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Happy Fungia Unraveling Fast: Mysterious Tissue Transfer Matter, or Attack of the Benthic Ctenophores? 10/30/11
A "Hola!" Bob and Crew!
<Howdy Alex!>
I wouldn't write if I could find anything conclusive online, and so far I have not found much...
I am concerned about the smaller of my two Fungia specimens. It has, over the last two or three days, developed several (2-5 visible at a time) jellyfish-like tentacles that drift and trail string-like from the edges of the polyp.
<I see these in your excellent pix>
All the typical tentacles are extended like normal, and the Fungia still seems content most of the time: its polyp is almost always inflated, except when it exhales... The thing is, these stringier tentacles don't resemble any coeloplana I was able to look up (only one image I saw involved a Fungiid anyway); everything I saw online had more feathery or spider-webby strands.
<These look mysteriously like some types of stinging Hydroids I've seen on various Scleractinians over the years... >
The ones on my coral have one smooth strand paired with a much more rippled strand, connected by a transparent strip of tissue.
In the more close-up picture with the red-bordered strip, the string's base is at the left-hand side of the strip, and it extends across most of the disc to the right. I can't see any distinct connection so it is hard to tell
if it's part of the coral polyp or if it's a distinct creature all its own.
The longer string visible in the zoomed-out image is only partly in the frame in the close-up, since I was trying to focus on the important aspects of the images. The zoomed-out image is there to show the character of the string...
Generally, since the coral seems alright overall I wouldn't be worried, but a few single blades of the razor brain's skeleton are exposed, conveniently located about where the milky-white wisps seem to emanate from. Is my Fungia unraveling?
<I think it's being stung... would spot treat w/ an Aiptasia chemical treatment... to wipe out the Hydropolyp>
As you can see in the attached pictures, when the polyp is fully inflated you essentially can't even see the exposed bone blades, but in the shot I took after the plate had expelled most of its water and waste, the blades within the two circled spots are obviously bare (there are actually two exposed in the area on the right). I guess strong currents could cause those little rips in the polyp to happen, but I don't think that's really the issue in this case, nor do I think my fish are pestering it. I'm pretty sure my Cirrhilabrus melanurus acts as more of a steward to the Fungia, and none of the other fish really get that close to them. I did see my Sailfin tang "test" one of these new trailing strings, but he did not rip it off, and it did not retract (hard to be certain, but I don't think these strands are very reactive; if they are some sort of benthic ctenophore, possibly they are parasites rather than symbionts...?). He didn't seem too interested in the strings after that though, so maybe they did sting him. Apologies if there's some obvious FAQ about this that I missed... Nothing I read seemed to really describe what I've got going on and most times the experts seem to stress the harmlessness of the situation, but I'd prefer to not have one of my favorite corals skinned alive if there's a way to prevent it so I'll err on the side of "too cautious" and let myself email you guys.
<DO peruse here: http://wetwebmedia.com/HydrozIDF8.htm
I feed the tank well, using a blend I made of brine and Mysis shrimp, Nori and macroalgae (sometimes solo, for the tangs...), squid, Spirulina, silversides, raw whole table shrimp, garlic, and pure water, all pulsed into minced mash in an old cracked (fish only) Cuisinart, then frozen into thin chips. I believe the corals all filter in their fair share, but I still spot feed occasionally just in case. If you remember our previous correspondence, you'll be glad to know that I've since upgraded my lighting to 432W of T5 (3 daylight, 1 purple, 4 actinic), which combined with the morning sun (the tank is in an East-facing window) I think makes for a decently-lit sand floor (I have noticed a positive response in everything in the tank except one minor Cyano outbreak that occurred right after I added the lights).
And though I have moved the razor brains a few times when adjusting rocks or adding cupfuls of live sand to their area of the tank, as far as I know there have been no severe traumas to either one since placing them in the tank, and my water parameters are good: NO3 < 30ppm, PO4 ~ 0.25-0.5ppm, dKH ~ 9-10, Calcium ~ 420-440ppm, and Magnesium was pretty high (~1550ppm) last time I had the LFS test it (they use Salifert for Mg). Admittedly, the alkalinity has been hard for me to really stabilize more than about 10 +/-1 degrees KH, and I know Fungiids are picky about carbonate hardness but it's not been higher than 11 degrees since before I added the Fungia spp (for well over a month now), and both of them are fleshy and vibrant almost always. Besides that, I am pretty sure both my Fungia are aquacultured (sustainable and tough), though I can only be 100% certain of that for the big one, which was born in a local friend's tank (and which is not the subject of this particular plea, though it is beautiful, if you care to see:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/384413_10100593589104572_10104357_56909006_397996915_n.jpg 
).
A toast to your time, tenacity, and tolerance. Yia Sas!
PLAH!
Alex:D
<Thank you for sharing as always Alex. Do relate your further experiences here. BobF>

Re: Happy Fungia Unraveling Fast: Mysterious Tissue Transfer Matter, or Attack of the Benthic Ctenophores? 10/31/11
Hi Bob! Thanks as always for your quick reply...
<Welcome Alex>
I had a feeling that I was missing a key search term when I was trying to research this. After reading up a bit on hydroids, I think you're likely right, though I still haven't found any pictures of anything similar. Do you think what I'm dealing with is juvenile (i.e., yet to turn Medusoid), or would you guess these are already in an adult stage?
<Likely the latter>
I'd prefer to dip just the coral versus treat the whole tank if possible...
<Then I would do this soon... rather than risk the polyp spreading (they can/do!)>
I've had the Fungia for a little over a month, and this is the first time I've seen hydroids so I suspect they came already attached to it since there aren't any elsewhere in the tank.
<Yes; highly likely>
Is that unlikely based on the time it took for them to be evident? I just don't want to unnecessarily over-medicate... Do you think it will be OK to treat the Fungia on its own so as not to massacre my tank's existing worm population?
<I do>
Or possibly, when you say "spot-treat," you mean don't even treat the whole coral but just try and zap the individual hydroids themselves?
<Yes; this last>
Interestingly enough, I believe this morning the Fungia was actually EATING one of the hydroid strands, but there were still two small ones (not fully extended) visible at the edges. I'm curious how it will look when I get home from work. If the Fungia did eat any hydroids, would that be a good thing or is it just going to be stung from the inside now as well?
<As long as they're not too numerous; too stinging...>
Whether they came in with the Fungia or not, I suspect that the slightly-elevated nutrient content is helping the hydroids thrive. For the last two months until about five days ago, my nitrate levels were around 20ppm, but just recently they jumped to maybe 25 or 30ppm. I took your suggestion to add a Sock-It to my sump (had to modify the overflow outlet but it has been worth it...) and I change and rinse the sock every week (actually got two extra socks to allow them to dry completely between uses), but I have noticed lately that the foam level in my EV-180 has been fluctuating a lot and I'm not sure why.
<Foods/feeding, diurnal rhythms...>
The foam is fine most of the time
but falls to the top of the box seemingly at random and then re-stacks over the course of 10-15 minutes, so that a lot of gunky skimmate collects in the foam column as well as the top cup (and subsequently gets slowly re-added to the water, methinks), and I suspect this may be at least partly the cause of my elevated nitrates and phosphates, but I don't know the cause of the fluctuations themselves. The sump chamber which the fractionator's pump sits in has a constant water level, even with the rest of the pumps turned off. I did add some pipe to the skimmer's return line (post gate-valve) because the skimmer itself is no longer in the sump, but if that's the issue it took over two months to start expressing itself. I am emailing Jason Kim with pictures and more details, so hopefully he can help me stabilize my foam levels, but if anything I've told you rings bells in your brain feel free to offer input.
<Just the usual tinnitus unfortunately>
I will forward his reply so you can
post it on WWM. In the meantime, a fresh bag of GFO and activated carbon into the sump, and lots of crossed fingers that I can save this befouled Fungia...
I #$&^@*% love you guys. Donations coming soon (but first I must pay my utilities... you understand...)
PLAH!
Alex:D
<I do. B>