Colt Coral Fungus Hey.<Hey Brendon, MacL here> I have a colt coral that has a fungus on one of its branches. It's been there for about two days now, hasn't spread or shrank. I've had the colt for about a week and the first two days it was doing fine. Then it shrank to about half its original size and then got this fungus. Do you know what this is and how I should get rid of it. <There are several things it could be but my suggestion would be to either buy some coral reef dip or make some. I personally have good results with Seachem's coral reef dip.> I asked this in the chat forums but no one seems to know what this is. <There are some specialized frag and coral websites, www.fragexchange.com comes immediately to mind. If you think it might be better to cut the bad stuff off or try to frag the coral and save what you have left of it.> Thanks for any suggestions.  <Good luck Brendon, if possible a picture might be very helpful.>
Colt With Fungus follow-up Thanks. I'll look into the Seachem. <Its one of those products that I like to keep on hand.> The colt is doing well now, it's starting to grow back to its original size and the fungus has lessened. <Soooo glad to hear that Brendon> Thanks again. Your site is great. <I'll pass that along and thank you so much, MacL>

HELP!  Urgent Yellow Leather Problem: infection 11/15/03 I was told by a guy on Reef Central that Anthony Calfo might be able to help me.   <correct... and my pleasure> I have a yellow leather that was fine this morning, now has a large black patch on it (that seems to be growing noticeably as we speak).  All polyps are retracted and it is sagging.  A couple of pics are attached. <it does indeed have a necrotic infection... which with these Alcyoniids progresses quickly. You will have to actually cut this leather up (cut almost 1" past the black area into good tissue) to extract the infected area. Afterwards, you can dice the animal further with hope that one of the frags will survive... or leave it intact, provide good water flow and hope it heals. For almost any other leather, this would be a minor surgery and have a very high likelihood of success. Unfortunately, such is not the case with Sarcophyton elegans... little or no tissue may survive here> Any ideas of how to treat?  Or is it a goner... <as per above... and you really should learn to quarantine all new specimens (fish, coral, snails, everything) to prevent problems like this from potentially wrecking your tank in the future. This pathogen may very well be contagious and infect other healthy corals in your tank. Please do read though our archives here at wetwebmedia.com (do a Google search with the tool on our home page at the bottom). We have articles and many FAQs on the subject. One article specifically by Fellman on QT for Inverts/corals> Any help would be appreciated... Mark Davies <I wish you the best of luck my friend! Anthony>

Green Finger problem (?) Hey Gang, how you doin'? well I hope. <very fine with thanks> I finally got some clear pics. of a green finger coral  in hopes that someone might be able to diagnose the base of this beauty, I don't have any experience on what the appropriate course of action should be. <a very common problem with "colored" leather corals. They are very sensitive to handling. Please avoid touching them with a bare hand at all times. Handle only the base or tissue with gloved hands otherwise> Its been in my tank for three days, and the base looks worse by the day. <it is highly infectious although looks mild here so far> It looked nice at the store (a little frayed at the base) though I probably shouldn't have purchased,  but, I reckon hind sight don't apply here. Thanks for the Your friend in Denver, Scott <simple solution here. Have a VERY sharp razor blade or scalpel ready. A needle with clean nylon thread (or fishing line) ready and waiting to stitch too. A piece of small rock or rubble as well. Move 3/4-1" above the highest necrotic area of the base of the stalk. Cut clean and fast through the animal. You must wear gloves and keep the procedure down to a minimum time of handling. After the cut, look at the exposed trunk and be sure that you cleared the soft and necrotic area... if so, run a stitch or two through the base (no more than an inch from the bottom) and tie it off to a piece of rock. Return it to the exact same place it was in the tank and do not touch it for weeks. Maintain strong water flow and very aggressive skimming in the tank. Small daily doses of iodine may be therapeutic for the tank too (not extra iodine... just your weekly dose broken down to daily). Best regards, Anthony>
Re: Green Finger problem (?) Thanks for the info, it will be easier for me to perform this, "MASH 4077" style surgery, out of the water. Will these be ok? <yep... it all takes mere seconds> Just one clean cut, eh. <correct> Is the corals tissue tough to cut thru, like muscle? or, will it be like a hot knife thru butter? <rather in between... the tissue is quite soft but infused with calcareous spicules> (just paged my head nurse to the emergency room, stat!) Wish me luck, we're goin' ............Thanks, Scott   <Banzai! Or is it bonsai? Both I suppose. Best of luck! Anthony> Comments on Remora Pro Protein skimmer Hey Gang! How you's doin'? I just read a readers comments on e-tailers selling the Remora Pro Protein skimmers. I recently purchased one from Marinedepot.com. The total cost on the Pro model w/Mag 3 pump + the skimmer/bubble trap was around $270 including shipping. This protein skimmer kicks butt! It was producing dark skimmate after 3 weeks. I did contact the Aqua C company with a concern for the lid that didn't fit quite right, and the Prez. of the  company, Jason, sent a new one that was here in two days! <indeed... beyond producing very well designed skimmers (great value too), his customer service is legendary. AT least rare in our industry. All part of why you see us recommend these products often> A wonderful product & company to deal with - IMO.   <very much agreed... thank you for sharing the kudos> Anthony, I performed the "Mash 4077" surgery on the green finger today, and found it to be a little tougher to cut thru than imagined (took 2 cuts). It went from being the size of a softball to smaller than a golf ball <natural> & was very hard to get a stitch in. <surprising but no worries. Rest easy if you saw no systemic infection (rotting up through core)> I managed to get it loosely attached (I think) to a piece of rubble and the current hasn't knocked it off yet (keeping fingers crossed-mine, not the corals!) <excellent... the key is to leave it alone no mater how grumpy it looks for weeks (short of rotting)> Will it attach to the rubble quickly? <within a couple weeks> I noticed when performing the cut that a clear reddish liquid "bled" a little. <yep... be very careful to never get this hear eyes, in cuts, etc. Hence my admonition to wear gloves> I was thinking, as the cut was taking place, I can't believe I'm actually doing this! Anyway, thanks a lot for all the help all you's guys give to all of us! I know I certainly appreciate it! Your friend in Denver, <with kind regards, Anthony> Green Finger coral surgery Hello Anthony, I assume that an alcohol swab to wipe the new razor blades machine oils off before the surgery, will be in order. <yes... and also wipe the oil off the fishing line if you use it instead of sewing nylon thread> After cutting the necrotic tissue off, I'll make an X pattern with two stitches holding the coral to a flat piece of (1 1/2"x 2 1/2")  cup coral rubble, how tight/loose should it be tied? <not very snug at all... they are temporary and will be cut away in weeks after the coral attached. We simply want to keep the coral in place and propped up. Can be done with rock and rubble just the same like a campfire... but lees reliable. Do stitch> The DKH in the tank is 10.52DKH, is to low to promote healing or does it matter (slowly bringing the levels up with SeaChem's Reef Carbonate), <your dKH is fine... you've been listening to Nazi sps keepers somewhere that want your tank to test like liquid lime <G>. 8-12dKH is normal and safe. Consistency within this range promotes growth... not a target number. No worries> also, reef iodide won't be here for a week or so, will start dosing upon arrival. <excellent> Would you wait for the DKH to come up & iodide to show up before doing MASH 4077 maneuvers like this? <nope... this is a potentially virulent infection that can kill this coral and others in the tank. You are lucky it is moving slow now... uncommon. Cut it ASAP> Definitely looking forward to your book showing up!  Your friend in Denver,  Scott <thanks kindly! Anthony>