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FAQs about Caryophyllid Coral Disease, Pests,
Predation 4
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, Caryophyllid Disease 5,
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, | 
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Weird frogspawn coral question... likely burned by a Galaxea neighbour
3/6/08
Good Evening,
<Am here now for me>
I have scoured
this site and the internet for two weeks now with no answer to this
puzzling question, although you guys have answered my 10,000 other
questions without me even having to ask. Its all here for the taking.
<Ah, yes>
All comments on my methods/system are welcome.
Anyway,
back to the problem at hand. I have a frogspawn coral which I purchased
three weeks ago and it is losing tentacles. About one tentacle is lost
from each of its five polyps each day.
<Mmmm, bad>
The tentacles
constrict at the base and eventually pinch off completely and float
away. Otherwise, the polyps look fairly good. They extend each day,
close at night, and eat mysis shrimp every other day. Also, the polyps
are not receding where they attach to the skeleton. I suspect that this
may be a response to the different lighting I have them under, as the
colors are becoming richer as the days pass.
<... could be>
The
store used 14000K 175 watt or 150, I forgot) metal halides, with about 7
watts per gallon. I have two 100 watt 6700K screw-in compact
fluorescents, which give me 12 watts per gallon. I have used these bulbs
on the tank since it was created 14 months ago; I have replaced them
once already. I suppose some other background info will help also.
The tank is 16 gallons, tiny, but I have failed twice with larger ones.
I have about 40 pounds of live rock
<! not much room left for water>
in there with 3.5 inches of crushed coral substrate. I am using a
sulphur based denitrification media in the lower layers of the
substrate.
<Mmm, this could be...>
My protein skimmer is a
SeaClone 100, which I have had for years and I like it due to its
simplicity. I use no other filters.
Parameters are as follows:
SG
1.023
Temp 80F
pH 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
never a problem because of the reduction of NO3
<Need to have
some...>
KH 10
Ca 450 ppm
<A bit high...>
I do about a 25
percent water change every week with a peristaltic pump to add water at
the same time I remove it. I realize this is not as good as removing
water then adding, but coral placement does not allow for it. I actually
add a 5 gallon bucket of new water made from Oceanic salt mix, but some
is removed due to the simultaneous siphoning out of tank water (the 25%
I roughly calculated).
I do not supplement any trace elements, as I
perform such frequent water changes.
<Good technique for small
volumes>
I also do nothing special to keep the parameters as they
are. I do top off with RO water which has been remineralized with 10
micron powered aragonite and a dose of "purple-up" from CaribSea.
<I
would discontinue this immediately>
Water flow is medium too low for
the frogspawn and is multidirectional. It is placed lower in the tank,
about 10 inches from the lights.
Other livestock:
1 galaxy coral,
rapidly growing, opposite side from the frogspawn
<D'oh! Oculinids
are very "stingy"... THIS is most likely the cause of trouble here>
1
Kenya tree, also growing,
<Secondarily allelopathogenic...>
1
orange Fungia, 2 inches across, doing great on the sand bed.
various
mushrooms, Zoanthids, a little anthelia
1 green banded goby
1
Firefish
1 yellowtail damsel
1 brittle star
snails and crabs
All of these are long term inhabitants having been in the tank longer
than 9 months (except the frogspawn).
None of the corals have direct
contact with each other via sweeper tentacles.
Any suggestions,
comments, and criticism is welcomed, as I want to solve the disappearing
tentacle problem.
Best Regards,
Ken
<Oh, I see by your titling
below you have some life-science backgd.. There are a few possibilities,
sources of potential loss of vitality that you hint at... But definitely
read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and the linked
files above. Bob Fenner>
Torch Coral Symptom--Conflicting Information (Umm…Not Really The Case) –
03/04/08
First, let me thank you for your hard work on a great
site.
<<We are pleased to be of assistance>>
I am now into my
second year of reef keeping and have come a long way thanks to WWM.
<<Gratifying to know>>
A couple weeks ago, I noticed that two of my
green mushrooms were shrinking considerably and appeared to be
shriveling up with some kind of curly, spaghetti-like filamentous stuff.
<<Hmm…sounds like Mesenterial fibers…and possibly a response to
encroachment/aggression from another organism>>
Yesterday I noticed
my metallic green torch had a small ball of the same stuff near the
mouth on one of the heads.
<<I wonder what the “proximity” is between
these animals…>>
Today it looks like it has expanded into the
mouth/insides of this head. I found these photos on WWM of a torch that
has the same stuff on it.
<<I see it, and I agree with Sara…looks to
be digestive organs>>
The problem is that in one case it appears that
the poster is being told the problem is predatory Nudibranchs and in the
other that this is a normal occurrence (mesentery material) and of no
concern. Here are the photos and the links.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/carydisf7.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/carydisfaq3.htm
Any direction you can
offer is appreciated.
Many thanks,
Tom
<<Well Tom, first let me
point out that this is NOT an instance of two conflicting opinions for
the same query/issue (not that it can’t be found here [grin]). These
questions and photos were submitted by different people nearly 18-months
apart…and do appear to be two different issues. The first photo is quite
good and very much appears to be a case of exposed Mesenterial fibers.
Whether or not this is anything to worry about may well be up for
debate, but I would suggest making sure this very aggressive Euphylliid
is placed well away from those very noxious Corallimorpharians…if this
issue matches your situation. The second photo is much less distinct,
but close scrutiny does seem to bear out the presence of “frilly
rolled-flaps” that appear much different than the Mesenterial fibers and
would support Bob’s suggestion that they may be predatory Nudibranchs
and thus require immediate steps to eradicate to save the coral…again,
if this issue matches your situation. So hopefully you see this is not a
case of contradiction, but more a case of two seemingly different issues
with differing solutions. Bottom line…without a sharp, close-up photo of
your problem, along with the “details” of your system and livestock,
about all any of us can do is guess. As it stands, you are in the best
position to determine which of these two issues pertains to you.
Regards, Eric Russell>>
Re: Torch Coral Symptom--Conflicting Information (Umm...Not Really The
Case) - 03/04/08
Thank you for your reply and the clarification!
<<Always welcome, mate. EricR>>
Re: Coral eater 2/24/08
Hi,
Yesterday I didn't feed my
tank for the night and by today morning, I lost half my frog spawn.
The frog spawn was 100 bucks. Can you tell me how to catch the
predator or can you point to a list of predators for reef?
Any
help would be appreciated guys.
<Are you sure the coral isn't
just dying? Hermits can be predators when they get hungry enough,
but I'm not sure how likely it is that they'd eat half a coral
colony overnight. And most things that eat coral you would have
likely witnessed already (especially if it were consuming so much so
quickly).>
Regards,
PraKash
<Best,
Sara M.>
Re: Coral eater -02/24/08
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the quick
reply. If the coral was dying how could it have died so much over
night?
<It's quite possible. It's not unusual for corals to
suffer something called "Rapid Tissue Necrosis" or "RTN." Once they
get this, they can completely die within less than 24hrs. Here's
some more info on the condition:
http://www.reefs.org/library/article/rtn.html>
I have removed 6-7
hermits from the tank 2 weeks ago thinking they were the predators.
Can long nose hawk, sail fin tang, Anthias fishes be predators?
<highly unlikely>
If the coral was dying what could be the cause?
Ca 500PPM, 11dkh, 8.2 Ph. I have never checked for Mg. Can you
please help?
<Oh geez, it could be a lot of things. What is your
salinity, temp? It could simply be the shock of being in a new tank
if it wasn't acclimated slowly enough. How old is the tank? Are
there any other corals near the Euphyllia? Btw, unless this is a
rather large colony, $100 more than I'd pay for this coral.>
Regards,
PraKash
<Best,
Sara M.>
Re: Coral eater -02/25/08
Hi Sara,
I think it was RTN. So
there is no cure for this disease is it?
<Unfortunately, no, not
really. You can just hope and prey it stops. And if your coral is
still alive by tomorrow, it probably has stopped (or wasn't RTN).
Or, you can frag off the rapidly dying parts of the coral (if it's
still dying).>
My salinity is 1.233. My temperature is always
80-81.
<Your salinity is too low for corals/marine inverts. It
should be closer to 1.025-1.026. You should raise it slowly.>
As
always thanks.
<De nada and good luck,
Sara M.> |
Bubble Coral/Health 2/19/08
Hello,
<Hi FJ>
I have a Bubble
Coral that I added about a month ago. About two weeks ago I noticed it
had reddish brown algae on the four highest tips of the plates on the
skeleton. I assume that there was some damage to the plates somewhere
in-between collection and me. Do I/ should I do anything to remove the
algae or should I leave it alone. If so, what is the safest way to
remove it.
<I'd leave alone, more bad than good may result. If
nutrient control is practiced, there shouldn't be any problem with the
algae spreading.>
Thanks,
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
FJ
Bubble Coral Disease? (Or Maybe Environmental Issues) – 02/02/08
Hi Eric!
<<Morning Don!>>
Sorry to bother you again but any
chance of telling me what's going on with this Bubble coral? I have
had it for about 2 months and the last week it has been looking like
this. Thanks again.
<<Hmm…It is hard for me to discern much from
this photo (too small, too distant), but it appears the coral is
experiencing polyp bailout. This is usually a result of
stinging/poisoning from another coral in too-close proximity, a
result of “light-shock” (either from being placed too high in the
aquarium or as a result of new bulbs, or maybe just clarifying of
the water from the addition/changing of filter carbon), or a result
of a decline in water quality or an imbalance/deficiency of
Earth/alkaline elements. If the coral is not too close to another
(or not being harassed by a fish), and if lighting is not the issue,
then look to your water quality/chemistry. Ensure Nitrates are below
5ppm and that Magnesium/Calcium/Alkalinity are all within NSW
levels. Also…have you been feeding this coral? Plerogyra species are
quite voracious predators and usually require supplemental feeding
for their long-term wellbeing (as do most ALL corals, in my
opinion). Small meaty foods like frozen mysis (twice a week) are a
good supplemental food for this coral. EricR>> | 
|
Frogspawn
stalk question... hlth. mostly, and a "blue" light LED f' – 1/26/08
Hi there,
I have a seemingly healthy and happy frogspawn that has
grown from three heads to seven in about 5 months (he loves mysis
shrimp).
<Mmm, needs more than this, nutrition and water quality
supplement-wise>
I have the 5 inch stalk stuffed into a hole in one
of my rocks to anchor it. well.. something is eating away at the stalk
and it is looking pretty weak at this point so I have two questions. 1)
what do I do once it breaks?
<Re-orient, place it>
and 2) what is
eating the stalk?
<Perhaps nothing. Have you observed a predator?>
I have two ridiculously large black urchins,
<Mmm, could be poking
it>
1 scooter blenny, 1 fox face (he came after this started) 4 green
chromis, 1 mandarin, two tank bred percula clowns, and something that is
1/2 pink 1/2 yellow his make eludes me at the moment. I add calcium
occasionally
<How and why?>
and an all in one nutrient supplement
once every week or two.
<... of what constituency, and how do you
test for?>
I'll admit that I almost never change my water but I seem
to have a high evaporation rate and add a gallon of distilled water per
day( not sure if that is good or not but it certainly stopped my algae
issues).
<And your stony coral health evidently>
I used to test my
water constantly but now I do it rarely because all looks well.
<...
can be deceiving. I "measure" such events in life by "results">
I do
have a bristle worm problem that I am trying to solve.
<Small
possibility that these polychaetes might be involved as well...>
Thanks in advance.
<Ummm, well... there could be "something" chewing
et al. here... but could just as well be an anomaly of water quality
and/or nutrition at play... making the skeleton of the Euphylliid
"soft"... Need more/real data to assess better... Or you might read:
http://wetwebmedia.com/carydisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above...>
P.S. would you consider the PowerBrite 460 led blue light a moon light?
<Sure>
I just bought it today and the salesmen said it was a
moonlight but it says its for growth??
<Mmm, blue? What wavelengths?
See WWM re... will not likely boost growth, or photosynthesis period.
Bob Fenner>Re:
frogspawn stalk question – 1/28/08
Thanks for the response. Here
is more info including photos to help with the diagnosis.
<Good ones
too>
My tank is 90 gallons. It's been up for about 8 mo.s since we
moved to Florida and prior to that about 1 yr. My lights are CF, 3
10,oook, 2 50/50 actinic, 1 6700k (accidental purchase). GH 180, KH
80-120, Ph 7.5,
<Yikes... way too low... unable to biomineralize...>
Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, temp 78. I did pluck a tiny star fish off my
frogspawn last night and another was on the rock nearby. I have removed
6-8 over the last 6 months or so. I read that they were a nuisance. Do
you think they could be the problem?
Stacy T.
<Could be some
aspect of predation, but the pH... is a huge issue here. Could be "it"
alone... please... read re: on WWM and nutrition of
Euphylliids/Caryophylliids... RMF> |  
Dissolving.
|
Injured pearl bubble coral 1/19/08
I have a "pearl
bubble coral" that was absolutely gorgeous when I bought him about a
year and a half ago for my first reef tank, a 29g tank. I took good
care of him, fed him, and gave him a home where he seemed happy for
several months - expanding up to six inches above his skeleton.
About 4 months after having him (and only 5 months experience with
reef systems) I let a friend watch my system for a week while I was
out of town. This friend made one vital mistake, and she explained
to me exactly what happened. She had forgotten to mix some ph buffer
with the top off water, and so thought it would be fine to just add
the powder directly to the tank. It didn't dissolve as she had hoped
(duh) and landed directly into the middle section of my gorgeous
coral.
<Yikes>
I have to admit I thought he was a goner for a
while, but I tried my best to nurse him back. He was completely
white and sickly looking for about three months. It has now been
nearly a year since the incident, and the coral has regained some of
its color and still feeds regularly. It has also been moved into a
75 gallon tank and has been in there for about 6 months. It does not
however extend nearly as much as it used to (maybe only 2 inches at
the most now) and the middle section is very clearly dead. I am
extremely strict on my water quality and there is little to no
variation from my current parameters. I do a 5 gallon water change
every 2-3 days, with 1 ten gallon change once a week. 1.25 salinity,
0 ph4, 0 no3/no4, 0 ammonia, ph 8.3, 79-80 F. I would love to see a
full recovery of this animal, but am starting to fear that it may
not happen. I have given him a whole corner of the tank to himself
<Actually... your pic shows a polypoid life form to the upper left
of this Physogyra>
to avoid any further stress from other corals,
and he is sitting in the sand, where he has always seemed happiest.
There is an Aiptasia anemone on the backside of his skeleton
<Ah
yes>
which I have tried to kill several times, only to have him
reappear (sometimes with a twin!). The tentacles of the pest do not
reach the flesh of the coral however.
<I do think they or their
assigns do...>
You can see in the photo the right half of him is
still alive and partially extended. The middle section is dead (I
approximate 2 mouths lost). And there is still a single mouth on the
far left that is still alive. I just happen to have this photo on my
computer at work, but can get a clearer one if you'd like. I
guess there are several questions here. Is there a chance he will
ever fully recover? Will the dead section ever regenerate?
<Possibly times two>
If not, would it be safe to cut him into two
through the dead skeleton in the middle?
<Could try, but I
wouldn't at this stage... too weak, and may re-populate this area
given better conditions, time>
(there is no fleshy part here) Is
there anything more I can do to help him out?
<Mmm, yes.
Principally the removal of the pest anemone... See WWM re... and
iodide/ate applications, feeding... the use of a refugium....>
I
would love to see him as happy as he was in the past. Any insight or
suggestions are greatly appreciated.
<All are posted, expanded
upon on WWM>
Also have in this tank: variety of xenia, colt,
variety of zoanthids, Fungia plate, green cup coral, mushrooms, frog
spawn; pacific cleaner shrimp, 2 perc clowns, purple firefish,
Swissguard basslet, 3 green chromis, yellow watchman goby, variety
snails and hermits.
As always, thanks for helping with the
headache of understanding how to manage an oceanic world in our
living rooms! A wonderful resource that all aquarists would benefit
from!
Josh
<Mmm, do see WWM re the Glass Anemone removal et
al.. And this spiffy ppt. pres. re what's going on here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
Bob Fenner> | 
|
LPS Lighting (One More Time!) - 05/18/06
Dear Eric R.
<<Hello Diane>>
It's been a long time since I've written in and the
first time to you.
<<Welcome back>>
I have been trying to follow
Bob's advice; read, read, read some more, then make up your own darn
mind. (To paraphrase).
<<Indeed>>
Well, I got the first part
down. However, just when I thought I had this lighting figured out I
went to a different LFS and POOF! here we go again.
<<Ha!...nature
of the beast/hobby...opinions abound!>>
If you would be so kind to
go over what I have and help me straighten this out.
<<Would be glad
to provide my input>>
We have a 125 gal. acrylic tank 72" X 18" X
20" with a 6" DSB. Lights hang 11 to 12" above the water line and can
be raised or lowered as needed.
<<Ok>>
The lights are two 36"
Power Compacts, the left-one is SunPaq 10,000K/460-Actinic and the
right-one is SunPaq Dual-Daylight 6,700/10,000K. The halides are 3 X
175 watts. Left is 6500K, middle is 20,000K and right is 14,000K.
<<Mmm, why the variation across the length of the tank? Are you
attempting to create differing "zones/niches"?>>
The yellow of the
daylight halide is tempered by the blue of the actinic and the blue of
the 14K Halide is tempered by the yellow of the daylight PCs (the 20K is
because I have read so many raves and Anthony's book BOCP says for LPS
you can go bluer.)
<<Ok>>
Well yesterday we went to a different
LFS and they had the MOST beautiful corals! We purchased several and
during the selection and bagging process I questioned the manager as to
his procedures for maintenance and lighting. He told me that 15K are THE
best and that my 6500K should only be used for high light SPS.
<<Too
"general" a statement...I disagree>>
Now Drs. Foster and Smith will
let me return bulbs for replacement but am I that far off with my
lights?
<<I don't know, what are you keeping/trying to accomplish
with this lighting?>>
There can't be that much difference between
14K and 15K!
<<Or even 20K...agreed>>
However, I am not sure
about the 6500K and the 20K.
<<A marked difference in spectral
output...but the 6500K still contains enough "blue light" for most all
corals>>
We have: (all bought yesterday),1 6" green Bubble
(Plerogyra sinuosa), 1 6" Favites (?) shared corallite walls.
<<Favites, yes...a shared wall between the calyces>>
They are both
under the 65K with the Favites on the sand and the Bubble three inches
higher, on a rock.
<<It may be fine, but keep an eye on the Bubble
coral. Plerogyra are not high light requiring corals, if the "bubbles"
looks to be turning brown or stop expanding, do move it lower/to a more
subdued lighting location>>
One 4" green Long Tentacle Plate/Disc
(Fungia scutaria) on the sand under the 20K with the most gorgeous green
Fox (Nemenzophyllia turbida) also under the 20K but under a ledge. To
the right of them are 2 separate pieces of Branching Hammer (Euphyllia
parancora) consisting of 8 and 9 heads respectively (after adaptation,
thought of moving apart under different lights to experiment?).
<<Sure>>
They are also placed just three inches above the sand bed,
however the highest two heads are 6" below the water line and they are
centered between the 20K and the 14K. Now, under the 14K is my baby, an
Open Brain coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi) whom I’ve had 2 years
now. She is not the vivid color when I purchased her (bright green and
deep maroon) but I would swear in the last few days her red is coming
back!
<<Maybe had "too much" light before hand. It's not a hard and
fast rule by any means, but many LPS with "red" pigments require/demand
lower light levels than those with "green" pigments>>
The new bulbs
are either more to her liking or else the color was always there and I
just couldn't see it under the old 5500Ks.
<<A bit of
both>>
After all that I guess my questions are, is the 6500K that
bad?
<<Nope...especially considering the wattage/distance you have
the bulbs above the tank. That's not to say I think it's the best bulb
for your particular selection of livestock. Speaking for me...for an
LPS dominant tank I would go with a higher Kelvin rating...10000K is a
good "all around" spectrum...but in this instance I would be tempted to
go with a quality 14000K or 20000K bulb for each fixture. Much depends
on your own sense of aesthetics and what your trying replicate in your
system>>
(I have a 10K that I can replace it with but it is
WHITE!) Am not interested in SPS (never say never).
<< <grin> >>
Is the 20K a good bulb for LPS?
<<With enough intensity, yes. If
you go with 20000K I recommend you move the lights to within 6-8 inches
of the water's surface>>
The blue look is nice and the corals are
beautiful under them but I want what is best for the animals (short of
leaving them in the oceans of course).
<<...of course>>
These
are the only corals I want with the possible addition of a nice Hammer
(E. ancora) and maybe, sometime down the road a ways, I would love to
have an Elegance (Catalaphyllia jardinei).
<<Do please read
up/research the Catalaphyllia well (you can begin here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/elegance.htm). This is not an easy coral to
keep, and is best tried in a specie specific system designed to/for its
care>>
Thank you so much for your time and patience. All of you are
appreciated and I hope one day you will all know how much!
<<Thank
you for the kind words...we're happy to assist>>
Wishing you the
best of life, Diane.
<<And to you in kind, Eric Russell>>
P.S.
the LFS is ATM in Las Vegas, Nevada the one on the corner of Patrick and
Sandhill in the Southeast part of the valley. Beautiful corals and good
prices.
<<Hmm, will have to make a point to stop in next time I'm in
Vegas. EricR>> LPS Lighting
(One More Time!) II - 05/20/06
Polyp Bailout in Branching Hammer
Dear Eric, Thank you so much for answering so quickly. You guys (yes,
and gals) are great!
<<You're welcome...and thank you>>
But it
seems quick as you were problems arise quicker!
<<Uh oh>>
The
Branching Hammer has just been dissolving continuously since adding them
to the tank. I have been reading for two days now and since 2 a.m. this
morning, But other than photo shock (?) which I didn't think happened
that quickly, I am at a loss. I have also siphoned off two more gooey
brown heads of the Hammer.
<<Mmm, photo shock "can" have a rapid
effect, especially if the coral was already stressed...but from the
"gooey brown" description, I'm inclined to suspect a bacterial/protozoa
infection. Though admittedly pure speculation, but have you read
through our coral disease FAQs?>>
I separated the two pieces,
leaving the best (?) of the two in its original location and moving the
other to the far left end where I have removed the 6500K halide (to be
replaced by another 14K Thank You <<welcome>>). I also dipped this
piece in an iodine mix of one quart aquarium water and ten drops Lugol's
for ten minutes. It only has two heads, out of nine, that look even
halfway viable so I figured we had nothing to lose. The other piece has
two heads that look great and two that look iffy.
<<I would dip
"both" pieces in the iodine solution: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/iodfaqs.htm
>>
We bought these corals on the 17th of May and this is the first
day the Green Bubble has inflated but it is no longer the fluorescent
green it was in the store, but rather a much paler green.
<<Hmmm,
would have thought the bubble coral to inflate before now...possibly
telling (something in your water parameters?). The color is "possibly"
a function of the lighting...maybe the LFS had more "actinic" over the
coral in the store>>
The Long Tentacled Plate is starting to show
himself and the Fox looks to be doing O.K. Only the E. parancora
crashed (but I know it's still real early in the game). At the LFS the
corals were in maybe six inches of water approximately 18 inches under
175 watt 14 and 20K (3). The salinity was 1.025 but I forgot to ask
about pH. Anyhow I drip acclimated them over four plus hours and swore
I would not move them around for at least 2 weeks if at all. But I'll
probably move the Bubble lower when the new bulb gets here.
<<Okay>>
Right now it is about 16 inches to the left of 20K, 5 inches below the
water surface and 15 inches under the 10K/actinic P.C. My water
parameters are temp. 80 ; salinity 1.025; my pH was 8.3 at 6:30 last
night and 8.0 at 7 this morning.
<<Is fine>>
I had added 1 tsp.
Seachem Reef builder directly to the tank in an effort to get my alk. up
from 2.5. Added it last night and this morning my alk is 3. Amm. is 0,
nitrites are 0, but my nitrates are 10.
<<Mmm...possibly a result of
the decomposing Euphylliid...or an indication something else is amiss>>
I have a 6 inch DSB and never had a problem with nitrate. I use a
Turboflotor-Multi HOB skimmer and (temporarily) an Aquaclear 110 with 2
new bags Chemi-pure and one Polyfilter.
<<Both good stuff>>
My
iodine kit showed no iodine even after a couple of small water changes
(approx. 20%) over 2 days so I added 4 drops Lugol’s, still nothing on
the test so I added 3 more drops, still nothing this morning.
<<Hmmm...>>
I use I.O. salt and the new water tests at .05 iodine,
(perhaps the chemical filtration).
<<Ah...yes>>
Water movement
is with 3 Aquaclear 70s
<<...? Aquaclear 70 power filters? How
often do you clean these...should be done "at least" weekly>>
and 1
Seio 820.
<<Some additional "vigorous" water movement would likely
do this tank some good as well>>
I don't know what else to do except
maybe another small water change today to get the nitrates back to zero.
<<I recommend a 30-40 percent water change>>
I did not think my
set-up was that different from the LFS where all the corals looked
fantastic! Do you have any suggestions.
<<Mmm, yes...dip both
Euphylliids again (remove any diseased/dieing heads first), perform a
40% water change, and keep monitoring water quality/performing water
changes as needed>>
The sad thing is I truly love the Euphylliid
family and could easily picture a tank of just them.
<<Would be
beautiful I'm sure. Don't give up...get over this hurdle, learn from
the experience, and pursue your dream tank>>
One more thing. Do
they dye corals?
<<Some...mainly "soft" coral species...a terrible
practice>>
The Bubble was a very vivid neon green and the Fox is
bright, almost fluorescent green. (But the Hammer is/was a more normal
brown and green).
<<Is rather unlikely these were/are dyed
corals...have not heard of this being attempted with stony/LPS
corals. Regards, Eric Russell>> <Unfortunately... I have. RMF>
Bubble Coral health, systems - 05/17/2006
Hello everyone,
I have read and read on your site and others about my problem. I have
been in the hobby of reef aquariums for approximately two years. I
cannot seem to keep a bubble coral alive. Everything I read states they
are a hardy, good beginner coral. I have a 110 gallon with
approximately 160-200 pounds of live rock, various fish and many
corals. Nitrite, ammonia, are zero, calcium 360-400, ph 8.3 to 84,
alkalinity (test kit is in high range color), nitrate 20-30ppm. I dose
every morning with B-Ionic and add 16 drops of iodine daily. I
installed a refugium around three months ago. I also have an Excalibur
skimmer, chiller, 400 watts of MH in addition to actinic blue lights. I
do a 20 to 30% water change weekly, with RO water, aerate it for couple
of days, heat water to same temp. in aquarium, etc.
My bubbles
always do great for four to six weeks. Then, the septa's begin turning
black and ½ to ¾ of the bubble stops opening up. I feed the bubble
nightly with Mysid shrimp. Each time this has happened, the bubble
coral was on the bottom of the tank. The last time this happened I
moved it about half way up the tank. The remaining few bubbles did fine
for around two months, then the bubbles just stopped inflating and died.
I am very stubborn and determined to get a bubble to live. This time I
have purchased a large bubble coral and am hoping for the best. What am
I doing wrong? I have an elegance coral and other more difficult corals
doing very well. Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thank you,
Robin R. Shelton
<<Robin: Do you know
specifically what species you have? In general, Bubble Corals like
moderate light and low to med flow. With your lighting, I would think
they would like a quiet place on the sand. As you know, many reefers
regularly get their tanks to 0 Nitrates. Thus, for corals 20-30 ppm
would be considered quite high. For me, having a skimmer solved part of
the problem. The rest was solved by growing Chaeto algae in the
sump. For you, switching from RO to RO/DI should also help. Why are you
dosing iodine? Most people don't and a general rule of thumb is don't
add something you can't test for. Until you resolve your nitrate
problem, you it would be better off not to introducing more corals into
your tank. Take a look at the links I have attached. Given your
previous luck with Bubbles, I think a smaller one would better handle
the transition to a new tank than a big one that spent a long time
living somewhere else. Best of luck, Roy
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nitratesmar.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm>>
Damaged Frogspawn ... prop., health 4/25/06
Hi
all,
<Debi>
Well to make this short and not so sweet. I was
cleaning my tank, 46 bow front salt, changing water etc, when I stupidly
decided to shorten the stem
on my very pretty Frogspawn. The LFS
told me I could just break off the end and made it sound simple so I
did, but I had to put more force on it than I
expected and when it
broke off it banged it's head (sort of opened up) on a rock and several
little green pieces broke off.
<Mmm, best/better by far to do such
"operations" outside the main tank... with the animal shaken (not
stirred?) a few moments ahead to cause the polyps to retract...>
Needless to say, it immediately retracted in shock and I also
retracted from the tank in shock. I had no idea what to do so I
repositioned it in the same place it had been,
quickly finished my
tasks and decided to leave it alone, either to die or recover. My
question is whether or not I can do anything else for it
(anything
good) aside from leaving it alone. Should I take it out and put it in
the QT tank of which I am not so sure it is ready?
<Mmm, I would
not... given just the information presented here. Much more likely to
cause further trouble at this point likely>
Should it be dosed with
Iodine and can that be done in the show tank?
<This is
likely best>
I feel awful, he was so pretty and now he's just all
sucked in and I have no idea if he is beyond repair or not.
Thanks
<Euphylliids are very tough if/once established... I give you good odds
of complete recovery. Bob Fenner>
Losing my torch coral (semi-urgent) and treating a clown goby -
5/5/2006
against ich...
Hi Mr. Fenner,
Hi
Everybody,
<Dominique>
Sorry if I have been writing a bit
too often these days... Hope I'm not pushing too far with my once a
month average at the moment... My reef tank has one year this month
and very healthy and successful and I owe you a lot for that result.
Now that said, nothing is ever perfect and I have a few problems
right now... of course...
1- My greatest concern for now is my
torch coral (Euphyllia glabrescens). I wrote a few months ago
because he was invaded by what we finally id as ostracods. We
concluded that they were not a problem and I still stick to that
conclusion. Just mentioning it here in case you see a link. Two
weeks ago the otherwise apparently healthy and expended coral very
quickly lost a
complete branch. Large fleshy parts were hanging
until showing the septae/skeleton. Then bunches of polyps
hanging/falling together... Within a week the branch was clean,
white, and dead. The rest of the coral still seemed very healthy and
I thought everything would be ok now... until today. I noticed the
same thing was happening to another branch and I fear I will lose
the whole coral if I do nothing so here are some pictures I took
today.
<No pix came through>
I tried find something in my
books but no success (I have Aquarium Corals from Borneman, Coral
Propagation, and Reef Invertebrates). I have potassium iodine and
Lugol's (not used to dose the system) so should I try a dip and with
which one (I guess Lugol's)?
<Yes and yes>
Please help me if
you can. That would be my first failure with my corals. It hurts
even more when I think that
that species is not so widespread
and fast-growing in the ocean...
I also fear contagion to my two
hammer corals...
Here are my parameters:
temperature: 81.4F
(very stable with Neptune + heater and fans...)
salinity: 1.0255
(very stable with Tunze Osmolator...)
calcium: 375
Alk: 9.2
Nitrate and Phosphate: 0
Ammonia: 0
under 250w 13.5k
megachrome at 18" deep with gentle current and partly shadowed by
some high placed LR.
2- I am now treating a green clown goby
(Gobiodon hystrio) against ich. I set-up a quarantine/hospital tank
system with two 10gal and one 25 gal tanks. The goby has periodic
ich outbreak since I got him. He seemed to do fine with this
condition and no other fish in the tank ever shows symptoms. Now I
decided to use the copper treatment in the 10gal hospital tank. Also
thinking of leaving him there for 2 months. I did not remove the
other fishes from the display but I guess if they don't show
symptoms during those
8 weeks and the clown goby too then it
shouldn't come back (right?).
<Mmm... no... likely the system
itself is infested... the other fishes just sub-symptomatic>
Only now I discovered that those fish are somehow sensitive to
copper. My question is: if hyposalinity is not efficient and if
copper and formalin are dangerous to that fish, how do you treat it?
<... posted on WWM>
3- BTW could you help ID this coral. I got
it several months ago and was never sure about the species. The LFS
(one I don't trust too much) sold it as a "cats paw" Pocillopora.
Now while I am quite sure it's a Pocilloporidae, I hesitate between
the genus Stylophora and Pocillopora. The species I can't tell for
sure (damicornis?). Can you tell with that picture?
<No pic>
In any case I think it requires very strong water flow and lighting.
Well at least that's what he gets now and seems fine with it,
showing growth and improving color (turning from brownish greenish
orange to pink).
I can send a few more pictures of the
Pocilloporidae and of the agonizing glabrescens, just didn't want to
overload you...
Many Thanks!
Dominique
<Please do try
re-sending these. Perhaps to my personal email addr.:
fennerrobert@hotmail.com
Bob Fenner> | | Pix did
come through on my personal addy. The Coral in question does
appear to be a Stylophora species, and for the health of the
Euphyllia, please read over the section on WWM re the family
Caryophyllidae. RMF | 
|
Frogspawn Frustration - 05/07/2006
Hi,
Sorry but I forgot to
mention one thing in the previous email. About a day and a half after
the water change (original text included below) when I noticed that the
coral was not doing well I checked the SG and it was then at 1.018
according to my hydrometer. I quickly called the LFS I had bought the
water from and they thought that my measurement probably wasn't correct
but said if I believed it to be that low to add one cup of salt
dissolved in some RO/DI water. I did that and the next day was when the
other LFS measured it at the current 1.023. So it occurs to me that
maybe there was something wrong with the salt water I got from the first
store causing the salinity to drop and would that have affected the
coral this way? Also, one other thing. When I changed the water I
removed the salt water first, replaced the salt water I had removed with
the new and then topped off with RO/DI. Does the order I did this in
matter? Could that have caused the problem? Thanks again, Debi
Original message was.........
(Hello Bob or whichever expert happens
to answer this, hope all is well with you.) My frogspawn isn't well and
I cannot figure out what can be the problem. I
have attached two
pics so you can see the decline for yourself. My tank specs are as
follows: 46 gallon bow front, 60 lbs. live rock and one inch of
substrate sand, Aragonite I think, Remora Skimmer w/Aqua Jet 1200, one
Aqua Jet 600 PH, one Seio 600 PH. occasional use of an Aqua Clear Power
Filter for running carbon and PolyFilter. Ran carbon for about two
weeks and took it out yesterday, replaced it with PolyFilter. At the
moment the Aqua Filter is not on and has been off since
yesterday. Lighting is 36" 2x96 Coralife Aqualight w/Lunar Lights, 1x
Actinic and 1x 10,000K. Lighting is run Lunar constantly, with Actinic
12 hours and White 10, Actinic comes on one hour before the white and
stays on one hour after if goes off. The tank does have a canopy with a
glass top which I leave open for oxygen exchange. Bioload is light with
two false percula, one red striped shrimp, one sand sifting sleeper
goby, one frogspawn and various snails and hermit crabs, along with some
green hair algae and some red slime. The water tests are Ammonia-0, PH
8.2 to 8.4, Nitrite-0, Nitrate-0, Phosphorus-0, Calcium 550, Alk 2.5, SG
1.023 and temp 79-80 Fahrenheit controlled by a temp controller. These
results confirmed by my local LFS and myself. I feed
with Mysis and
Cyclops-eeze in a squirt bottle, usually once a day, add a little garlic
drops and some occasional Selcon to the food. and DT's weekly.
Additives are only Iodine weekly and now I have used Bi-Ionic 2 part for
the past couple of days at 30 ml. each both days on the advice of my LFS
because he says my alkalinity is low. Normal water change schedule is
15 percent every 10 days. It started three days ago, just one day after
a I changed 6 gallons of water and added 2 gallons top off RO/DI. Both
purchased from the LFS and the same as I have been using for the three
months this tank has been up and cycled. I noticed that there were some
bubbles around the top edges of the water when I started the change. I
thought that was strange. The frogspawn was looking pretty good as you
can see in the before picture then the morning after the water change he
began to look like one side was not coming out very much at all and has
been going further and further in for the last two days resulting in the
after picture. The after picture is taken with only the actinic around
10 pm, but he looked this way all day. As I mentioned all water
parameters seemed to be good except for the low Alk which I am working
on. The only thing besides changing the water that I can think of that
is different is that during the change I siphoned up quite a bit of red
slime that was on the sand and did get the sand stirred up quite a
bit. I also seem to have a small problem with green hair algae in the
lower part of the tank. My LFS has suggested a lawn mower blenny for
the algae. Could I have stirred up something from the sand that could
be affecting the coral. I know that the Cyano is a bacteria and I know
I didn't get it all out. Would that be the problem? I haven't changed
the lighting or the corals position since he came home, I have had him
about a month. I haven't had the best luck so far with this tank as I
have lost a Royal Gramma about two months ago, a Yellow Tang about 3
weeks ago and a 6 lined wrasse about 2 weeks ago. I have no clue what
happened to any of them as there were no obvious signs of Ich or
anything else. They just slowly died over a matter of days after my
getting them. The Tang only lasted about 10 hours. I have decided to
try buying my live stock someplace else. I realize this is a new tank
by normal standards and will go through settling in pains, but it has
been cycled for three months now and the store says I am doing
everything right. The clowns and shrimp and goby look well and are
eating and the shrimp has molted twice in two months, last time just
yesterday. The goby has recently started taking his sand up high to
sift (like mid tank, is this significant) and so the sand is on the
rocks a lot, occasionally I blow it off with a turkey baster. That's
all I can think of that might be relevant. Sorry for the length I just
wanted to make sure you had all the information. Please any suggestions
or help would be so appreciated as this is getting frustrating to me as
a new hobbyist that is trying to do everything good to take care of my
fishies...............) Thanks in advance, -Debi
<Debi - Frogspawn
are usually very hardy. They like medium light and medium to low
flow. Unfortunately, I could not see your images. When you do water
changes, you should try to keep your SG stable. Thus, if you need to
top off with fresh water, you should do it first before you do a water
change. Since Hydrometers can be unreliable, you should invest in a
refractometer. You can get them on eBay for around $40. The accuracy
and piece of mind they give is worthwhile. I am concerned with your
fish dying. You should have a quarantine tank for all new
purchases. When you get the refractometer, check the SG. You may find
that it is much different than you thought. Regarding iodine, most
people don't add it. The general rule is don't add something you can't
monitor and test for. Best of luck, Roy> |
Frogspawn Frustration - II - 05/07/2006
Sorry, this is a
resend of a sort because when it was sent the first time I
accidentally left out what might be pertinent information and also
the kind person (Roy) that tried to answer it couldn't see the pics
and consequently only commented on a portion of the message. Does
it sound like I should be looking for other problems? What would
they be. The fish dying are also an issue and the LFS always says
the water tests are good and has no idea what could be the cause.
<Debi - Frogspawn are usually very hardy. They like medium light
and medium to low flow. The pictures were helpful. Sometimes it
takes them several days to adjust to a new location or to being
moved. In the before picture, your frogspawn is sweeping in one
direction. In the after picture, the frogspawn has retracted on the
side where the flow seems to be coming from (retraction is normal if
something is not right). If you can adjust the flow, I would first
try reducing the amount of flow that hits the frogspawn (or find
something to put on the left side to block some of the current). If
that works, I think the branches will come back out. Another
possibility is if the lighting is not the same over both sides of
the frogspawn (i.e., if one side is in the shade compared to the
other side). I have seen frogspawn branches retract if there is not
enough light. Since frogspawn are hardy, I don't think what you
feed, or how often, has anything to do with your current problem
(mine grow like crazy and I have never target fed them). The amount
of algae you currently have in the tank may be a result of
overfeeding. You might want to feed a bit less rather than buy a
Lawn Mower Blenny which usually won't eat Cyano or Hair Algae. I
don't think the Cyano or Hair Algae will have much effect on the
frogspawn as long as they are not growing on it. When you do water
changes, you should try to keep your SG stable. Thus, if you need
to top off with fresh water, you should do it first before you do a
water change. If you don't, you could have a high SG spike if you
dump in the new salt water and then use RO/DI to get the SG back
down to 1.023. Since Hydrometers can be unreliable, you should
invest in a refractometer. You can get them on eBay for around
$40. The accuracy and piece of mind they give is worthwhile. I am
concerned with your fish dying. You should have a quarantine tank
for all new purchases. When you get the refractometer, check the
SG. You may find that it is much different than you
thought. Regarding iodine, most people don't add it. The general
rule is don't add something you can't monitor and test for. Best of
luck, Roy> |  
Before, after
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