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Dying shipment of Sarcophyton
01/10/10
Crack in Soft Coral -- 4/13/07 Hey! Great site. <Thanks!> I was just wondering I bought a devils hand leather and just noticed as its starting to open there all cracks there the fingers attach to it. I think it may have been dropped. Inside the bag of course not just the coral hitting the ground. I notice the guy drop it and I didn't say anything thinking he wouldn't sell it to me if it was serious.. I know him good <Well too!>. I didn't notice the damage till now. And I feel bad calling him. Will this coral heal itself? <Possibly, though probably better to just frag it.> It's not like anything is hanging off. It's just split slightly in about 4 spots. Is it toast? <Nah, never toast. More here on fragging: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corlpropfaqs.htm and related links in blue> should I say something? <You're decision.> thank you <Welcome! -Mich> <Please I not I and the first letter of each sentence is capitalized!> Dying Leather Coral,
using WWM -- 06/11/07 I hope you will be able to help me.
<Me too> I recently received a damaged leather coral, probably a
toadstool, in the hopes that I could revive it. The specimen came out
of an overstocked, uncycled system and had nitrate burns all over it.
Aside from nitrate poisoning, I could find nothing else to cause these
black spots. The coral was also under metal halide lighting which I
think would be too strong for a leather. I placed it into a quarantine
tank with a collection of Zoanthids from the same system. <... see
WWM re their compatibility> The lighting is now strong actinic and
sunlight fluorescent bulbs. The Zoanthids recovered almost immediately
and have been placed in my main tank but the leather is just drooping
more and more. It is right under a powerhead so there should be plenty
of water flow and I've added an iodine and vitamin supplement but
it hasn't even opened the head. Is there anything else I should
try? <Mmm, yes... Reading:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm The areas on
Zoanthids... and the tray below on Soft Corals... Bob Fenner> Colt Coral RTD, Time to Frag! 3/4/07 Hey guys, <Hi Carrie! Mich here.> I had an incident a few days ago with my HOB fuge/skimmer, it essentially broke off the tank and pumped 10 gallons of water out onto the floor. <Oh, no fun here!> None of the corals were exposed, it was just a mess to clean up and I'm waiting for parts so I can put it back on. Since this time (and it may be unrelated) my colt coral (Cladiella spp.) has started to turn brown. I've been siphoning out the slime and I fragged a piece off that seemed to be ripping away, but the coral continues to fall apart. <I think I would frag it and remove all discolored areas, sooner better than later.> I've done daily water changes and checking of tank parameters. This has always been my most beautiful tank, with some very healthy corals. But since this incident with the colt coral, my toadstool doesn't want to completely open and even my plume sea fan won't open. <Could be some allelopathy, mucus, and tissue necrosis issues occurring.> Although, there is a tiny toadstool frag that is open and happy. Tank is as follows: ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate <10 (total nitrate) SG 1.245 <?> temp 78 calcium 400 ph 8.2 5 watts per gallon metal halide tank mates: maroon clown Midas blenny feather dusters finger leather frag 2 toadstools, one large, one frag purple plume sea fan 2 brain corals (both open and looking good) Thoughts? <Potential for some chemical warfare to be going on, I think you should add or change your carbon.> What could cause the coral to just die off with no apparent reason? <There is most likely a reason, what it is however can be difficult to determine. I'm not seeing anything obvious, maybe removing the refugium had some unforeseen repercussions. Were your nitrates at zero before the incident?> Thanks for your time, <You're welcome! -Mich> Carrie Should I completely remove the colt coral? (which would mean cutting it away from a very large rock that it has grown over) <See above re discolored areas.>
Finger Leather Coral Behavior, Health 1/26/06 Hello all, thank you in advance for helping me with this one. <OK> Your site is WONDERFUL. <Thank you.> I came home tonight only to find my 4 year old green finger leather had found my intake tube to my filter. <Mmm, wonder how that happened, not a mobile animal.> Much to my disbelief, most of the fingers were sucked up into the tube. I turned off the power to the filter, and carefully dislodged the coral. What a mess!! My beautiful "showpiece" is nothing more than dangling, damaged white fingers. When it was healthy it was at least 12-14" tall, now only about 5"tall. I think it is a survivor, because when I fed the tank, its polyps opened up. Oh, I only hope. Now, my question, it has many dangling, damaged appendages. Do I do anything to these to speed up the healing, or leave them alone? Should I move the leather, or leave it in my 125g system? I have put sponges over the strainers for now, just in case ( even though it has been fine for many years). I did change the carbon, and added a poly filter. Please help me with this. I have never seen something so pathetic, I am really feeling for this coral. <Stephanie, carefully trim the damaged areas with a sharp pair of scissors and the coral will heal itself. Don't believe you will lose it.>Thanks in advance. <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Stephanie. Sarcophyton elegans Not Doing So Well - 12/03/05 Hello WWM
Crew, <<Hi JJ>> I recently bought a yellow Sarcophyton
coral from my LFS. <<Likely Sarcophyton elegans...a delicate and
touchy species.>> It looked great in the store and was
"doing well" for the last 2 days in my tank. After reading
through your FAQs, I read that drooping is normal for this coral until
they adjust. <<Yes, usually some weeks. They don't take kindly to
being moved/touched...not a beginner's/easy coral to care for in my opinion>>
Mine has been drooping as well but regularly
extends it polyps and still has a nice yellow color to it.
<<Hopefully you have adequate lighting for this light-loving
coral.>> <<Take a look at what Aquahobby
has to say about this specimen. Marina>> When it
droops, it leans up against another piece of rock in my tank. Today I
noticed that there is a hole underneath the cap almost separating it
from the shaft! <<Hmm...>> It runs about halfway around and
I can see into the inside of its cap or rather it looks like there is
some kind of hollow section. It still looks healthy and polyps are
extending normally like in the past 2 days. I moved it to take a closer
look <<Yikes! Not a good idea to handle as previously noted. Do
place it for good water flow/light and leave it be.>> and there
is some flaking or shedding around the area only around the hole, but
not anywhere on the "inside" of the coral. It would seem like
the cap is separating to attach to the rock it is leaning against.
<<Maybe...but more likely this is a stress-induced
reaction.>> It is originally mounted kind of strangely across 2
pieces of rock, so maybe it wants to relocate? <<Not likely at
this early stage.>> I'm not sure what to think here. Is it
dying or is it propagating? Should I cut the cap off myself and remount
it? Or should I just leave it and let it go though its adjustment
period hoping for the best? <<Give it good water flow and
adequate lighting (You did your research "before" you bought
it, right?), and just keep an eye on it. More handling is only going to
worsen the problem.>> My tank parameters are as follows: Ammonia
0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Calcium 360 Alk 11 (hard water in my area) SG
1.022 <<I would bring this up to 1.025>> Temp 76 deg None
of my fish have been observed picking at it and all other corals are
doing well (mostly softies and LPS). <<Yes, likely a
stress-induced situation for the Sarcophyton.>> Thanks for
reading, JJ <<Regards, EricR>> Coral dying Help! 3/28/04 Hi, I have a green leather coral, the exact type I am not certain. When we placed it into our tank the base or stalk enlarged causing the coral to loose balance in what ever position we tried. The coral fell 3 times before we could successfully anchor the coral. Then small finger like projections came off which I initially thought I could glue down and grow more, however, the coral has since lost 2 heads, has then began sloughing from his stalk. Some of the amphipods were on him during the night, and I did notice on the finger like projection some black dots. My son works at a family owned fish store and the person taking care of saltwater tank has been doing this for several years, is with the reef society in the area and has had saltwater tank herself for years. She thought the coral might have a bacterial infection and suggested: iodine dip for 8-10 minutes, I kept him in 10 minutes followed by a 2-3 hour soak in a aerated saltwater container with an antibiotic to kill the germs. <good advice... careful with the antibiotics though> After that put him back into the tank, and repeat only the antibiotic soak for the next 5 days. He is a sorry ask to see now. His stalk is whiter in color still creamy but lighter, what remaining parts to the head area are still green some slightly brown. Now the poor thing is limp and hanging over. Is there anything we can do? <good water flow and water quality are the order at this point> Is it worth trying the antibiotic soak or will that just worsen the situation. <the latter I suspect... it is important for us as human beings globally and in all facets of life (human and pet health, etc) to be very sparing with the use of antibiotics. If you cannot confirm exactly that there is a bacterial infection... then resist the haphazard use of a drug to treat a mystery illness> Our tank is: 75 gal 115# of live rock, 2-3 inch sand base, CPRs BakPak, Rio 1100, pc lighting with 260 watts plus actinic. We also have a Eheim canister and a UV sterilizer we have found we really didn't need - still attached. Our inhabitants are: 1 mandarin, 1 damsel, short spine sea urchin, 1 fire shrimp, 1 cleaner shrimp, 5 emerald crabs, 15 blue hermits, 3 red hermits, a beautiful frogspawn coral, a green stripped mushroom and a fluorescent green/pink hairy type mushroom ( this mushroom seems to like to eat and we can feed him krill etc., will he be likely to eat any of the animals we now have). We also have a broad leaf type Caulerpa and grape Caulerpa growing. I had initially put the green leather coral above the green hairy mushroom for several days and noted that the coral did not seem to like it there. It was about 7-8 inches away from the mushroom. So I moved it, that is when I could not get it anchored again, it fell injuring itself and is now in the shape as I described above. Our water is 1.026, 8.3, no nitrites, no ammonia, slight nitrate, iodine 0.03, ca+ 450, temp is 77(trying to get it lower as I want a Linckia star fish and I here they do better at about 75 stable temperatures) I never knew how much I love the coral and the critters, nor how endangered they are until I started to help my 15 y/o son with this new hobby of his. <it really is a beautiful and educational hobby!> Thank you for being there to help support all the people trying to do their best for the animals they have. <its a labor of love> Are aquacultured coral healthier overall? <not genetically better disposed... but rather simply (usually) handled/shipped better> as buying any coral that is wild will increase more damage to the coral reefs. <not always the case/concern either... so much coral is easily sustainable to the extent that our imposition is miniscule against the enormous tracts of reef, damage by storms, disease from overgrowth and other natural "checks and balances". Some reefs destroyed by storms are fully recovered (magnificent Acropora cervicornis patches) a mere one year later. These are easily yielding corals in our small quantities for aquarium use> (someday, if I ever get this figured out I would love to grow the corals, seahorses and maybe other fish but I have so very much to learn and I hate to learn by mistakes in this case!) Thanks Sue <all is quite possible and well within your reach. I myself have written an entire book on it (Book of Coral Propagation, by Calfo 2001). Do seek a local or regional aquarium society for great fellowship and trading/lectures and topics of interest/entertainment for you and your son. With kind regards, Anthony> Injured Leather Coral 2/9/05 Today I bought a toadstool from fish store. One large one and one small next to it on one rock. After placing it in the tank I noticed a hole on the smaller crown almost in the middle. Is this something I should worry about? <Of bigger concern is the addition of any new coral, fish, etc right into your tank without quarantine first. High risk of (eventually) adding a parasite, pest, predator or disease to the tank. Please do take the time to read about and apply QT habits (see our archives on this topic)> How could I remove it from rock so I can place in my 30 gal for observation in case of spreading disease. <Moving a stressed coral at this point will only make it worse. And any contamination has already been done> Would I need to reattach it to another rock or will it do it on its own? <None of the above... just good strong water flow where its at and observe to see what may have caused the hole, what makes it worse, or if it simply heals> The hole looks like it goes into the stem. polyps are out and looks good I'm not sure what to do any help would be appreciated Thank you! Andy <Patience for now my friend... best to let this animal sit in place and heal. Anthony> Another Toadstool question - 11/10/03 I have a common toadstool coral. The stalk is about 5" tall and 1" in diameter. About 10 days ago, while I was cleaning the glass, the magnet came loose and hit the stalk of the toadstool. <Ouch> Since that time, it has what appears as a "bruise" on its stalk which seems to be getting larger. <Keep an eye on it. Don't panic and don't move the coral> The coral is bent over at the bruise point and doesn't seem able to stand upright. <just wait> For the first week after the accident, the polyps were closed and I didn't think it was going to survive. <A very hardy coral. Maintain water quality or maybe even increase water changes. Leave the coral be for a while.> Now, it's polyps have opened, but he is still bent in half. <Give it time> Is there anything I can do for it? <Leave it be. It may recover to an upright position and it may not. Either way it will likely survive the ordeal. You should see the "abuse" my several Sarcophytons have to endure (meaning cuttings for propagation) - Paul> Thanks Sick (Dead) Toadstool? 3/13/04 Hi all, <Hi Kevin, Adam here. Sorry for the slow reply.> I have spent quite a bit of time looking for an answer to my question but have not run across a specific answer to date. On Feb. 19 (2 weeks+ ago) I received a rock with several Xenia groupings, two types of mushrooms and a toadstool. In bringing the rock home the toadstool seemed to have shed a waxy outer layer and the Xenia appeared 'burnt' in areas. The toadstool extended polyps for a couple of days and then appeared to go dormant and slouch over. <All sounds quite normal after being moved.> The Xenia disintegrated several days later and I cut them back quite close to the base rock. Since then the Xenia have started sprouting new arms throughout all of the areas that were cut back but the toadstool is inactive and the stalk is slowly taking on the colour of a bruise. I enclose two photos. <The coral doesn't look good, but as long as it doesn't start turning to mush or losing tissue, I would tough it out. These animals often take many weeks to recover from insults. If it stays in this state for more than a couple of weeks, despite water changes, etc., I would consider moving it to another tank. I have seen several cases where Sarcophytons suffer for months despite every effort only to quickly recover after being moved to another tank.> Parameters are: SG 1.024 Temp 77 PH 8.2 Amon 0 NO3 0-trace Phos 0-trace Alk 4.5 Calc 300 (attempting to bring up) The tank is a small 38 gallon with approx. 75 lbs. live rock, 12 times volume turnover per hour, 96 watt actinic (13 hrs) & 96 watt 10K (12 hrs). Dosing with strontium & iodine. <I would withhold the Sr and I for a couple of weeks. These are both easily overdosed and the experience of many aquarists who never supplement them proves that with regular partial water changes, they are not necessary.> Is this toadstool gone? How long should I wait to further signs of life? Thanks for the great resource. Kevin <I would perform a couple of 25% water changes, hold the Sr and I and see how it does, but don't give up yet! Best Regards. Adam> Necrotic Sinularia damage? I have a 3.5” tall Sinularia that that has grown large enough that it has started to rub on a small chunk of rock that sticks up next to it. Where the tissue is rubbing, there is a small black spot appearing, maybe 3/8” long by 1/8” high. The location of this occurrence is about ?” up from where the coral attaches to the rock. <yikes... the black necrosis can be quickly threatening to the coral and perhaps other corals in he tank. o address by cutting/pruning off the excess coral promptly> After perusing the archives, I have found two approaches to take here. 1) Cut the base of the coral, above the damage, straight through and reattach to a new rock. 2) Try to excise the bad material and watch to see if the coral heals ok. What is the current thought on this type of problem? <the latter at first and the former if necessary to follow> Thanks for you time. Don <best regards, Anthony> Will my leather coral pull out of a high temperature incident? HI, I accidentally turned my tank up to 30 degrees centigrade for about 12 hours several days ago. Since then, my leather coral has been drooping and developing holes and it seems to be getting worse rather than better. << Not surprising, but unfortunate. >>Do you think its dying and if so should I remove it as soon as possible? << I would frag a few of the larger branches, in hopes of saving it. I wouldn't just throw it out, as I think many leather corals can make remarkable come backs. >> Thanks << Blundell >> Ripped Finger Leather stock Bob and/or Crew, Thanks for all the great work you do. I have gained a lot of knowledge through reading through the Q&A and the daily Q&A on the web site. However I was not prepared to come home from work and find that my finger leather has ripped. The two stocks have some what, not completely, ripped apart. <by what action? Important to know.. water quality, age (natural branchlet dropping), imposed attack, etc> The finger leather was on a small frag of rock which I left it on and put it in the substrate, I probably should have attached it to a large rock now in hind sight. <no biggie> One stock of the finger leather is attached to the rock I set it next to, the other is now kind of just dangling there. Picture attached but it is not clear and the battery just died in my digital camera. <alas... no help: not clear> For the stock that is dangling should I cut it from the other stock and find a good rock for it or is there something else I should do. <do cut with sharp scissors or a razor. Then simply stitch with a needle and nylon thread to another rock. Keep handling to a minimum (latex gloves recommended)> The finger leather has grown quite a bit since I purchased it about 5 month ago. As always thanks for your insight and help. TTFN Sean <heehee... ready for my Book of Coral Propagation yet <smile>. With kind regards, Anthony Calfo> Help (soft coral injury) last night I stupidly moved my new Sarcophyton to a place which I thought would be a better spot I woke up in the morning and it was leaning against a rock and the part that was against the rock had being worn away is this normal? <Normal? Worn away? No> its only being an 1hr or so but should the coral have opened already or could it be dead? <Likely not dead.... maybe move it back to where it was. Bob Fenner> |
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