering you, but I target feed it with some frozen mysis shrimp thawed and then mixed with aquarium water, sucked into a turkey baster and slowly squeeze it out over the length of the coral, Is this proper procedure, is the mysis shrimp ok?
<Mysis shrimp is fine... but I would also try a little variety.>
I gave 90.00 dollars for this coral and don't want to lose it.
<Yikes! I think you might have overpaid!>
Thanks again
<De nada,
Sara M.>  

Frogspawn coral injured because of sting... what can I do? Induced allelopathy, sm. sys.    1/7/09
Hi,
<Hello>
I love your site!
<I really like it>
I am still pretty new to the hobby but love it.
<Am old but still find it fascinating>
I have a 25 gallon reef tank and have a great (up to recently) frogspawn coral.
<Mmm, it's much harder to "keep" smaller volume systems than larger>
Recently another piece of coral came loose and landed on 2 of the pods of the fs. It did a real number on them apparently destroying one pod completely and half of another. I know it's the coral because it did this to another coral (a Favia) which recovered nicely and rather quickly. The polyps in the fs where reduced to brown jelly.
Can a fs recover from such an injury and if so, what can I do to help?
<Mmm, can, but... needs more room... to be distanced from other Cnidarians... care taken in preserving water quality... Possibly the use of iodine/ide... There is a bunch to consider all at once here... Best for you to start by perusing a ppt pitch located here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Sincerely,
Randy Buescher

Health of frogspawn coral, allelopathy w/ Zoanthid Hi, crew <Abdul> I am just worried about what is happening to my frogspawn coral. It seems like passing away. <I see this in your pix> It's in my aquarium from last four months and was very fine/full every day. Suddenly from last three weeks it is not opening fully and some times looks like if it is melting. I am attaching two pics for your reference. One is old and one is latest. Kindly advice since all water parameters are same as day first when it was introduced. Regards, Abdul Hadi Dar <I notice that there is a large Zoanthid colony immediately above this Euphyllia... w/o any other data, I am concerned that this is a case of allelopathy twixt these. Please read: http://wetwebmedia.com/zoanthidcompfaqs.htm and: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm and the linked files above... You need to at least separate these two... likely remove one to another system. Bob Fenner>

Question: Bubble Coral Skeleton, no data of use    10/3/08 Hi there! <Mindy> I've had 1 small and 1 medium sized bubble coral in my nano cube for about 4 months now. They've been doing just fine at the bottom of the sand bed until recently. I've noticed that the flesh covering their skeletons have begun to recede and it seems like some algae has started growing over those areas. <I see this in your photo> Their flesh will no longer expand over the skeleton where the algae has grown. I've included a picture of one of them for your reference. I asked my LFS what could be causing this, and he said it's possible they're being hit with too strong of a current, causing the fleshy parts to recede and make the skeletons visible. <Mmm, possibly, but doubtful this is the root cause here> I've since changed the direction of the current so it does not affect them too much. What can I do about the algae growth on their skeletons? <Improve conditions, feeding...> I'm afraid to try to rub it off, <I would NOT do this> I don't want to irritate the bubble corals. And is it possible to add trace supplements like iodine to the tank to help the corals heal and grow their skeletons? <Oh yes> Please advise. Thanks so much for your help! Mindy <Please learn to/use the search tool, indices on WWM... For today, start reading here: http://wetwebmedia.com/carydisfaqs.htm and the linked files above. You don't state anything re water quality, lighting, feeding... Read re the requirements of Plerogyra... Bob Fenner>

dying bubble coral? Reading?  – 07/21/08
I have a 6 month old BioCube 29, with 2 percs, hammer coral, modern brain,
<? Trachyphyllia?>
frogspawn, polyps, and a big bubble coral.
<... all in a 29 cube?>
For some reason it looks like the bubble coral is detaching from it skeleton.
<Likely>
We feed the coral calcium and iodine every week.
<? Added how?>
I target feed every other day. I feed Cyclop-Eeze and PhytoPlex everyday. I'm just super confused as to why he would be dying...the clowns don't host him, he gets fed, get enough light. Any insight?
<Allelopathy... Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and the linked files above, and re each of the species of Cnidarians you list... Likely the Euphyllia is the "winner" here, but could be whatever you're referring to as "polyps"... Bob Fenner>

Torch Coral, Deceptive Retailing - 6/20/08
Hello,
<Hello Jasen!>
I purchased a branching torch coral from a LFS and did not see the guy add it to the bag.
<Uh-oh...Monday night quarterbacking: Always watch>
I got the coral home and the skeleton is smashed. They had all the pieces stuck in some PVC pipe so it looked normal. The tentacles were all expanded nicely. I placed the parts in some rock crevices, but I have little faith it will survive.
<Provided the polyps didn't lacerate themselves beyond recognition in the bag, they should be okay...skeleton is only dead calcium carbonate>
One piece may still have the mouth. I called the store and they stated that once it is paid for its mine.
<Policy is policy, but I wouldn't visit them again- and consider spreading the word about their business practice. Word of mouth makes good shops, and breaks the bad ones>
This will be my last purchase there. Any idea would be appreciated.
<If the polyps are damaged, pristine water quality and water flow may help heal them, as well as supplementation of iodine in their general direction.>
Thanks, Jasen
<No problem. Good luck with your coral. Benjamin>

Euphyllia Health issues / hitch hiker ID... likely allelopathy, env.   6/9/08 Crew, <Mick> Having some sort of problem with several Euphyllia species in my 180 reef system. temp: 26°c SG: 1.023 <A bit low... I'd raise to 1.025> Ph: 8.2 (evening) 8.1 (morning) Ammonia: undetectable Nitrite: undetectable Nitrate: undetectable Phosphate: undetectable (but not using any phosphate reducers/absorbers) <Good> Alk: 12°dKH Ca++: :460ppm <A bit high... raised how?> Lighting - barely adequate, but more on the way. <Good> Skimmer "Aqua Vital AKS-388" - makes about a cup of tea coloured liquid containing a thick film of hard brown slime per week. <Not familiar with this make/model... neither is Google evidently> Tank, 180 us gal, sump/fuge approx 20 gal with DSB and algae ball (unknown species) about 6500L/Hr flow. 80-100Kg Liverock Fish: 6 Green Chromis 1 Yellow Tail Blue Chromis 1 Zebra Dartfish 1 Coral Beauty 1 lawnmower (jeweled?) Blenny 1 Pr Cinnamon Clownfish (spawn approx every 3 weeks, but not attempting to breed/raise offspring (yet) - so any babies end up as zooplankton/food I guess) 1 Foxface Rabbitfish 1 female Blue Chin Trigger - the male of the pair managed to dislodge a rock and crush himself :o( 1 Rainford's Goby 1 Aracanthus Spp tang. Inverts: 1 Euphyllia Ancora 5 Euphyllia Glabrescens 1 colony Duncanopsammia 1 Caulastrea Furcata 4x Goniopora - (only one of which is doing well - the other 3 came from another system elsewhere that had a massive ammonia "event", bleached and don't appear to be improving) <Mmm... this Goniopora health, presence is likely involved here...> 3 Trachyphyllia spp 1 Cynarina Lachrymals 2 Lobophyllia Spp. a few dozen assorted Zoanthids. <Can be too toxic...> 1 Pencil Urchin Several assorted Snails. This particular tank was only assembled in march 08, but all livestock, live rock and about 1/2 the substrate came from an old 55 that I had to remove. The Trachyphyllia, Lobophyllia and Cynarina were not put in as corals - but live rock. they have come back from the dead. <A good sign> My problem is that ALL of the Euphyllia species I have in the last week have gone from normal, apparently healthy specimens to retracted and dying. So far the largest Ancora has only about 50% of the colony left, and of the Glabrescens 1 is all but dead, 2 are very withdrawn into their skeletons - don't even respond to direct feeding (even brine shrimp escape them -fresh or frozen) the others seem slightly deflated but otherwise still extend and still feed. tonight whilst doing my normal maintenance I noticed multiple "flatworms" (possibly Pseudoceros/Pseudobiceros Spp? <Mmm, not likely... summat else> pic attached) I'm wondering if these are part of the problem - I found them on the edge of the Ancora where the polyp meets the skeleton, they camouflaged quite well - I can only see them as they cross the skeleton to another polyp. Can you learned Guys' Gals identify these, and if they are coral predators, what do I do about them? <Maybe nothing... I suspect their presence, influence is secondary here. But do read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm and the linked files above> Also attached are pics of the ancora, glabrescens and gonopodia - I don't think there's much hope for the latter, but any advice that may save it would be greatly appreciated. <These Scleractinians could all "rally", as long as there is some live tissue to them... I would move the Euphylliids... to another system, pronto. Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm and the linked files above. I suspect the members of this genus are largely losing to other Cnidarians here... all would/could be helped by the added lighting, chemical filtration, an increase in RedOx... as you'll find by reading. Bob Fenner> TIA Mick T

Re: Euphyllia Health issues / hitch hiker ID - 06/09/2008 Hi Bob, Thanks for your fast and informative reply. I thought I had looked through the WWM, but that link was one I hadn't read - such a vast resource you and the crew have created here, I'm sure there are millions of fish (and aquarists) worldwide who owe their existence to you. <Ahh!> I don't usually add anything to raise calcium or carbonate - I have on hand "red sea calcium +3" and "SeaChem reef builder" and good old sodium bicarbonate, but hardly ever have to use them, water changes and my filter/DSB seem to be keeping up. (filter path is - mechanical floss, carbon (just added today) 1" bed of aragonite the water flows down through, 10"bed of aragonite that water flows across (my DSB), then out into the refugium (where the heater and skimmer is located - couldn't fit it anywhere else!) (fuge contains another aragonite bed, maybe 3", and some algae 24 hrs lighting), then over an overflow into the pump chamber. <I see> Hopefully my new set of T5HO's will arrive tomorrow, should do wonders on the lighting front. <Agreed> BTW, skimmer is an Via-Aqua SK388, not as previously written, works ok, but there are better skimmers out there (maybe will replace with a HOB type so I have more room in the fuge - this is a huge skimmer with medium skimmer performance) <Agreed again> The Zoanthids, they're the tiny green ones "green sea mat" I've seen it called in some references. <Mmm, these should be okay here> Most of them were eaten a while back by a masked Foxface who took a liking to them and ALL of my Corallimorphs! (He is now in QT with a Valentini puffer awaiting another system.) The remains of the Corallimorphs and some of the Zoanthid rocks are recovering in an 8gal nano-reef with no fish, it's quite interesting to watch a tiny tattered piece of flesh on a rock regrow into a complete animal again, these things - and many of my other "presumed dead at the time" corals have amazing regenerative powers, but from my reading you generally don't expect Gonoporia to survive in a captive environment - should I remove it instead of the Euphylliids? <Mmm, no... on your further information I'd leave all put... See if the light helps... perhaps augment nutrition> Unfortunately I don't have any other suitable system to put the Euphylliids into - hopefully the carbon will reduce any allelochemicals present (there is already decent distance between all) and the increased lighting will help. Also planning (as per one of your links) to add a Halichoeres Chrysurus (Golden Wrasse) or a Pseudocheilinus Hexataenia (6-Line Wrasse) - do you foresee any problems with these and my existing stock? (from my reading they should be OK) <Do you feed the Euphylliids, other Cnidarians?> From the reading I have done, I would have expected the Euphylliids to win out in a chem/stinging war - what have I missed? <Nothing I see so far> On another topic, my QT (containing the puffer and Foxface) seems to be growing heaps of a tiny variety of pods. Being that I have only ever had fish (no corals or LR in this tank) how could they have got there - can they hatch out of eggs in frozen food maybe? <Yes> On yet again another topic, a reader was asking a few days back about a "Jebo 180" skimmer on a 300 Litre tank. I had this skimmer on my old 210litre (55Gal) reef, and it wasn't quite enough. Jebo say its good for 700 litres in their instructions, but I'd recommend using 2 on a 300L system from my past experience. (mine is now on my QT - good cheap skimmer for a smaller tank with low bioload). <Thank you for this input> Regards Mick T <And you. BobF> Re: Euphyllia Health issues / hitch hiker ID - 06/10/2008 Gee Bob, That's a fast turnaround! <Some days...> Yes, I do feed the Cnidarians, usually gut loaded brine shrimp, soaked in a mixture of rotifers, vitamins, etc (cant remember its name) and chunks of krill. But as stated, the affected Euphylliids don't seem interested in eating now, <Something going on here... again, spiffing up your skimmer, using carbon, increasing RedOx... or moving the Euphylliids...> whereas up till about 2 weeks ago they'd eat heaps (a Duncanopsammia polyp that's managed to grab a whole krill looks kind comical - like "the cat that ate the canary"... <Have seen some really nice, quite huge colonies of this genus in recent months> Time to wait and see I guess. I'll give updates after the lights are in. Thanks so much for your time. MickT

Possible cause of death for torch??  6/9/08
Hello,
<Hello>
I have a question about a torch coral I had. It was about three inches across and looked great. I got it from a good LFS and it was packaged
upside down in foam in the bag.
<Good packing>
I set it on a rock midway up in my tank.
It got brown jelly on one head the second day in my tank so I cut the infected head off and gave it a fresh water dip.
<Removing the infected head was good, provided no tissue damage occurred as collateral to the other heads. Freshwater dips can be hard on corals, I'm a fan of iodine solutions myself. Opinions vary.>
I placed it back in the tank and then next day it was brown jelly all over (the other 2 heads).
I removed it but it did not make it.
<Unfortunate, but it does happen. Not much you could do about it.>
It looked healthy and fully extended at the store and the first day in my tank. They had many great looking torches. When I was placing it I may have rubbed some of the polyps lightly against the rock. Could this have been enough to start the brown jelly?
<Probably not. Most likely stress of moving, something in the tank water. How did you acclimate this coral?>
I want to get more Euphyllids but don't want them to die. I also got a rock with several large frilly mushrooms at the same time and they are doing great. The torch was at least 10 inches from any other coral , probably more. I have put a lot of thought into the occurrence and my best theory is that I damaged some of the tissue when placing the coral and this allowed the dreaded brown jelly to start.
This was my first LPS but I would like to get many more. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks for the help and all your help in the
past.
<Jeff, I would use/purchase a nitrate test kit. It is possible you have higher nitrate in your tank, which would foster/cause/aid brown jelly and other pathogenic organisms. If you do a test and this is the case, consider more frequent water changes. Otherwise I would say try again, and unless this becomes a trend fear not...an unfortunate coincidence that your first LPS had this problem.>
Jeff
tank:
72 gallon bow front
20 gallon sump with 5 gallon section a refugium
80 lbs live rock
80 LPS aragonite fine sand
2 10,000k 65 watt pc
2 420nm actinic 65 watt pc
ph=8.4
ammonia=0
dKH=11
ca=500, should this come down to 450?
<Or 400>
5 to 10 gallon water change every 2 to 3 weeks - does not seem to lower ca
<I would recommend a 10% total volume water change weekly to maintain water chemistry, clean water.>
frilly mushroom rock yellow sea blade - grows like crazy pink pulsing xenia on a small island in the sand
Scopas tang
pink spot goby
scoter blenny
long nose hawk fish
three stripe damsel, mean and to fast to remove scarlet skunk cleaner - he just started cleaning the tang after about
1.5 months in the tank, finally various snails and hermits for cleanup
<Sorry to hear about your torch, better luck next time! Benjamin>

Frogspawn branches breaking  - 6/3/08
I have had a frogspawn that has been doing quite well and growing substantially over the past two years. In the last month or so I have
had two sizable branches with multiple mouths break off.
<This will happen from time to time.>
Do the branches simply deteriorate over time as their calcium is dissolved in the water,
<Yes>
or is this the effect of having a low dKH/alkalinity for an extended period of time?
<Also yes…would speed decay up>
For the last two years or so (I think) I was running (unintentionally and unknowingly) a dKH=4-5 and calcium 350-450.
(adjusting manually with turbo calcium pellets only) I have now raised the dKH to 7-8 in the past week with SeaChem Reef Builder, but I had
another sizable branch break off this morning. Could this be the work of my gigantic long-spine urchin?
<Not the work of the urchin, no…though he poses other dangers to your corals worth reading about in the fine articles to be had by searching this site. Euphylliid corals have fairly open, brittle skeletons that shatter easily. Over time they do break down, but this process is accelerated by low alkalinity which causes expedited dissolution of Scleractinian product. The bad news is raising your alkalinity won’t strengthen old skeleton, but it will prevent further decay and help the coral to build sturdy new skeletal material.
Current Water parameters:
Nitrates=0
Phosphates=0
DKH=7
Calcium=410
<You’ll want to shoot for a slightly lower Ca to accommodate a higher alkalinity. Continue to raise that, and everything looks great. No worries.>
Thanks!
<Welcome!>
Aaron Chandler
<Benjamin>

Torch coral declining  6/3/08
Hello crew!
<Hello Dan! Benjamin here tonight.>
I have been reading your site for quite a while, and also have a copy of "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist", which I really enjoy.
<Great book to have>
Let me give a bit of background about my tank before I tell you about my recent problem. I have a 14 gallon Oceanic BioCube in my office, which I started last fall, so it's been in operation for about 8-9 months now. I've been keeping a log of everything I've done with the tank.
<Bravo! Tank logs are great for helping solve problems, and for personal scientific inquiry. I wish more people kept them.>
I started with about 6 pounds of live rock, added a cleanup crew of 4 hermit crabs, 4 turbo snails, and 4 sand-sifting snails, and then slowly added fish (there are currently two Percula Clowns and a Banggai Cardinal, and I don't plan on adding any more). These fish have been doing great ever since I added them. I feed them a combination of dry pellet food (which the clown fish devour but the Banggai ignores), and frozen Mysis shrimp (which all three fish love). I try to do water changes at least once every two weeks and sometimes more frequently. I change about a gallon at a time. I also remove excess algae. I've been fighting a never-ending battle with a fast-growing strain of Caulerpa (I like the fronds but if I leave it alone, it quickly takes over the tank!).
<Sounds good…>
The beginning of last November I added a colony of purple Zoanthus, which have been doing fine. About 10 days later I added a torch coral colony. This coral has been thriving, and happily splitting off new branches, until about a month ago. I started noticing that two of the heads nearest the bottom (the coral sticks out of a live rock at about a 45 degree angle) had retracted. These two heads eventually shriveled up and died, leaving just the skeleton. I thought it might be because there wasn't enough light down there, and since the other heads all seemed fine I didn't worry too much about it. However, as time has passed more and more of the heads have started to shrivel up and die off, and the other heads haven't been as extended as they used to. This coral used to be very beautiful and fully extended during the day. Now it extends less than half of the distance, on average, that it used to. I've read on your site about brown jelly disease, but none of the heads have shown any brown film. They simply shrivel up and die.
<Hmm…wasting away. Troubling.>
I've started troubleshooting what might be the cause. The first thing is water quality.
<This is also what first comes to my mind…perhaps Ca+/ Alk problems?>
One thing that I've noticed with this tank is that the alkalinity drops pretty quickly if I'm not vigilant. I let it get down to 6 degrees KH at one point! I usually am able to keep it around 8 degrees KH. The LFS (a really nice place) where I bought the torch suggested I slowly try to raise the KH to around 11-12, so I'm working on doing that. My calcium is about 420 ppm and doesn't deplete as quickly as the alkalinity.
<Ca is perhaps a bit high, which can explain the low Alk. But this shouldn’t be causing your problem, as far as I know.>
Throughout the life of this tank, I've always read 0 for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and pH has been very stable at 8.3.
<And this is true also at present? Just want to double check, because poor nitrogenous waste disposal/ build up would be another possible cause we can check off the list if you’ve only just tested your water.>
Another thing that I thought might be the cause is lack of food. I've heard just recently that feeding these corals Mysis shrimp is a good supplement to what they get through photosynthesis. So, the last few days I've started target feeding the individual heads. The ones that are most retracted ignore the food, but the ones that are a bit extended do appear to grab some of the shrimp and eat them.
<This could sure play a part. Starvation is a common cause of coral die-off in an aquarium…most notably in situations where no supplemental protein is provided for tissue growth, or where there is insufficient light.>
Another possible issue is water flow. There is currently moderate flow in the tank due to the filtration system, and the polyps wave gently in the flow.
<Sounds fine to me, unless it is laminar current.>
Finally, I've noticed that two of my hermit crabs have started crawling around the heads and nibbling at the edges of them. At first I thought they were just eating the dead, shriveled polyps, but today I noticed them nibbling at the edges of the live heads. Again, the clown fish and the Banggai Cardinal pretty much leave the coral alone. I also noticed that one of the heads, instead of shriveling up, had fallen off onto the sand bed. I gently picked it up (with gloves on of course!) and relocated it on top of one of the live rocks. It doesn't appear dead.
<AHA! We’re on to something, Watson! This is a rare event- total polyp bail-out. LPS corals will do this as a last-ditch survival strategy when they simply cannot survive any longer in a given environment. Be it from lack of light, poor water, bad neighbors, this is an attempt to ride the current to somewhere that they can establish a new skeleton.>
Today, I decided to rotate the colony a bit so that the heads pointed more upward. In doing so, though I was trying to be careful, I accidentally knocked one of the heads against the tank wall and then dropped the colony "head down" onto the sand bed! I quickly picked it up and shook the loose sand off the polyps. I sincerely hope I didn't just kill it!!! Edit: As I type this, the head that had hit the sand is starting to extend its polyps once again, so I'm taking it as a good sign.
<These corals are tougher than we give them credit for. I’m sure they’ll be fine with your continued attentive care.>
Finally I should mention that the colony is a good 5-6 inches from the colony of Zoanthus, and I've never seen the two physically touching.
<And there lies the rub: They don’t have to. Search WetWebMedia re allelopathy and you’ll learn all about the noxious chemicals cnidarians leach into the water to guarantee the demise of their competitors. Can I venture to suspect that the first polyps to die may be those in water current that has recently passed the Zoanthus colony?>
So basically, my question to the crew is, are there any other steps I can take to try to forestall the continued decline of this coral? Should I break or cut off the old dead branches? What should I do with the head that has fallen off?
<Make sure the head is somewhere it won’t be macerated by the current, and it may survive. It is my suspicion at this time that the Zoanthus have become stressed or sense the presence of the torch coral and are beginning to exude extra toxins, or the low levels they have been emitting since November have built up to toxic concentrations. I would run a little carbon in your filter and change some water to help with the likelihood that this is the case. That said, let us know about your water parameters and the proximity of the dead polyps to the Zoanthus (or a current that just passed them) and anything else you feel may pertain to the information you read on allelopathy.>
Thanks so much for your time. I've tried to describe the situation as detailed as possible, since I don't have my camera here with me. Let me know and I can try to attach pictures.
<Thank you for taking the time to write such a descriptive email- it really helps us answer your question promptly and accurately.>
Thanks again!
<You are very welcome!>
Dan
<Benjamin>

Re: Torch coral declining -   6/4/08
Benjamin,
<Hello again!>
Thank you so much for your quick reply! I would like to answer several of your questions and also report on the health of my torch coral, which seems to have improved quite a bit since just yesterday.
<Glad to hear it!>
I did a water change yesterday and added some buffer to the tank to continue to raise alkalinity (Seachem Reef Buffer). This morning, when I came in to the office, all but two of the remaining live heads of the torch coral were extended, and more so than I've seen them in days. Also, the head that "bailed out" is sitting on the rock and seemingly doing ok for now. Needless to say I was very encouraged. To answer your questions about water quality, here are the numbers which I tested this evening:
Ammonia: 0-perhaps a trace. I measured this just after feeding, and didn't read the color until a little after 5 minutes (this was using the API two-reagent test kit), but it may have been ever so slightly green. I will keep an eye on this to make sure it doesn't get beyond this. It has shown this ever-so-slight green color before, which is so hard to tell from the reference zero color, depending on the angle and brightness of the local light, that I haven't worried too much about it.
<Color-based tests are, unfortunately, sometimes quite hard to read>
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Calcium: 420 ppm
KH: 10 (getting better!)
pH: 8.2
<Looks good. pH could be higher in ideal conditions, but 8.2 shouldn’t cause problems as far as I know.>
Otherwise, to answer your question about which heads die first, it doesn't appear to be related to which heads are in the path of the current that has just passed the Zoanthus colony. In fact, two of the heads which appear to be the first to get this current are two of the ones that are continuing to do well. Thus, at least as far as I can tell, there doesn't appear (at least on the surface) to be too much allelopathic competition between the two colonies (yet). I unfortunately have ran out of filters, so I need to buy a few from the LFS, which I should be able to do in the next couple of days. These are pre-made for this particular aquarium and already have carbon in them. I suppose I could also get a separate filter bag and put some carbon in.
<Okay. I still wouldn’t rule out some sort of allelopathic interactions, but it is good to know they don’t seem to be directly harm each other.>
I should also mention that along with the Zoanthus, I have some sort of purple anemone which I'm pretty sure is a type of Aiptasia growing in the middle of the colony (I don't know why I forgot to mention this yesterday). It tends to keep the Zoanthus polyps nearest it closed, presumably because it's stinging them with its tentacles, but it's pretty enough that I'm loath to kill it.
<That could be problematic. Stressed Zoanthus will exude toxins into the water, although they vary in potency based on the species, environs, etc. If the torch continues to decline after alkalinity has been brought up and the coral is being fed regularly the next step might be to deal with de-stressing your Zoas.>
If I could relocate it safely, I would, but I hear that these guys tend to get out of control! Again, sorry I don't have any pictures (yet). I have my camera today but forgot the USB cable to transfer the pictures!
<That’s okay. I am curious about this anemone nestled in your Zoanthus, but I think for now we can chalk this up to starvation/water quality and dig more into allelopathy if there continues to be decline.>
Otherwise, given the improvement in the torch colony since just yesterday, I feel that the low alkalinity was an important factor. However, come to think of it, since I also did a water change, I can see how removing some of the toxins from the Zoanthus could also have been just as important. I will certainly keep you posted over the next few days with the status of the colony.
<Sounds good. I hope all continue to improve!>
Again, thanks for your quick response, it is much appreciated!
<No problem!>
Dan
<Benjamin>

Hammer coral troubles... no real info.  03/11/2008
Hi Crew!
<Wendy>
We are having troubles with our hammer coral. It was absolutely beautiful and covered a very large area in our 75 gallon tank. Recently the heads have been dying (shriveling up) and falling off leaving the bare skeleton. The strange thing is that lots of new heads are growing back in its place.
<Mmmm, a clue possibly>
We have been doing weekly water changes, closely watching pH and chemicals,
<... need data re>
feeding DT's and oyster eggs, and occasionally feeding reef bugs. All of the parameters have been within normal ranges.
<... ditto>
There is good water flow over the area but not too turbulent. We have not seen any "brown jelly" signs or any critters on the corals that shouldn't be there. The only new addition to the tank was a yellow tang about 5 months ago. He doesn't seem to bother the corals at all and is doing fine. We are completely stumped and would appreciate an expert opinion! It was such a showy coral and we hate to see it going through this. Thanks in advance for your help. Keep up the good work!
Wendy
<... need info... there is not enough to even proffer good guesses here... Likely either an allelopathogenic effect, or some deficiency syndrome/poisoning chemically... Read here re the former: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>