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FAQs about SPS Coral
Health/Disease, Pests/Predators Related
Articles: SPS Corals,
Acroporid Corals,
Dyed Corals, Related FAQs:
SPS 1, SPS 2,
SPS Identification, SPS Behavior,
SPS Compatibility, SPS Selection,
SPS Systems, SPS Feeding,
SPS Reproduction, Acroporid Corals,
Agariciid Corals, Astrocoeniid
Corals, Merulinid Corals,
Pectiniid Corals, Pocilloporid
Corals, Siderastreid Corals, Stony
Coral Behavior, 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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SPS Issues 09/14/09
Hey everyone hope all is well over there
<Thank you>
I am having some ongoing issues with my tank and I am on my last legs
with this. I have a 6x2x3 foot
<nice!>
reef tank with a majority of SPS corals and a couple of LPS corals. I am
having some real issues with a few of my SPS corals and I can work out
why except that maybe my lighting is to blame???
<I don't think so... not unless you recently changed the lighting
drastically.>
My parameters have been pretty good and very stable:
Ph 8.1 - 8.2
Calcium ~375-400
Alk 8 - 9 dKH
Redox ~350
Temp 26 C
Salinity 1.025-1.026
I have noticed that a number of my corals have excessive mucus with
almost white puffs of cotton wool like coatings in certain areas. I have
also noticed that a number of corals are showing less polyp extension. I
changed over to Lumen Bright reflectors with 250w 20k bulbs about two
months ago but I already had this issue. I have approximately 50x water
flow plus a wave box and use a large Beckett style skimmer although my
bio load is low with a single yellow tang and a clown fish.
<Oh! This is good for water quality, but bad for coral food. What do you
feed the corals?>
I do approximately 30% water change a month via a programmed 15 litre
per day water change. I thought that maybe the new globes I got which
are a Chinese made globe are really poor and maybe I should change back
to 10k XM's which I ran on my previous tank. Could this be an infection
of some type or are these signs potentially from lighting.
<As long as there is no bleaching and the tissue is not receding, I
wouldn't think disease just yet.>
The only other thing I thought it might be was the original water I used
to use for water changes was collected and stored for about 3 hours in
plastic containers which had once been used to hold lemon syrup used in
the manufacture of lemonade. The containers still have some smell but I
doubt there is much product left leeched in the plastic as the
containers have been used at least 20 times. I recently changed over to
ASW about 2 weeks ago.
<I doubt it's any lemon syrup residue... but who knows? One way to be
sure is to just use different buckets and see if it helps anyway.
My "guess" is that either you're feeding the corals something they don't
like, not feeding them enough, or... perhaps you have particulates in
your water from somewhere/something. Corals shed mucus like that usually
in response to some kind of physical irritation... can you think of
anything that might be irritating them?
Best,
Sara M.>
Re: SPS Issues 10/09/09
Thank you for the quick response.
<Yikes, I'm soooo sorry for this very delayed response!>
I have changed over to ASW (Tropic Marin) and I am still seeing the
strange mucus build up and now I am seeing some recession on some corals
from the base. My water parameters are still very stable and have
changed very very little. I have had no temp swing but my RedOx has been
moving little more than I would probably like from around 315 to 350
over 24 - 36 hours. I have purchased new XM 10k globes which I have had
success with before and will be seeing if a change to better globes will
improve the situation. Is it possible there is some sort of pathogen or
bacteria that has got into the tank and is infecting some of the corals?
<Hmmm... do you smoke? Or, do you light incense or candles? I'm not sure
what's going on here. But do stop changing things... best to try and
keep things stable and the same until you/we figure this out.>
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Marc
<Again sorry for the late response.
Bob? Anyone? ...have any other ideas?
Cheers,
Sara M.>
Is a dying coral dangerous?
Possible SPS Hitchhiker 5/5/09
Hi
< Hello >
I just purchased several live rocks from someone's personal tank for my
month-old 29 gallon tank. One of the rocks has a cute little coral
growing on it. I know next to nothing about corals. It's pinkish-tan to
light brown in color, and the branching type; maybe one of the Acroporas
(sp?).
< Hard to say. >
Since I was only planning on a FOWLR tank, I just have standard
lighting.
I'd love to keep this coral alive and buy the appropriate lighting for
it, but my wallet disagrees with me.
< My wallet and I have this same argument. >
So, my main question is this: when this poor thing eventually dies, is
it going to be polluting my tank?
< If it is in fact a small SPS it should not cause any noticeable
changes in water quality. >
Can it cease living and safely become a part of the tank's decor (that
sounds kind of morbid, doesn't it?).
< Yes. >
I'd hate to get rid of the rock its on, as it has a great shape and
incredible coralline. How can I tell if a coral is in the process of
dying? Are there any physical signs?
< It should turn white. >
And are there any mini lights that I could place right above this little
guy to help him out? I have him placed as high in the tank as possible,
but I really don't think it's going to help. Thanks for your advice.
<I'm sorry to say that without metal halide or at least T-5s it probably
has little to no chance. JBJ and a few others make a clip on halide but
there is no "mini light" strong enough to keep SPS. G A Jenkins >
Strange event in my SPS tank 02/18/09
Crew,
I witnessed
something pretty weird in my sps reef when I came home for lunch today.
I was cleaning my remora pro when I saw a smokey, milky white substance
coming from the back of a large live rock..The back of this rock is
covered with a Macro algae(big green plant) that could be Halimeda
(don't think that's spelled correctly). I've always just left it in the
tank to grow assuming it would suck up any excess nitrates in the water.
The milky substance looked to be coming from the white(appearing dead)
part of the plant but it could have been some sort of creature under the
plant that I cant see.
<That would be my guess. It could likely be a
spawning bivalve living in the live rock... or a snail you just can't
see.>
Anyways, this clouded up the tank a little and made all of my
SPS retract their polyps pretty quick. Anybody have an idea of what this
could be?
<This does sound like a spawning. Of what I couldn't tell
you exactly... but not the macroalgae.>
This leads me to my next
question. Are these large growing Macro Algaes "good" for my tank or
should I cut it all out?
<They are good. But, you want them to keep
growing. Thus, you should be trimming them down on a regular basis. I
would say take about 25% to 50% out at a time, wait for it to regrow,
then repeat.>
I always have Nitrate and Phosphate readings of
0(wonder if it's because of these Macros??).
<It is quite likely the
macro algaes are at least partly responsible for this.>
I have trace
amounts of bubble algae..other than that no other nuisance algae at all.
Thanks for your help and opinion.
Seth
<De nada,
Sara M.>
SPS don't grow... Nutrient deficiency likely 2/17/08
Hello all,
I have a 75 gallon sps dominated system that has been up
for a year and half. It has about 80-90 pounds of live rock distributed
between the display and the 30 gallon sump. There's probably 75 gallons
of total water with rock displacement factored. Octopus nw-150 skimmer.
10 gallon fuge section of the sump growing Chaeto. Display is lit with
two 175 watt iwasaki 15k halides and two ATI blue +. Photoperiod of 10
hours. Flow is provided by two Koralia 3's and a modded maxi-jet 900. I
have about 20 sps frags (a few that could be considered small colonies),
xenia, Zoas, some Halimeda macro algae, and some GSP. A purple tang, red
tail tamarin wrasse, scooter blenny, pair of Percs, and five chromis
(just added) make up the fish load. Current param.s: Ph 8.0-8.3 Ca:
420-440 Alk: 9 Mag: 1300 no3:
undetectable po4: undetectable (via
Salifert which really isn't good for phosphate, can't afford a Hanna
though...) specific gravity: 1.025. I don't feed corals, only fish. Feed
a cube of prime reef and formula one pellets daily. I know feeding
corals is recommended by you all, but I believe in fish poop as being a
great food source. No noticeable algae, except stuff that appears on
glass every 2-3 days. Five gallon water changes every week.
My
problem is with my corals, the sps in particular. They do not appear
unhealthy, they have great polyp extension. For the most part, the
Acro's and digis have decent color. The problem is, the corals get in my
system, grow for a week or two, then stop completely. I have had many
frags for almost 7 months that haven't budged. My caps are extremely
pale and some Acros are as well. My Zoas are also pale and kinda halfway
closed sometimes. What could be some possible reasons for this?
<Mmm,
the most glaring defect is the absence of food. You state you have zero
phosphate? All life needs some HPO4... You don't list chemical filtrant
use, but... do you? I would cease this, or at least cut it back...
perhaps take up some purposeful feeding... a brand of Phytoplankton
likely... DT's or such>
I have a few theories that I couldn't find
anything about online really.
Maybe you could discuss them with me.
I know its not the basics (lighting, flow, basic param.s).
1.
Phosphate. I rid my tank of phosphate via Chaeto, water changes (ro/di),
and Caribsea's Phosbuster.
<Oh, here it is>
I know phosphate
really inhibits calcification so I was thinking maybe there is high
phosphate (Salifert would detect it about .5 at least, so couldn't be
higher than that.) that I can't detect. Phosbuster supposedly binds to
phosphate and turns it into dust (or something along those lines) that
can be skimmed out. Perhaps some of this "dust" is affecting growth.
<Perhaps . Much more likely it is absent... and essential>
2.
Potassium. I don't test for it, not many do, but i hear a lack of it can
stunt growth, and make Monti caps, esp. red ones, very pale. This seems
like it could fit, but I found mixed feelings about potassium on the
web.
<Potassium is rarely rate-limiting in captive aquatic
systems... hence the paucity of discussion, products sold...>
3. Lack
of nutrients. Perhaps my tank is "too clean". This would be a nice thing
to hear because, as an sps keeper, clean water is an important goal.
Perhaps I should feed more and let my trates climb to 5 or so. This
seems like it would fit with the lack of color in some corals, but not
sure about growth.
<I do agree with this>
Those are the
possibilities I came up with, but please let me know what you think
about them and others you may have. I appreciate it very much. Have a
nice day!
-Mark
<Remove or vastly cut back on the chem. filtrant
use, add more foods of use... Perhaps an iodide-ate supplement weekly,
along with the small water change. Bob Fenner> SPS
Disease? 01/31/09
Hey guys!
How is everyone? I am in
desperate need of your help once again. I have a Yellow Bottlebrush that
may or may not have a disease. It's slightly browned out, no tissue
recession, and seems to have some white cotton like growth
near
where the polyps usually are. Is it some type of fungus? It's not much,
just near the front of the coral.
<Any chance this is just coral
mucus with some debris caught in it?>
It's kind of like leftover
mushed white food being caught in the polyps. I wish I had pictures but
it's in the
back of the tank, I don't have a good enough camera to
take pictures.
<Hmm, can you borrow one? A pic would be really
helpful.>
The back has stayed yellow. Every other coral seems fine.
This an SPS dominant tank. Here are some of my tank specifications:
Tank size: 90 gallons with a 55 gallon sump pH: 8.35, Ca: 390, Alk: 3.5,
Phosphates: not detectable, Nitrate: 2.5
<Nitrates are high, but you
know that... and might not be the "problem" here.>
Temperature is
controller with an AquaController that fluctuates between 78.0 and 78.3.
Lighting is the Solaris G series (250w equivalent)
Any help is
greatly appreciated!
<I'm sorry, but what you're describing just
doesn't sound familiar to me.
Please do try to get a picture of
it... maybe borrow a friend's camera.
Cheers,
Sara M.>
RTN Theorizing 12/24/08
Hi Crew,
<Hello Jason. Minh at
your service.>
It's been a long time since I've had to write you with
a problem. That's good! Unfortunately, one of my beautiful and large
Birdsnest just underwent rapid tissue necrosis (RTN). It happened
frighteningly fast; in less than a day the grapefruit-sized coral went
from healthy to half dead!
<I'm sorry to hear about your loss.>
While my particular cause is unknown (I suspect encroaching mushroom
corals, but unsure), I noticed something interesting. The death
progressed along the branches of the coral, not simultaneously. In fact,
it spread from base to tips (oldest to newest growth). I understand this
is a common pattern. In an attempt to save as much as possible, I broke
off branches that were still alive and discarded parts that were totally
bleached.
<Rapid Tissue Necrosis (also known as apoptosis) is a
cellular reaction in corals initiated by various stresses such as
bacterial infection, temperature, UV radiation, allelopathy, etc. In
this particular case, the encroaching mushroom is a very capable
culprit.>
More interesting: the frags that had some dead tissue
still on them proceeded to degrade in the same manner. Those that were
comprised only of living tissue appear OK.
<If the tissue on a
fragment is undergoing apoptosis, it will continue to degrade until the
fragment is dead. I would suggest for you to quarantine any remaining
healthy fragments in a separate tank to isolate the cellular reaction.
This would allow for the highest survival rate of your Seriatopora
guttatus while reducing any risk of exposing other healthy SPS corals to
this condition.>
This is very puzzling. If this condition was caused
by a biological or chemical agent attacking the coral flesh, one would
expect that it would either be localized (killing a small area) or all
over (killing patches at different places on the coral simultaneously).
The fact that the progression moves very predictably along the branches
implies, at least to me, that it is innate behavior of the organism, not
the result of attack.
Perhaps it is an evolved survival mechanism; a
last-ditch effort to abandon the skeleton and grow anew somewhere else
on the reef more amenable to the coral's health. In our tanks, of
course, that would not happen thanks to lots of factors, but possibly on
the reef? This may explain why the frags without dead patches survive:
the signal to eject never reaches them, so they persist. Do you know of
any research in this regard? Thoughts?
<Although I have seen
broadcast reproduction occur in a similar manner, and some rare
instances in captivity, the behavior of tissue necrosis appearing in a
predictable band pattern indicates a classic case of apoptosis. This
cellular reaction could be triggered by allelopathic attack from a
neighboring soft coral. Further reading on this subject is available in
an excellent article by Eric Borneman, "The Coral Health and Disease
Consortium: New Information on Coral Disease." Link:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/eb/index.php.>
Thanks!
Happy Holidays!
Jason
<Likewise to you and yours. Cheers, Minh.>
An answer, rather than a question! Crab eating SPS 09/18/2008
<<Good day, Bob, Andrew today>>
I see a lot of posts asking about
crabs. Here area couple of very good pictures of one that I
guarantee is an SPS-eater.
<<Heeeee...i would certainly agree>>
The coral he lived on was getting 'tracks' all over it of nipped out
polyps, etc. After he was removed, the coral completely recovered.
Feel free to use the pictures as you like.
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/Coralmaker/crab2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/Coralmaker/crab1.jpg[/IMG]
bob
<<Two really great shots there Bob, and they will certainly
be welcomed into our picture database. Thank you very much for
providing / sharing two wonderful pictures. Kind Regards, A Nixon>> |  |
Question about Salt Creep Burn to SPS 8/12/08
Dear Crew,
<Andy>
I am looking for a little information but wasn't able to find
an answer on WWM. I cleaned my overflow this weekend. When I put it back
on my tank, I dislodged a very small amount of salt creep which
fluttered down and landed squarely on my beautiful Merulina amp. I
immediately blew the undissolved creep off the coral using a turkey
baster, but by the time I ran to get the baster and the time I blew off
the coral the damage had been done.
<Yes... burns almost
instantaneously>
The coral immediately started excreting mucous, and
12 hours later there was--and is--a dime-sized white spot on the coral.
Can anything be done to heal this area?
<Mmm, best to "do" nothing...
will repair on its own in time>
I'm worried that this damaged area
may spread or that RTN may ensue.
<Mmm, not likely>
I have some
MediCoral, which is basically Lugol's but did not want to do anything
without checking with someone who may have experienced this.
Thanks
in advance for your help.
Andy
<I would use the/this Iodine
compound... Bob Fenner>
Follow Up - Salt Burn to Merulina
8/14//08
Dear Bob,
<Andy>
Unfortunately, I deleted our e-mail chain regarding the salt
creep that fell onto my Merulina amp., and for some reason I cannot for
the life of me find the post on WWM (I searched just about every
combination of words in my post, but could not find it).
<Mmm, I
recall the details. Is posted here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/spssysfaqs.htm
and elsewhere>
Anyway, here
is a pic of my Merulina that was burned when I knocked some salt creep
off the edge of my tank into the water--things have gotten worse since
Sunday (burn is primarily on left side of pic--was originally round and
a little bigger than a dime). I did prepare/use an iodine dip for the
coral last night, but it seems to have done nada.
<Takes time>
I
guess it's just a waiting game to see if this continues to worsen? If
so, frag off dead/dying portions?
<I would not do this... just try to
be patient... the burned area will very likely regenerate here>
The
Merulina cost me $25 so not a huge blunder, but I like the coral a lot
and would like to save it if possible.
Andy
<Patience. Bob
Fenner> | 
|
Toxicity in sps reef – 07/16/08
Hey guys, just had a quick
question regarding a vexing issue I have been having. Long story short,
the phosphate remover I was using
<Mmmm, am compelled (by myself
natch) to make a comment that by and large I'm not a fan of hobbyist use
of such... unnecessary, better means...>
caused an issue with the
water's supersaturation point (despite mg of 1400 and frequent water
changes, the max at which I could keep alk and ca kept dropping to the
point where I could only get alk of 7 and ca of 360. I did extensive
reading, and through much trial and error, finally determined it must be
GFO (other reefers have reported the same)
<Mmm, for browsers... iron
oxide hydroxide: A nice piece here re:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php>
, I removed it,
did a few large water changes and my sps started coloring in colonies I
hadn't seen color in over a year!
<Ah, yes... some HPO4 is absolutely
essential to all life we're interested in>
My issue is that the low
alk levels brought on the onslaught of Cyano, I run a very clean system,
let frozen foods thaw first before use, have a killer skimmer, no sand
beds, very little detritus, heavy oxygenation, run ozone, change carbon
weekly, use Purigen. My ph is 8.4, alk 12, ca 400, salinity 1.026, no
ammonia, trites, or trates but I cant seem to kick the Cyano. It built
up over a week so I put a filter sock on the output of that tank and
cleaned the tank up.
<Good>
Within the next few days, sps that had
been coloring started losing color again, but have good polyp extension.
Some zoas are not opening up either. I have read posts by people saying
that when they removed Cyano it caused problems for them even killed
fish!
<Mmm... one must proceed... cautiously here... BGAs can cause
havoc... coming and going>
Is it possible the removal of Cyano is
stressing out the sps,
<Yes>
or is it more likely they are just
stressed from the changes in alk, ca, mg.
<Could be both, either>
I have made changes slowly, and use baked baking soda (that's why ph is
8.4).
<Mmm, not by itself... sodium bicarbonate>
My alk has been
over 10 for a week and yet I am not seeing coralline growth. Outside of
a few water changes, do you have any recommendations?
<Mmmm,
"punt"... keep changing water, stop using iron hydroxide... All else
reads as fine, should be fine in time. Bob Fenner>
Browning SPS – 03/27/08
Many of my SPS that are toward the back
of the tank are browning on the side facing the back and many are brown
on the lower half or third of the SPS. Is this normal because light is
not reaching the bottom of the SPS and maybe there's not enough light at
the back of the tank?
<<There are many things that can cause corals
to “brown,” but based on your statements, yes, I think it is likely due
to a lack of light intensity/spectrum in those areas>>
Is there any
way to compensate for this or is this normal to only have color where
light shines?
<<”Compensation” would have to come in the way of
providing enough light from all angles (a common problem in most
hobbyist’s systems), to include a reflective substrate (Aragonite sand).
Moving the corals more toward the centerline lengthwise in the tank
should provide better color on all sides…adding more lights
front-to-back and/or upgrading to better reflectors would also probably
help>>
Thanks very much for all your help.
<<Happy to share.
EricR>>
Can red slime treatment affect SPS? Coral Death 1/8/08
Gentleman,
<Hello>
Recently I treated for red slime with "ultra life - red slime
remover" in my 125 gal reef tank (after reading some of the forums...I
know this was bad but this was the LFS recommendation).
<Not good in
my opinion.>
I think I know the answer to the question, but ...have
you heard of this product affecting SPS corals?
<Yes, is an
antibiotic and can negatively effect the whole tank. See here for more
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm .>
I had two SPS corals
slime over about 48 hrs after the treatment and completely die within 12
hrs of that. All water parameters are on par (now and then)
<numbers
please>
and I did an immediate water change which seams to have
salvaged one tiny tip of one of the corals. All other SPS corals
currently appear OK for
now. Any info on this would be greatly
appreciated.
Many thanks
John F
<More water changes would help
here, and figuring out what is fueling the Cyano bloom and eliminating
this will help control it in the future.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cyanocontrolfaqs.htm>
<Chris>
SPS Boring Algae... Ostreobium
12/5/07
Hey guys just a quick question,
<Hi Tom, Mich here
with a quick answer.>
I have run into a few pieces of sps (cultured)
that have that sps boring algae, but I can't seem to find any info on
it.
<Sounds like you have Ostreobium.>
Obviously there are
probably no known means of treating it other than fragging above
unaffected parts,
<Actually the best means of controlling this algae
and preventing its spread is by limiting excess nutrients and reducing
nitrate and phosphate levels. Some thoughts on how to do that here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nutrientcontrol.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/algaeconMar.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/avoidingalgaeproblesm.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/scottsh2ochgart.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/maralgae.htm
The nitrates feed the algae
and the phosphates limits the growth of the coral skeleton. Diadema
urchins may also be useful.>
but in captivity is it known to spread
to other healthy colonies as well?
<Fortunately, Ostreobium is slow
growing, so if you can get ahead of the nutrients you may have success.>
Thanks,
<Welcome! Mich>
Tom
I'm nuking my SPS... 11/13/07
On my prop system, I
recently made the mistake of not topping off my water for about five
days. That swung my salinity to 1.03 (from 1.025). I lowered the
gravity by removing approximately three gallons of tank water every
three hours and replacing it with fresh RO/DI water.
<Good
routine>
Of course, I failed to consider that in doing so, I was
dropping my alkalinity and calcium. My soft corals had a fit and
slimed, touching off some chemical warfare in my system. Not the
worst I had ever seen, but something is always worse than nothing.
<Yikes... you should have pre-treated the top-off water...>
As a
result I panicked. In my rush to equalize my levels, I overdosed my
CA.
I'm not really sure how high it got, because my aqua medic
test just didn't seem right at all. I did get precipitation on the
aquarium interior. So, I started doing water changes again.
Fortunately, I saved the water I removed from the first time around,
and balanced the salinity, plus added about 10 gallons of fresh RO.
Now I have changed about 20 percent of the water, I fear the damage
has been done, and I may not be able to recover.
<SPS corals are
a lot tougher than folks give them credit for>
While my LPS
corals like my frogspawn and hammer corals seem like they should
survive (their polyps are not extended, they are retracted, but
starting to look better) my SPS are taking a beating. My Montipora
sp, Montipora digitata, yellow Porites, green Acropora and
Psammacora superficialis have all lost significant color. The
digitata are REALLY the worst of the bunch, and so far the only RTN
action I am seeing is on the red Montipora sp. Additionally affected
are my small frags of Pocillipora and my blue millepora.
Considering that this week I was supposed to spend over $1200 on a
new protein skimmer and calcium reactor, I am very disheartened
today, even considering quitting this hobby. I feel like I am in
over my head, and I have never been a big fan of working so hard to
grow things only to turn around and nuke them the next day.
<Perhaps an automated make-up system...>
I am especially
distraught over the Psammacora. I have worked so hard to grow out
this frag and even harder to even figure out what it was.
With my
water changes, the Calcium is back to 400, my pH is 8.02 and my
alkalinity is 3.57, I am currently drip dosing Alk to get that
number as close to 4 as possible.
<Take your time here>
I
wonder if my SPS will come back, and if there is anything I can do
to help the situation along.
<If these disparate species are
mixed in the same tank, it is certain that they are mal-affecting
each other... I would spiff up your skimming (clean the contact
chamber) and add a good deal of GAC (carbon) in your filter flow
path... And, keep the faith. Bob Fenner>
Re: I'm nuking my SPS... 11/14/07
> <If these
disparate species are mixed in the same tank, it is certain that >
they are mal-affecting each other... I would spiff up your skimming
(clean the > contact chamber) and add a good deal of GAC (carbon) in
your filter flow > path... And, keep the faith. Bob Fenner>
I'm
the guy who ISN'T currently skimming because my Corallife skimmer
was too deep in the sump. Remember me?
<I recall the
circumstances>
I have the following equipment ready to order:
A Korallin calcium reactor
Two little fishies Phosban reactors
<... likely not necessary. All photosynthetic life needs some
soluble HPO4>
And a skimmer, but haven't decided which one -
currently going with your recommendation.
Previous to this I had
one 29 gallon tank with a 29 gallon sump/fuge for prop.
I am
probably going to make some kind of auto top off system with a
simple float valve. Possibly even something that could be hooked
directly to my RO/DI unit in the event of a vacation, just in case
there's no one who could watch the tank.
<Good>
As to the
stock in my tank, there are two separate 29 gallon tanks joined by a
55 gallon sump. In hindsight, probably would have been better
keeping both systems 100% separate. I used two tanks because of
light considerations.
<Okay>
Will the SPS come back? When will
I know if they did not make it?
<I hope, only time/experience
can/will tell>
Also you said... "If these disparate species are
mixed in the same tank, it is certain that they are mal-affecting
each other..."
One of the reasons I have the number of species
that I do is because I was trying to find out what grew well for me.
In the long run I only anticipate keeping 2-3 species in each tank.
<All right>
In the softy tank, I plan on primarily having
branching frogspawn and hammer coral, and 3-5 varieties of
Zoanthids. I also have not ruled out GSP, provided they aren't too
close to anything else, and possibly seeding my layer of base/live
rock with mushroom corals.
In the SPS tank, I am gravitating
toward several varieties of Montipora sp and possibly the Porites
and Psammacora. The Acropora I have was a gift and it has grown well
with good color up to now also. The blue millepora were an
experiment, and the Montipora digitata was inherited.
Again, on
the live rock I might consider GSP, mushroom corals or stuff that
can grow passively and just basically act as gravy. Stuff that
hopefully doesn't affect parameters much but grows quickly and can
help support the habit.
I'd love your input, especially if there
is any corals that I should NOT consider keeping because they create
these types of issues.
<What little I know of Cnidarian culture
is posted on WWM>
I really want to do this. I'm just quite
dejected about constant and expensive setbacks.
JW
<I do
understand your frustration... but there's not much that can be done
at this point other than what you have. RMF>
Re: I'm
nuking my SPS... 11/14/07
> Two little fishies
Phosban reactors
> <... likely not necessary. All photosynthetic
life needs some soluble HPO4>
Sorry for not being specific. I am
not running Phosban, I am using these
little reactors for CARBON.
<Ahh, I see. BobF> |
Untimely demise... SPS... 10/16/07
I suppose I will start
by telling you a bit about our system. We set up in late December of
last year, for the second time in our lives. Main tank is 50 gallons,
with a 29 gallon sump/refugium. We are running a Red Sea Prizm Pro
skimmer. There is about 50 pounds of live rock in the system, substrate
is Florida crushed coral and live sand. We moved cross country in
September, and lost (literally lost it) a small frag (some type of SPS,
the guy wasn't sure what it was and I forget what we decided on now)
with the exception of a small piece, which is fine now, and our
Mandarin, which perished sometime after the move. We have in the tank: a
large Condylactis anemone, a Scolymia (pardon my spelling),
Trachyphyllia, Montipora, Finger coral, Xenia, Goniopora, 2 heads of
candy cane coral, a recovering frag of Acropora, a large featherduster
worm, various small polyp things, sponges, and micro life (pods and
shrimps and spaghetti worms etc). Fish are a Yellow Tang, two Yellow
Tail Damsels, and a pair of Solomon Island Percula Clowns. We acquired a
small Regal Tang after our move, which succumbed to Ich shortly after,
it was in our main display tank (yes, bad idea I know). It has all been
peacefully co-existing for quite a while now, even the anemone LOL Wow
all that information and I finally hit my point.. We have had a sudden
and unexpected loss. We HAD a small frag of birds nest coral. Very
beautiful, bright green polyps, full and vibrant. Yesterday morning, it
was fine, polyps extended. Later in the afternoon, I looked in the tank
to see about half of it was stark white skeleton. This morning, about
3/4 of the coral is gone, nothing left but stark whiteness, where there
was vibrant life. Nothing else seems affected. What is left of it is
kind of hanging on the skeleton, so I assume it is going to slough off
like the rest. The ONLY things that are a little out of the ordinary for
our system are the Ich treatment (Kick Ich, supposed to be invert safe)
and we added a little baking soda yesterday to help buffer the
PH/Alkalinity. That is something we have done lots of times. I do not
know the current parameters on the testing right now, but could get them
if that proves important in this case. Do you have ANY idea what could
have happened, and if we can expect any more losses like this?
<<Veronica: Sorry for your loss. SPS corals can be very tricky and
frustrating. You don't say how long you had the coral frag. Here are
some possibilities and things to think about for the future. 1) SPS
corals are not very tolerate of sudden changes in parameters (might have
been the baking soda). 2) Something up current could have chemically
attacked it. 3) This frag may have had a disease and/or parasite that
took a while for it to do it in. 4) None of the above and it was just an
act of God. Almost everyone that has SPS has posted stories similar to
yours. The best we can do, is to try to figure out what might have gone
wrong and learn from them. Captive frags tend to be hardier in our tanks
than wild frags. Best of luck, Roy>>
SPS disease
7/25/07
Hi crew,
I have test everything, Ph, calcium, nitrate,
nitrite, KH, magnesium, etc everything is perfect as far a testing.
I
have been away for 4 days and on returning found a few bleached SPS.
Since than I am finding 1 or 2 starting to bleach. On inspecting the
SPS, each one that bleached, the flesh was slimy/jelly like.
<Sounds
like dying tissue... how fast/slow is this happening? Is the slimy/jelly
like flesh all over the entire colony or just the parts that are dying?
It might also be coral mucus, but it's difficult to say without a
photo.>
I have never seen or read this on SPS before but have noticed
and read this on LPS and soft corals. All other corals (LPS and SOFT
CORAL) looks fine and so does the SPS, everything looks normal.
<While you were away, did you have the lights on a timer? Was anyone (or
anything) adding top off water while you were away?>
I need to
identify the cause. Before this started happening I did remove 2
football size Acro's to frag but unfortunately they fell on the floor
but I did place some of the pieces in my tank which might have caused
the problem by something that might be on the floor. I have done a 20%
water change and added more carbon.
<I doubt it was something on the
floor unless (maybe) if you had just cleaned the floor with cleaning
agents that might have gotten on the coral when you dropped them. Though
if this were the case, one would think that your other corals would be
suffering as well (since the cleaning agent would have contaminated the
water too).>
Is this some sort of disease but I hope not?
<My
guess is that 1) something went wrong while you were away, 2) some
parameter you're not thinking about is off (salinity, temp, etc.) or 3)
the Acropora have a parasite of some sort that you're not seeing.
Acropora are more sensitive than most other corals. There might be
something wrong with your tank that the other corals can tolerate that
the SPS can't. SPS are also considerably more vulnerable to parasites
than are other corals we keep in aquariums.>
Your help is much
appreciated.
<Sorry I can't help you more without more information.
All you can do is try to think hard about what could have changed since
you left. Also, do look very closely at the coral (use a magnifying
glass if you can) to see if there are any parasites on them.>
thanks
Mohamed
<Best,
Sara M.>
Re: SPS disease –
08/27/07
Hi Sara,
<Hi>
it happened slowly, the slimy/jelly
like was on the parts that was dying. Unfortunately I did not take out
pictures.
<My first thought was brown jelly disease. However, brown
jelly moves very quickly and is usually more of a symptom of some other
underlying problem. It also would seem strange in your case since you
haven't added anything new to the tank. It would just seem odd to get
brown jelly on several corals just out of the blue (though I suppose
it's possible). In any case, if this is not going away, you might
consider fragging off the dying/infected parts of the corals.>
Thanks
Mohamed
<Wish I could help more... good luck.
Sara M.>
Acclimation of New SPS in 135 Gallon Display 6/20/07
Hello
WWM Crew,
<Scott>
I wonder if I can get some advice from you
regarding the recent addition of two SPS corals into my system. I have
done an extensive search on WWM and checked my SPS reference books, but
I am still unsure as to how to proceed.
For your reference, an
overview of my system (running for about a year now) is as follows.
Display: 135 Gallon Tenecor Acrylic Aquarium (72" W x 18" D x 24" H)
with 1" fine aragonite sand bed (vacuumed frequently) and approximately
120 lbs of Live Rock. Recirculation rate is about 1300 GPH.
Refugium:
Ecosystem 3616 Mud Sump with active Chaetomorpha and roughly 15-20 lbs
Live Rock. Two large overflows with Durso standpipes add roughly 30
gallons "fishless" volume. The mud sump has many amphipods visible to
the naked eye.
Lighting: Three 150 W HQI pendants (12K) and Four 160
W VHO (1 AquaSun, 2 Actinic White and one Actinic). Lights are on timer
sequence with MH's running 8 hours/day
<I'd increase this daily
light run to at least ten hours, likely 12...>
and maximum overall
wattage (including VHO's) does not exceed 720 W.
Filtration: Eco
Reef CS 135 which runs continuously and produces about one cup (very
dark and smelly) skimmate every 2-3 days. Also employ four (1 cup each )
bags of activated carbon in the in the sump which are rotated/replaced
one bag per week.
Chiller: 1/4 HP Aqualogic "drop in coil" type
<Okay... though am not a fan of the drop in exchanger tech.>
Water
Parameters
Temperature: between 81-82 F
Ammonia, Nitrite and
Nitrate not detectable per Salifert test kits
pH - 8.4
Calcium -
400 ppm, Alkalinity - 9.5 dKH
Inhabitants
Fish: Flame Angel,
Bicolor Blenny, Purple Firefish, Sunrise Pseudochromis, Neon Goby
Inverts: Two Cleaner Shrimp, Blue Legged Hermit Crab, Blue Mushrooms
(Discosoma) and a Tuxedo Urchin
LR Hitch Hikers: Zoanthids, Star
Polyps, Unknown Soft Blue Polyps, Unknown Encrusting Stony Coral,
assorted sponges and small clams.
Macro Algae: Assorted small
Halimeda and Caulerpa (removed manually). No significant nuisance algae
to speak of.
Now, back to my current situation. The new SPS corals, a
(2" x 1") Green Plate Montipora and a (1 1/2 ") Stylophora are both
aquacultured and were purchased from a high quality LFS system where
they were living under a 400W MH Mogul Pendant (roughly two feet away
and under about 8" of water). I did a quick check on the "bag water" and
found they were living in the following conditions: Alkalinity 9.2 dKH,
Calcium 425 ppm, pH 8.3 and Salinity 36 ppt).
I used water from my
display to house the corals in a 10 gallon quarantine tank with an
"aged" sponge filter and a 150 W HQI pendant. I changed 1 gallon of
water (taken from the display) daily and fed 1/5 ml of DT's Oyster Eggs
every couple of days.
During a two week quarantine period, the color
of both specimens held up quite well and I saw some polyp extension on
the Stylophora to varying degrees (normally not all the coral but maybe
over 30%). To my eye I could not see the polyps on the Montipora.
<Not easy to make out...>
Over the two week quarantine I had
difficulty keeping temperature constant and noticed evidence of
deteriorating water conditions (gradual decline in polyp extension and
an increase in brown algae) so I decided to introduce the corals into
the display after only two weeks.
<Good, this is what I would have
done also>
I acclimated the corals to the display water and when I
put them into the display I noticed an immediate (and rather dramatic)
improvement in polyp extension on the Stylophora - to my
untrained/inexperienced eye it looked like the coral was responding very
well to the new conditions.
Both corals were placed (roughly one foot
apart) about one third of the way down from the top of the water. I
adjusted the returns on the display so that the both corals were near
the intersection of two returns to get a random movement of water around
them, but not "blasting" them with flow. For feeding, I relied on some
help from the refugium and also from the fish feedings (Ocean Nutrition
Prime Reef flakes and frozen Mysis soaked in either Selcon of Boyd's
Vita Chem) and a dose of DT's Oyster Eggs a couple of days back.
Unfortunately, my initial enthusiasm was short lived. It has been about
five days since I put the corals into the display and have not seen ANY
sight of polyps on the Stylophora since. Its color appears the same (a
nice reddish maroon) but the coral is evidently not feeding.
<"These
things... take time">
Also, the color on the Montipora turned from an
attractive deep green to a dull mustard brown, which I took to be a
reaction to the brighter lights and crystal clear water (lots of carbon
filtration) in the display.
<Maybe>
Two days ago I backed-off on
the lighting by reducing the run time on the HQI's by two hours (I plan
to phase this back in over a period of a couple of weeks if all else
goes well). By my eye the appearance of the Montipora looks about the
same or possibly slightly better. Incidentally, I also see some evidence
of growth on the Montipora as the rough "fragged" edges of the coral now
appear softer and have a light pink color.
These are my first SPS so
I have no personal experience to draw from at this point. May I ask you
opinion on the following.
Do you have any thoughts on why the
Stylophora does not seem to be interested in feeding?
<Likely still
just acclimating to the new digs/conditions>
Would you concur that
the browning of the Montipora is probably due to a sudden shift in
lighting?
<This or "general" stress, being moved about... Can/may
very likely re-color in time...>
Can you suggest anything I need to
correct or adjust at this point?
As always, I very much would
appreciate any advice you folks can provide.
Best Regards,
Scott
<Mmm, well, I'd increase the light time regimen as you and I mention...
and likely do little else. Your system water quality is likely fine, the
gear sounds very nice... I'd be patient at this point, not move much of
anything about, start making a list of what else you'd like to add...
attend a marine/reef club meeting or two... Let time go by. Bob Fenner>
Re: Calfo's new book, now SPS nibbler 6/18/07
Thank
you very much for the reply. I had ordered it through the readingtrees
address but had misplaced it. I will try there. I have greatly enjoyed
your books as well.
Right now I am dealing with a very frustrating
problem in my reef. I have an SPS nibbling critter that I cannot
identify. He only attacks at night, and almost specifically at
Acroporas. What ever it is will take about a dozen polyps off at a time.
Not so bad with larger corals, but really havoc on my smaller starters.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Jon laCour
<I'd get out a small flashlight
(with a red filter would be a bonus) and look during the night, perhaps
set some types of traps (covered on WWM) to try and catch/ID the
culprit... Could be a crustacean, worm, mollusc, even a fish... BobF>
Re: Talkin' bout the Midnight Nibbler, honey he is one of those...
6/18/07
Thanks for the advice. I was fortunate enough to catch
the culprit last night. I looked like a large commensurate
<Heeee!>
crab that had come in on an Acroporas that turned bad. I picked the
whole coral out and then snatched him off. I hope that is the end of it
all!
Thanks,
Jon
<Ahh! Good sleuthing! Thank you for this
follow-up. BobF>
Natural predator for parasites...
Shades of an SNL skit...Could You be More Vague? 3/21/07
Hi
crew,
<Hi Mohamed, Mich here.>
Is there a predator that will
feed off parasites including those nasty slugs that feeds on corals
especially SPS?
<Mmm, not sure what parasites and which slug you're
referring to here. Can you provide the scientific names or at the very
least the common names? It is impossible to help otherwise... just a
little too vague.>
Thanks
<Welcome, -Mich>
Mohamed
Re: Natural predator for unnamed parasites 3/21/07
Hi
Mich,
<Hello again Mohamed>
No, I do not know the scientific or
common names. I'm referring to them in general, all parasites and slugs
that eat SPS.
<Most parasites have specific predators,
so there really is no panacea. The best thing to do would be to dip,
where appropriate and quarantine all new corals to hopefully prevent any
parasites from entering your display tank. More here and related links
in blue:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/quarinvertfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatwrmfaq2.htm >
Thanks
<You're
welcome. -Mich>
Mohamed SPS Bleaching Problem 11/01/06
Hi crew,
<Greetings, fellow reefer>
I have a BIG, BIG problem
with my SPS.
Every 2 to 3 weeks I lose an Acropora or Montipora from
bleaching. My water parameters are in par, I do my water changes every 2
weeks and carbon once a month. All the Montiporas and Acroporas have
excellent polyp extension and without any signs of a problem. I have
found a snail on 1 of the SPS but I have not noticed anything on the
others.
<Most likely harmless algae eater>
I have tried to frag
some that started bleaching but without any luck.
<Usually the
case. Once they are bleaching, it is often hard to save them>
Is
there a procedure that can be followed to help the SPS or prevent it
from happening?
Please advice, I hate to lose anymore.
Thanks
Mohamed
<I would watch for fluctuations in water parameters. Also,
check your bulbs (if MH) for cracks in the outer sleeve. Something
isn’t right. Good luck. Cheers! – Dr. J>
Re: SPS bleaching 11/5/06
Hi Dr. J,
<Seems to
have left the room>
Thanks for the reply.
What are the harmless
algae eaters?
<See WWM re...>
How do I get rid of them?
Will
a UV help?
<Possibly... in indirect ways, by improving general water
quality>
I do a complete water test once a week and water parameters
are constant.
I use T5's with sunlight from noon for +-4 hours.
The SPS where growing at an excellent rate before this problem which is
happening for 2 months.
Thanks
Mohamed.
<You have read on
WWM re SPS Systems, Health...? Bob Fenner>
New SPS
Frags... Long Shipping... What To Expect? - 12/31/05
Hi all...
<<Hello>>
as has been stated by many, you have an awesome site, no
fluff, all info.
<<Thank you>>
I have read much, but not all of
the site, haven't been able to find an answer.
<<ok>>
I just
acquired some Acro frags 1 yongei and 2 tortuosa (sp.?).
<<Correct>>
Thanks to shipping problems they were in transit about
40hrs.
<<Uh oh!>>
They arrived white, little or no apparent
color, no polyps yet.
<<Expelled their zooxanthellae...or
worse...have complete tissue loss.>>
My fears about ammonia in bags
and alkalinity of tank water led me to introduce them to the QT tank
after temp adjustment.
<<Smart>>
I'm acclimating lighting using
vinyl screen layers.
<<Smart again>>
On intro to QT tank frags
had filaments of slime but no other indications of life.
<<Not
unexpected...>>
Don't expect a miracle here but what if anything
should I expect from these frags if water parameters, lighting and flow
are optimal, which I think they are. At what point should I give up on
them in your opinion.
<<Mmm...both species of coral have quite
visible polyps, if you don't see any evidence of these after 48 hrs. I
think you can assume the worst. You might also try viewing the frags
under some magnification (jeweler's loop/magnifying glass) to see if you
can determine if there is any flesh on the skeleton.>>
This is my
first of many cracks at SPS so would like to not overreact.
<<You're
not overreacting...40 hours in transit/bleached condition is cause for
concern.>>
Steve
<<Regards, EricR>>
SPS TURNING
YELLOW 01-01-06
Hello I just bought 2 SPS coral for my 55 gallon
reef with 260 watts power compact ( about 5 watts per gallon) a
canister filter, protein skimmer,2 power heads, and a heater, about 30
lbs live rock, 40 lbs live sand. Now for the fish I have a yellow tang,
maroon clown, mandarin goby, and bullet goby. My corals are a finger
leather, yellow polyps, 2 mushroom rocks, Ricordea, open brain, cabbage
coral bubble coral , 2 SPS on the same rock, and star polyps. My
inverts are a sponge, emerald crab, camel shrimp, coral banded shrimp,
t. gigas clam, bubble tip anemone,6 astray snails, and a large turbo
snail. Also I have a medians hair algae, Chaeto ,needle algae. My water
tested perfect.
<Sounds like a very full tank.>
My new SPS coral
that was a green brown color is now turning yellow. The other day I had
to catch a clown fish and I took down the rock work to catch him. Is
this because stress did I kill it or is it new symbolic algae because
lighting please help I love this coral thanks for the help. Sorry this
letter was so long. Please excuse the mis-spelled words I'm 11 years
old thanks for the help love your web site.
<First, let me thank you
for the compliment. As for your question, you may have three situations
going on. The first situation could be chemical warfare in your tank. To
remedy this you will need to add carbon to your tank. The carbon will
also clear organics from your water making the lights more useful for
your coral. The second possibility is that you may be witnessing
bleaching. If your coral is bleaching you will need to upgrade your
lighting to keep that coral or remove the coral to a friend's tank until
you can afford to upgrade your lighting. The final situation you may be
witnessing is; the corals may be adjusting to your lights and will
actually color up to a more natural color. This situation is usually
found more in tanks with very high watt lighting and pristine water
conditions. Travis>
Chemical Warfare? 4/6/06
I mentioned in my last email that
my SPS started showing signs of stress. Their tips started dying.
I
have a doubt about my anemone, do you think that it can secrete
allelopathic substances that can affect the SPS?
<I believe that it
is entirely possible, which is why I discourage mixing corals and
anemones in most systems.>
I looked up the archives but I am not
sure if this is right or wrong.
<I think that the theory is right.>
It has been in the tank for 6 months now and once in a while, I lose one
or two of my SPS for the same reason, either dying tips or bleaching ,
but mainly the tips begin to die.
<Could certainly be allelopathic
competition, or some lapse in environmental conditions.>
Do
you think it is the anemone? The water chemistry is great, calcium is
above 400 and heavy skimming all the time with Euro-reef skimmer, water
changes every 2 weeks !!
I am confused and I need your help. Thank
you.
P.S. It is a red, long tentacle anemone.
Regards,
Ramy
Ontario, Canada
<Well, Ramy- in the absence of other possibilities
(such as environmental lapses), the only theory that I have is that the
anemone could be an issue, unless you're looking at some type of disease
affecting the coral. My advice is to "specialize", and keep only the
coral or the anemone...Hope this helps. Regards, Scott F.>
Marine Algae Woes
4/6/06
Hi Bob,
<No his young pal Adam J. with you tonight.>
Hope
all is well.
<He was good last time I chatted with him...though
busy (aren't we all).>
I got these red algae, they are all over
my reek tank now. They are like little cotton clusters .I tried
manual removal, black snails but they are out of control now.
Is
that something I should be concerned about ???
<Yes.>
I
realized that some of my SPS are not doing that great lately.
<Astute observation.>
Please see attached photo. Thank you.
<Ramy before I give you advice please use the search engine in the
main site re: Cyanobacteria and nutrient problems.>
Ramy,
Ontario, Canada.
<Good luck, Adam J.> | 
|
SPS problem!!
4/6/06
Hi there,
I have a problem with my SPS, I
started the tank almost a year ago. I have this algae growing now
and dominating the tank ( see attachment )
The growing tips of
the SPS die and then the whole piece dies off afterwards. Any
explanation ??
<Not good... could be pathogenic, but much more
likely environmental in its allowance/occurrence>
Do you think
this algae is the reason ??? Thank you.
<No... this is
secondary, tertiary... Most likely the root problem/s are
environmental.>
Regards,
Ramy
<Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm
Scroll down
to the Scleractinians tray... read re SPS, Acropora Systems,
Disease... Bob Fenner> |
SPS problem !!
3/29/06
Hi Bob,
<Ramy>
I had my 150 gal running for a
year now, housing only SPS and clams.
Everything is fine so far
except that one of my favorite Acros started showing the following :
The growing tips started to break and are covered with algae.
<Yikes!>
I can see the polyps extending but not as much as they used
to be. I haven't moved this piece from its spot for more than 5 months,
same lighting conditions, great water values , nothing else is wrong.
So what could have gone wrong ????
<Very likely "just" the unnatural
make-up of aquariums at play here... Changing the flow (increasing
greatly), introducing some smaller fishes, perhaps switching out some of
the live rock... will steer your system back toward where you want it.
Bob Fenner>
Regards,
Ramy, Ontario, Canada. Please Help! -- Mg damage to corals? Sclera.
health - 2/28/2006
Hi Crew,
<Greg>
I hope I am worrying
needlessly, but I am concerned I might have an unknown coral predator or
a water parameter problem with my 180g reef. My main concern is one
Acropora with approximately a pea-sized exposed skeleton near the base
of one branch and ½” of skeleton exposed on one tip. A brown
mucous-thread-like substance covered the Acropora, with dead tissue
trapped in the bottom of this mucous net. I siphoned-off the mucous and
dead tissue, cut off the dead tip of one branch, then dispensed a tank
water + Lugol’s solution over the remaining bare skeletal areas. I just
fear that this area of necrosis might be spreading. This Acropora is
placed approximately 8 inches from a 7” Crocea clam (which occasionally
produces a similar-looking mucous-like “net” near the byssal
opening). So I am unsure if the Acropora coating was from the Crocea or
if it was produced by the coral.
<Mmmm>
Two days prior to this
happening I did move a rock that was attached to this Acropora and one
tip was broken off the Acropora. This has never been an issue in the
past as new flesh would cover the exposed skeleton within a week and new
branches would form. Possibly this initial stress is what led to the
current tissue necrosis. Current water parameters: Temp=77°F,
Salinity=1.024, pH=8.1, alk=3.2 meq/L, Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0,
Nitrate~1ppm, Ca=440ppm, PO4={below meas. Limits}, Silicate=0). I did
also increase temperature on my heaters from 76°F to 77°F a few days
ago. I performed a 32g water change at the same time.
A little
history…
About two weeks ago, I noticed that all of my Montiporas
were becoming much lighter in color. I was not overly concerned because
they have lightened and darkened in color several times over their 2
years in my tank and they continue to grow well. Although water
parameters have always remained within acceptable ranges previously, my
salinity dropped from 1.025 to 1.022
<This is a huge difference>
over the course of a day just before the Montiporas changed color a few
weeks ago. A snail had stuck my makeup water float switch in the “on”
position for a day, flooding my 100g refugium and diluting the water
with RO/Kalk mixture.
<No fun>
My pH measured 8.2 so I was only
concerned about the sudden change in salinity (makeup water flows at
only 10gpd). I removed 10 gallons of tank water and slowly added 10
gallons of very high salinity water until tank salinity measured
1.023. The following day, I repeated this procedure until the salinity
reached 1.024. All fish, corals, clams, other inverts appeared to be
unstressed so I assumed that worst case, this might have induced a
temporary color change in the Montiporas.
<Takes a while to show...
weeks, months>
Since my alkalinity and pH have always remained near
the low end of acceptable (pH=8.0-8.1, alk=2.5-3 meq/L) despite using a
Kalkwasser reactor for top-off and the addition of Na2CO3 and NaCO3, I
bought a Mg test kit to determine if a low Mg level was partially
responsible for low alkalinity (Ca=440 ppm). Mg measured 1,140 ppm
<Close enough...>
so I mixed 10 teaspoons of Seachem Reef Mg in 1
pint of RO water and dripped this into the pump intake in my
refugium. An hour later I repeated this. According to Seachem’s label,
I would have needed to repeat this process a few more times to reach the
desired 1,300 ppm but I noticed another Acropora (near the return line)
with mucous-like threads waving from its polyps. I was concerned that I
might have changed the Mg level too quickly so I made no further changes
to the tank for the next two days.
<Good>
I did continue to
noticed these “mucous threads” waving from the Acropora polyps at
times. This is a different Acropora than the one that is currently
displaying tissue necrosis. Could dosing Mg in this way cause tissue
necrosis in Acropora?
<Possibly a factor, not likely "the">
This
particular coral is not in direct flow of the pump return line.
One
Montipora has completely bleached (although polyps are visibly extended)
but I did move this coral to a lower light area of the tank when it
initially began to bleach. All other corals (4 Acropora, 1 birdsnest, 1
open brain, 1 pineapple coral, hammer coral, zoos, star polyps,
mushrooms, Alveopora) appear to be doing well. Even the Acropora that
had previously produced the mucous-like threads now appears normal. All
inverts appear unstressed as well.
What should I do about the
Acropora with the tissue necrosis – is there a way to reverse this
spread?
<You likely have>
If the necrotic area
continues to grow, I assume I should frag the coral to save the
remainder – correct?
<An approach. I would move this colony to
another system, or even shallow, brightly lit sump first myself>
Do
you think this in contagious (e.g. should I be doing anything to protect
the other corals in my tank)? Unfortunately I do not have a picture to
send yet, but I can follow-up when I return home tonight if needed.
Thank you in advance for your help!!!
--Greg
<I doubt you have a
pathogen at play here. Very likely the bit of trouble you've observed
is/was due to the change n spg... I would not over-react here. Bob
Fenner>
Re: Please Help! -- Mg damage to corals? -
3/1/2006
Bob,
<Greg>
Thank you so much for your
input (or at least putting my mind at ease) -- and for taking the time
to read my email. I will continue to watch this
Acropora, but no
additional skeletal areas appear to be exposed tonight.
<Good>
I
refer all of my fellow reefers to the WWM search for answers to their
questions. You and the WWM crew offer an invaluable service to
aquarists!
--Greg
<We're very glad to share. Bob Fenner>
Question: I have a Table Acropora that is getting algae growth on
the tips. I'm afraid it is going to get suffocated. Is there any way to
clean it? I have placed it where it is in stronger current, but so far
it looks the same. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Bob's
Answer: Rick, look to the possible cause(s) of a lack of metabolic
competition with the algae (let's say, rather than means of chemically,
physically or biologically removing it). Do you have sufficient light?
How much of what sources? Can you add more, leave it on a bit longer?
Raise the specimen toward the surface? How about the nutrient make-up of
your water. Do you purposely add chemicals to your system? What on what
basis and regimen? And a big "Sherlock Holmes" kind of clue-ing; what
other organisms do you have that ARE doing well?
Some current is of
course desirable, but I doubt if this is the root problem.
Question: Hi Bob, about a month ago you helped me out a lot with a
question about my reef tank. I just wanted to say thanks, and... I have
another question.
I have a 60 gallon reef tank with 2 175w MH and two
55w PCs. I was under the impression that would be enough to sustain SPS
corals. My SPS corals are alive and thriving but all have turned some
form of brown. I have tried high placement as well as low placement but
it doesn't seem to affect the coloring. I examined my MH bulbs and
discovered that the are 175w 5500K bulbs. Could this be the reason that
my SPS corals have turned into a fine golden brown? I would like to
return them to their previous glory but I am stumped, any advice would
be greatly appreciated.
Bob's Answer: Hey Ian, thx for writing
back, and glad to hear things are going better. Yes, a higher Kelvin
temp. would help, but this may well not bring back the color in your
impugned SPS', and their loss may well not have been related to lighting
issues in the first place... A full answer must be very lengthy... but
the handling and duration of transit of the animals before your
procurement, their source (esp. depth), nutrient background
(developmentally), and "disease" (i.e. trauma, infectious and parasitic)
may have caused the animals to lose their zooxanthellae that
produce/co-produce the apparent desired pigmentation....
Keep
studying my friend... Take a look at the Aquarium Frontiers on line
archives... much good input there that is not stated expressly, but
deals with this issue. Acclimation of SPS corals
Bob, I
was wondering the standard for acclimating SPS corals (Acropora, birds
nest). I keep reading that they need lots of light but to put them lower
in the tank to start, is this correct? Do you acclimate corals of
this nature just like you would a fish?
Thanks,
M.D.
>>
Wow,
good questions... Yes, unless I knew for sure that the new SPS I was
getting had been fully-exposed to strong lighting in the day to days
ahead of my receiving them, I would start them deeper, or off to the
sides of my lighting, especially if I were using metal halides. And no,
I do get around the tropics quite a bit in the trade, advising (I guess
this is an okay word, but it's more like helping, having dinner and
diving parties...) friends/associates on acclimation/holding/shipping
protocols. The current SOP for new SPS includes using water of a
slightly lower spg (a few to several thousandths) of sea/freshwater (to
facilitate infusion) that's been pH adjusted (generally just with sodium
bicarb.), and a good dose of iodine (up to 0.10ppm) and some addition of
hexose sugar (isn't this starting to sound like trauma medicine?)... and
some folks throw in the added expense of Aminoplex soln.
For ten,
twelve minutes as a bath, then into quarantine or holding systems...
Bob Fenner, who is telling Keeping SPS corals
<Lorenzo
Gonzalez here, standing in for Bob-on-Safari...>
I'm having trouble
maintaining SPS corals in my 40 gallon reef. Inevitably, they do well
for about 10-14 days and then suddenly perish. I have several fish
(tang, 2 Chromis, 2 clowns, Firefish, neon goby) and a variety of soft
corals that all do well. 175W MH/2-32W power compact actinic, CPR
BakPak, good water flow, 4 gallon water change once a week, Kalkwasser
mix for top-off water, etc. I've tried Montipora, Acropora,
Pocillopora... none have lasted. What can I do?
<Were those captive
cultured frags? Cultured frags are much more amenable to these typical
captive/hobbyist conditions. Are you actually testing the calcium and
alkalinity produced by your Kalkwasser routine? Your lighting sounds
quite sufficient...>
Too many fish?
<Only if they mess up the
water faster than 'the system' and your water changes can keep up...
-Lorenzo>
Thanks,
Steve Re: Keeping SPS corals
Thanks
for responding, Lorenzo...
I've tried both "wild-caught" and captive
cultured frags. Ironically, I have an Acro (maybe millepora?) in the
tank right now... it's the only SPS left that hasn't "shed" all of it's
color/polyps and gone bone white, and it's a wild-caught specimen. I've
tested for calcium (>400), but not for alkalinity. If the calcium level
is good, is it still possible that the alkalinity could be screwed up?
and what would I do to fix it? (for the record, I have about a 3" bed of
aragonite... I hoped this would provide for a satisfactory buffer...?)
<Nah, your alkalinity is probably fine. If your pH is totally
stable/predictable, your alkalinity is typically not suspect...>
Also, having a problem w/ the red/brown slime algae on the substrate and
live rock, and green algae shows up on the front glass viewing panel
like clockwork everyday. I do have good water flow and a CPR BakPak w/ a
Rio 800, but neither of these efforts have kept the pest
algae away.
Any more thoughts?
<I've had BGA/'red slime' choke out a couple of
corals that I didn't keep a close enough eye on, particularly pipe
organ, other 'reddish' corals. I assume you've tried all the usual
remedies, i.e.. lighting (yours is more than sufficient), circulation,
competition (Caulerpa is great for this), and finally RO water?
-Lorenzo>
Thanks,
Steve Wants to get it Bigger
Hi
guys. <How goes it, Michael here this evening> I'm hoping you can help
me out. <Try my best>
Here's a quick tank profile:
90g/20gsump/20gref 2x250w 10k MH 1.025sg 79F. <So far so good>
I'm in
college, so most of my stuff is diy. <I think we're all poor as students
:|>
Here is my problem: I have been keeping my tank for 2 years now,
1 year in a 55g before I had to move, which I will have to do again this
summer (not far- not that that means it wasn't a pain in the ass the
first time). I only lost one snail during that move! <Nice>
Anyway,
I have been keeping a little of everything, but few SPS. I have had good
success with almost every coral I have purchased, and I even had a
frogspawn return from a skeleton that had been dead for six months.
<Have to love corals' recuperative powers in a healthy system>
I
only have a few (8, mostly small) fish. Salinity and temperature are
kept almost perfectly constant. My fish seem happy and soft corals,
mushrooms and polyps reproduce fairly rapidly. I even have a neat pink
sponge that has covered almost all of the undersides of my LR. I also
have 3 clams- I have had my squamosa for about a year. <Are they all
Squamosas?>
Anyway, things seem to be right, but the growth of my
coral (mainly SPS) seems to be dramatically slow. I have a brown
Acropora frag that I have had for over a year, and it has grown maybe a
few millimeters. sad, huh? It's stuck out its polyps every single day
and appears healthy, but there is little growth or encrustation at all,
with some bottom-up recession. <When a coral appears healthy and extends
polyps as usual, but doesn't actually grow much, something is deficient.
Probably not enough food or not enough light. Acroporas are very light
hungry corals (for the most part, there are many species in the
Acroporidae genus), much more so than your mushrooms, as these species
are separated by at least 60' of water in the wild>
I have a purple
tortuosa frag that I have had for maybe six months- it hasn't receded,
but the growth is almost nonexistent- definitely unlike the time lapse
sequences of acros that I have seen. I have been using tech cb for quite
some time almost everyday as well as Lugol's and I infrequently (~once a
week) add other stuff like magnesium, trace elements, strontium etc in
small quantities. I add a little plankton or black powder twice a week
or so. Recently I purchased a ph probe to see if that was where my
problem was. It was around 8.0 during the day, but I have brought that
up by drip dosing Kalk steadily to around 8.2/8.3 and I'm shooting for
8.4. Sorry about how lengthy this is. Should I be adding more
calcium/buffer or feeding much more plankton? <Well, your calcium levels
should be around ~400 ppm if not closer to 450. Acroporas are very
calcium needy, being stony corals. As for plankton, it will do them
absolutely no good. If you've only been feeding plankton, this is
probably why you're not seeing any growth, as they're slowly starving.
Acropora sp. are very hungry, and need zooplankton to survive and
flourish>
I thought that most of the corals were predominantly
autotrophic. <Not nearly, they most definitely need feeding>
I am
keeping the SPS frags in the highest flow areas of the tank. <Probably a
good idea, but really depends upon the subspecies>
I have an orange
capricornis frag that is very healthy looking and has shown decent
growth (~1.5" in 5 months):(. Also, I have had various xenia colonies,
which in my tank seem to move very rapidly across the rockscape (with
little growth) and then they either stay the same size and look good or
wilt. I know I'm doing something right because I have had my mandarin
for 1.5 years and a leopard wrasse for one, a colt coral that I grew
from a small piece and now have to prune, and my tank is pretty cool
looking (but I have nightmares about some aquarium hotshot coming in and
catching all of the problems I know I have). If you need anymore info,
just write me back. I want a COLONY, not a one year old frag. thanks so
much, Hunter Leber <What all are you feeding? What is your current
lighting? A bit more info might help us get to the bottom of this. M.
Maddox> SPS Polyp extensions
Hello: <Hi Brian, MacL
here with you today.>
I have a few questions I am hoping you can
help me with.
First of all my tank:
265 gallon
3
175 20,000k MH's
4 96 watt PC's 2 actinic and 2 white light
100
gallon sump with a mega protein skimmer
30 gallon refug with 2 types
of Caulerpa and a PC
7 power heads
500lbs live rock
3in
aragonite
1/2hp chiller
WATER
1.024
380 cal
10dkh
alkalinity
0 nitrate
0 nitrite
0 ammonia
Bionic and Kalk
daily
LOTS of tangs, fire shrimp, cleaners, hermits, emeralds, 3 red
bubble anemone and more livestock all reef safe. I have 40-5- diff SPS
colonies and frags. A few SPS frog spawn brains etc. I have 2 softies
one is huge but not waxy now. The bottom line is the SPS have not been
in the tank long and I am getting little polyp extension. <Could be a
few different things. Could be the spectrum of the lights, the depth of
the tank and the positioning of the corals in the tank. You don't say
how tall your tank is nor do you say how deep the corals are positioned.
The 175's may not be penetrating as deeply as you need in the water. I
would also be a little concerned that your calcium is a bit low for SPS.
How frequently do you do water changes? Good luck and let me know if we
can help you in any other way. You'll find numerous FAQs on the site
about how to raise your calcium and keep your tank in ionic balance.
MacL>
Tank has only been up 4 months. Is there anything I can do to
help.
Brian Re: SPS Polyp extensions
Thanks: <Hey Brian, MacL here again>
The tank is 30 inches tall.
Most of the SPS are within 12 inches of the surface. I am doing water
changes every 3 weeks. I will check my calcium again to ensure accuracy
and proceed with raising it. The big question I have had is that some of
the colonies are doing fantastic and others are not. Any ideas why?
<Could be a million different reasons, like the lighting they came from
before they went into your tank, or some stress that they received,
something in your tank eating on them,> Could this simply be due to the
tank only being up for 4 months? I did allow it to cycle for 5 weeks
before adding any livestock. <A tank does take time to age and become
stable and when its unstable its hard on corals. I didn't add any corals
into my tank until it was over a year old because of that although I do
know people who have been very successful with newer tanks but they
constantly work to achieve that stability of calcium, ph and basics in
the tanks.>
Brian SPS RTN !!! <?> 8/9/05
Hi Crew,
<Ramy>
Great site indeed, up-to-date info for sure !! I have
purchased an Acropora frag a couple of weeks ago and the base was kind
of white, or missing any colouration.
<Typical...>
After 3
weeks, the size of the white part is still the same, meanwhile, the rest
of the frag is very healthy and shows very nice polyp extension.
<Good>
My question is, is there any chance that this unhealthy part
can spread or do you think that it will recover. I have very good
lighting, excellent water circulation and all the other corals are doing
just fine. Is it true that RTN can spread over a few days and kill the
whole piece ?
Thank you.
<... this whitish area is not likely
RTN, but just resultant die-off from the actual fragmentation process...
RTN can indeed spread rapidly... I would not worry here. Bob Fenner>
SPS Corals Turned Brown - 05/17/05
Hi, I'm Bill.
<Hi, I'm
Eric!>
I'm relatively new to coral reef aquariums. I've had much good
luck with my two 50 gal tanks. One thing that I'm noticing is that the
brightly colored corals turn brown or darken relatively quickly after
introducing them to my aquarium(s).
<Not uncommon.>
I have some
idea that this has to be a lighting issue.
<Possibly...likely a
response to a lack of acclimation to the lighting...but other factors
are probably contributing as well.>
I have a 250 watt 14k metal
halide that I thought would brighten ...or at least retain these colors.
<This color temperature is very popular due to its blue appearance
though my preference is for something closer to the 10K range,
especially for shallow (relatively speaking) water SPS corals.>
The
lights are on from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm ...too much?
<Nope probably
fine, ...Although I would actually recommend increasing the photo-period
by an hour a week until you reach the 12 hr. range which more closely
replicates the tropics.>
I'm hesitant to decrease the amount of light
out of fear that the corals will not receive enough light.
<Agreed.>
All other water parameters quality are constantly monitored and kept
well within range.
<Curiously enough, letting your nitrates rise to
around 5ppm can actually help/increase coral coloration.>
Thanks for
any help you could suggest.
<Bill, coral coloration is a result of
many factors, not just lighting. Do take a look at your water flow and
feeding practices. Strive for an absolute minimum of 10x tank volume for
water flow (more is better), and be sure to feed those fishes well. SPS
corals are voracious predators and need to feed. And one of the very
best coral foods is what is processed by your fish!>
Bill
<Regards, Eric R.>
SPS and ich
Hi Bob,
<Ramy>
I
always quarantine any new fish before introducing it to my reef tank. My
dealer has a closed system where he keeps SPS and fish. Some of his fish
show some ich, so how can I prevent transmitting ich when buying corals
from the same water that has the parasite ???
<Run them through a
prophylactic dip/bath as proscribed for both groups, on WWM... and the
quarantine period... Bob Fenner>
Bleaching SPS 09/11/05
Hello,
<<Hello Chris - Ted
here>>
I was wondering if you might be able to help me out. I
attached a few picks of one of my corals that is starting to bleach
out. There is nothing around it that could be stinging it or
anything. I have a 125 gal tank, 3 X 250W MH 14,000k, 2X 96W PC, all
my other corals are doing fine including the few other Acro's I
have. I only just started adding SPS to my tank in the last 6 months
or so but the others are fine. This one was just added in the last 2
weeks or so and the bleaching started about a week after I added it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.<<Sorry to hear of your
trouble. From the picture, it appears the coral in question is M.
capricornis. Diagnosis from a picture is difficult. If the bleaching
is on one side and is spreading out, it may be STN/RTN. If the
bleaching spreads in patches, it may be a Montipora nudibranch
infestation although nudibranchs can spread out from an initial
infestation. I would monitor the water quality and run both carbon
and PolyFilter while you deal with this problem. If it is STN/RTN,
you can frag the coral to try to stop the spreading and save the
coral. If it is nudibranchs, you will have to clean (read this find
and kill) the nudibranchs from the coral religiously to beat this
pest. Do check the underside of the colony if you suspect
nudibranchs. If you have other Montipora sp. in the tank, the
nudibranchs can and will spread. Please search WWM for "coral
quarantine", "coral disease", "RTN", "STN" and "Montipora
nudibranchs".>>
Thanks Chris
<<Your welcome and good luck -
Ted>> | 
|
SPS Bleaching part 2 9/19/05
Thanks for the advice. When you
say to reduce the light- would reducing the amount of time the lights
are on work? This would be easier for me as my lighting is in a rather
fixed position.
<Shortening the photoperiod is one way to do
this. Newly introduced specimens can be acclimated to your very strong
light by shading them with pieces of window screen or other shading
material for a week or so.>
I guess the second easiest thing to do
would be to rearrange the reef, but I would rather reduce the lighting
time if there is a chance that would work- also, by your description, it
looks like bleaching is the culprit, not RTN. <This is good
news! Bleaching is much more recoverable than "RTN". FWIW... I also
ran 400w MH lamps for a while, and had problems with quite a few corals
bleaching. It is simply too much light for many corals, even
"SPS". Acclimating the corals slowly to the light and perhaps
shortening the photoperiod will help. Best Regards. AdamC.>
Corals out of water - 9/14/05
Hi Mr. Fenner! <Paul here to help>
Thanks for the last reply!
I only forgot to ask about SPS and the
water line. I know one should initially place corals 4" below surface
and that is what I did. My Pocillopora is now noticeably growing. When I
do my weekly water change it gets very close to the lowered water line.
Within months I wont be able to do water changes without having part of
the coral emerged. So is it bad to have a SPS coral (Pocillopora and
Montipora species) partly out of the water for (at the worse) 30 minutes
each week? <OK. Well, I have the exact same issue with the exact same
corals. The short answer is for a short time, I would say I haven't
experienced any issues with bleaching or color problems or anything of
that nature. Any longer than that though, I would have to think you
might see some issues. Now all this depends on the water replacement,
health of the coral, lights on or off etc. I use raw natural seawater
from Monterey Bay, I feed my tank a mish mash of Mysid shrimp,
Cyclop-eeze, enriched brine, and other stuff, and I do try to water
changes with the lights on but not always. Of course there are many more
factors that I am sure could be an issue and/or might affect the corals
ability to be above water for a short time. For some corals in the surf
zone this isn't an issue, but the corals you mention aren't technically
surf zone corals. Try and see. Let me know what you find. ~Paul>
Thanks again!!!
Dominique
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