Rapidly dying torch coral 3/17/06
Hello and I appreciate your help very much.  Over the period of one night my torch coral appears to have lost over half of its heads and instead there is a brown filmy material there.  Should I break off the rest of the coral that appears to be doing good or is it possible that these heads will reappear magically?  We added a wavemaker to the tank the other day, but it was turned off over night during this decline.  Could this be the reason for this loss?  My roommate, however believes that the coral has just retracted to eat since he fed them yesterday.  That is the only major change to the tank.  What is your advice or opinion?
<<This is "brown jelly" disease.  The affected heads should be removed immediately.  You may even want to siphon the dead tissue away before moving the colony.  I would also suggest adding some carbon to the system if possible.  The unaffected heads may be OK and removing the affected ones will definitely help.  Best Regards.  AdamC.>>

Euphyllia divisa/frogspawn  - 03/13/2005
Hi all
I just wondering whether what I'm doing here is right or wrong.
I have a mature 100 gallon tank with live rock and sand, 2*150 watt metal halide XM 20000 kelvin plus 2*38 watt actinic lamp (I wonder if the light is too much or not with the Euphyllia)
<Is not>
plus 1 protein skimmer, chiller. Live stock: the angelfishes (blue
face, flame)
<The first gets too big for this system>
and also I have 1 green Euphyllia divisa/frogspawn and 1 ancora and green star polyps. Everyday I feed the fish with the blended frozen meaty food (from marine origin) in the morning (just only once a day), I just wonder if this is too much
with the fish and the invertebrates or not?
<Not likely... your water quality tests would show if so>
How am I gonna meet the proper feeding strategy for both (the fish and the invertebrates such as Euphyllia divisa)?
<Read... on WWM re...>
Because I have lost already 2 green Euphyllia ancora... suddenly it never open the polyps and
death (takes only 2 months since I have it) I just don't want to get lost anymore with my Euphyllia. Now I got stressed with the Euphyllia!!
<... likely water quality issue>
(I've read your article in WWM and follow the instruction about Euphyllia: no need high water flow, light: medium (I think), and placed in the bottom (the sand)
Weekly I add the strontium, iodine, calcium & magnesium and change the water every month for 40%.
Note: my angelfishes are never nipping the Euphyllia if they are fully expanded, they just nipping the rock (under the polyp of the Euphyllia has the fleshy skin that angels like it, and I don't know what is that)
Thanks for your help
Best regards
Ignatio
<Take a read re the families needs for biomineral, alkalinity... It may be that you just got/had "bunk" specimens... Perhaps there is an inherent allelopathy at play here... Bob Fenner>

Seeking advice for a problem (disease/parasites?) with my branching hammer coral (Euphyllia parancora)   2/14/06
Hi! I have a beautiful and (so far) healthy branching hammer coral with metallic green tips. There are even new branches slowly coming out. I
recently noticed that there were small holes in the skeleton (I mean the hard non-fleshy part...). Holes have a diameter of about 1mm. I verified
with a needle (with caution) to be sure they were not just dark spots giving the false impression there were holes but they really are holes. In two
places the holes are much larger (many small holes done next to another?) making those spots look like a piece of cheese...
<Good description>
The night before I noticed hundreds of small oval shaped 1mm creatures crawling everywhere in the tank
(glass, LR, and LPS corals). They are not flat, really like tiny little whitish walking eggs. They don't look like the typical copepod. I also have
some copepods and really I don't think these are. They walk in a somehow clumsy way and not in a gastropod's fashion. Sometimes they just release
hold and let themselves go away with the current. Even tough very small I think I can see eyes gleaming when I use the flashlight (as with mysids) so
they could be crustaceans. I took one and tried to see better with a magnifying glass but I couldn't see more details. Unfortunately I don't have
access to a microscope right now. I didn't see any of them actually entering/exiting a hole so I can't even conclude they are related to the problem.
<Not likely>
Is it even possible that these holes were there since I got the coral but that I never noticed. I don't think so, but since I didn't take any
pictures... Of course now comes the paranoia and I am under the impression that the coral's fleshy base was whiter than it is now. Looks a bit brownish
to me under the flashlight (it's subtle...).
<This is no worry>
I am worried for my corals, I have other beautiful Euphylliids in the tank and I don't want to loose them.
<Or lose them>
I know it's probably not an easy question.
Thanks for any advice!
Dominique
<The empty areas are very likely due to your water quality... Something out of balance... biomineral (calcium, or magnesium percentage) and alkalinity... check these and fix. Along with feeding, sufficient light, good care, these should go in time. The "bugs?"... I'd ignore them for now. Bob Fenner>

Euphyllia issues  - 1/6/06
I am having a problem with several species of Euphyllia corals in 2 of my 3 tanks. Both tanks are primarily Acropora "themed" but have a few LPS specimens for some flow and flash. My problems started in my 210 with a very large hammer coral I have had for about 15 years. It WAS about the size of a basketball until recently. In several places the coral has started to peel from the skeleton in the corners. I have seen this before and have read that it is frequently caused by strontium deficiency. <Strontium and Moly are a must.> Every other time I have seen it, (not in this specimen however, I work in an aquarium store and see it occasionally in customers tanks) it has looked more like the flesh just peeling out cleanly but this is rotting as it peels out and very slowly and in small sections. It seems to stop for awhile, heal,  and then resume again periodically. No jellying has been seen. This has been going on for a couple months, the colony now about 2/3 its peak size. Now just within the last week or so 2 other pieces in another tank, a 135, have just stopped expanding and have remained closed. I see no peeling or decay but they are shut up tight. These specimens are also about 15 years old. Tonight I came home and a small torch, a paradivisa I believe, in the 210 is just gone. The only thing that has changed, and it was about the same time, were I did a SLIGHTLY larger water change than normal, I was setting up a new tank and wanted to use this water. I typically do about 10-15% changes a month and I did about 25-30% on this occasion. <Shouldn't cause the problem> I did also change the brand of calcium I was using, I have since changed back just in case. All other corals, mostly SPS and a few leathers look phenomenal. Both tanks are set up in similar fashion....both have Berlin style sumps, Euro reef skimmers, cal reactors (which can't keep up hence the additional supplements) halide / VHO lighting and heavy water flow. <The Euphyllia family prefers moderate water flow.> Chemistry ..... Ammonia & nitrite 0 of course, Nitrate a trace, KH 12-15, calcium 380-420, Magnesium about 1200, temp 77. <You didn't mention SG, should be kept at 1.024/25 for corals.> I only have a few fish and feed very sparingly. Since these are more turbid water corals is it possible I am starving them? <They do benefit from weekly feeding of DT's and/or Cyclop-Eeze plankton, etc.> I have never directly fed them but why would they have a problem with that now? <Don't know> I use phytoplankton rarely on the order of perhaps once a week.<That's not rarely, recommended> Is it possible they didn't like the new brand of calcium? <Unlikely>  On the off chance there was some thing in it they didn't care for I did put in fresh carbon and poly filters but if its a nutrient deprivation that could have made it worse. I did change the VHO bulbs about 4 weeks ago. Halides are about 10 months old and due. These specimens are located on the ends of the tank and lower down so they aren't getting blasted by the flow. Enough to move the tentacles but far from whipping in the wind. Sorry for being so long winded. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have had these guys a long time and hate to lose them. <You may want to dose trace elements on a weekly basis.  Poly Filters, carbon can remove some of these.  helps you   I like keeping a log on my system, noting everything done whether a change in flow rate, salinity, chemical media, lighting, etc.  Then if something changes I can go back and see if it relates to anything I've changed/added.  Hope this helps you out some.  James (Salty Dog)>  Mike Knight, Tampa FL.

Euphyllia Issues  - 1/6/06
Mike, several hours after I answered your query I thought of another possible fix.  Most species in the Euphyllia family extend sweeper tentacles during the evening extending as much as six inches.  If the corals are closer than six inches apart they are probably being stung during the night.  This could cause what you are seeing.  Sorry for my oversight.  James (Salty Dog)>

Re: Euphyllia issues   1/7/06
Thank you very much for answering my question....or at least attempting to,
but it appears that most of the response was cut off somehow. Possible to
resend? Appreciate it!  BTW I am using a strontium supplement (Kent) as per
manufacturers directions. Not testing however. Should I be? <Mike, in my opinion, with the amount of corals you have, I don't believe there is a danger of overdosing strontium if you follow dosing instructions on the product container.  Strontium is used up rapidly in reef systems.  As far as the message being cut off, I have no idea what happened here. I'm hoping you saved your original to resend as these messages are deleted after they are sent and posted.  {Bob, correct me if I'm wrong.}
James (Salty Dog)> <<That/this is correct James... no time/space to save originals. BobF>>
 

Hammer Coral With Feather Worms? - 11/25/05 Hi Bob, Anthony, crew, <<Crewmember EricR here tonight.>> These holes in my hammer coral contain a feather worm of some type? <<Are you asking me?  I've seen this before in various corals (usually Porites), though never before in a Hammer Coral.>> There is also one hidden in the branch head below in the middle. <<ok>> Sent an earlier email in regard to why my hammer withdraws as the day goes on.  Could these be the culprits? <<Possibly...most corals show a tolerance for these worms...but there's always the exception.>> If so should I eliminate them and how? <<Up to you...  If you think they are causing the hammer to decline and you wish to keep it over the worms, then yes, you'll probably have to remove/kill them.>> Thanks, Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Tom <<Regards, EricR>>

Coral Question  11/17/05
Hello Crew, You have always been very helpful and kind in the past and I hope you might help me with this coral. I was separated from my tank for 4 days after having my tonsils taken out. My tank was left in the care of a friend who basically just fed the fish. When I returned, I noticed that one of my corals appeared to be in some trouble. I have attached a picture to show you exactly what is going on. I have had this coral for about 2 months and all the branches have been very full and healthy. 
The left branch shown by the arrow in the picture was almost completely gone when I returned, meaning he died out within 4 days. The branch on the right is also leaving very quickly. The only thing unusual I noticed was a little bit of cotton like substance on the completely dead branch. Any ideas would be greatly
appreciated.
Thank You
<Does read and look like something pathogenic. As time is of the essence here, I would go ahead and "frag" (basically, break off the healthy section/s and toss the declining, and if you have another up and going system, place the remaining part there... there is some value in a dip of iodine/ate and lowered spg... These are covered on WWM: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/carydisfaqs.htm and the linked files above.  Bob Fenner>