FAQs about Health/Diseases, Pests of Soft
Corals of the Family Alcyoniidae 12
FAQs on Alcyoniid Disease:
Alcyoniid Health 1,
Alcyoniid Disease
2,
Alcyoniid Disease 3,
Alcyoniid Disease
4, Alcyoniid
Disease 5, Alcyoniid
Disease 6, Alcyoniid
Disease 7, Alcyoniid
Disease 8, Alcyoniid
Disease 9, Alcyoniid Health 10,
Alcyoniid Disease
11, Alcyoniid Disease 13,
Alcyoniid Disease
14, Alcyoniid
Disease 15, Alcyoniid Disease ,
FAQs on
Alcyoniid Disease by Category:
Diagnosis,
Environment,
Nutritional, Pathogenic (Infectious,
parasitic), Predator/Pests,
Social, Trauma,
Treatments
Related Articles: Soft Corals of the Family
Alcyoniidae
Related FAQs: Soft Corals of the Family Alcyoniidae,
Alcyoniids 2, Alcyoniids 3, Alcyoniids 4, Alcyoniid ID, Alcyoniid Selection, Alcyoniid Compatibility, Alcyoniid Systems, Alcyoniid Behavior, Alcyoniid Feeding, Alcyoniid Propagation, Soft Coral Propagation, Soft Coral Health, Dyed Corals, Soft Coral Propagation, Nephtheids, Dendronephthya, Paralcyoniids, Nidaliids, Xeniids, Dyed
Corals,
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White Spots On Finger Leather Coral 2/17/09 And Not
Enough Information Hello, <Hello Mari> I have a
finger coral that I placed in the tank over seven months ago.
This coral has been doing well. It has just recently developed a
lot of little white spots all over it. I have included a jpeg of
the coral maybe you could shed some light on the problem.
<Appears to me like this coral is bleaching. Bleaching is the
term used when corals are expelling their Zooxanthellae, and can
be caused by one or more of the following. A sudden rise or drop
in water temperature, low water flow, a change in lighting,
improper lighting, excess nutrients/poor water quality, low
pH/dKH, and exposure to air are just a few reasons for this. You
did not supply enough information for me to even guess what has
caused this. What are your water parameters, flow rate, tank
size, type of lighting used, age of lamp(s), photoperiod,
supplements being added, etc.> Thank you in advance for your
assistance! <You're welcome Mari. James (Salty
Dog)>
Mari Read
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Flash and dying. RMF. |
Re: White Spots On Finger Leather Coral 2/18/09 And
Not Enough Information You are right!!! I did not give
you enough info... My husband is the tank guy and I am the
computer gal. Once I sent the email to you he told me that I did
not give you guys enough info. <No problem, we just can't
do much the first time around.> Tank size is 140 gal Lights
are T-5 (3 day lights and 3 blue <This is not enough light for
Sinularia corals and is likely why your coral is bleaching.>
Temp is at 79 + or - 1 Flow is Mag 1800 pump Filter is refugium
and Euro Reef protein skimmer Last water test ammonia 0, nitrates
10 ppm, nitrites 0, SG 1.023, ph 8.2 Talked to LFS and they
suggested testing Magnesium, Iodine and Strontium Water changes
20 gal once a month Alk and Cal slightly high since tank set up.
<What is slightly high?> This is a relatively new tank
about 8 months from set up in fact this was one of the first
corals in tank. Fish pop. Low 10 small fish (damsels and tang
largest) Had some mushroom corals dissolve. LFS said this coral
may be low on Iodine and to dip in Iodide bath for 20 min. we
have not done this yet... waiting to hear from you if this is a
good idea. <This coral appears to be too far gone for this to
do much good, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. I
don't know what dosage your LFS recommends, but I've read
where Anthony Calfo recommends 10 drops of Lugol's per quart
of aquarium water for 15 minutes.> Thank you so much
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Re: White Spot On Finger Leather Coral
2/19/09 James( Salty Dog) thanks so much!!!
<You're welcome.> We will try the dip... you can't
blame a girl for trying, who knows it may just work. How much
light do you suggest??? We do not want Halogen lights,
<meaning metal halide?> could you suggest a different set
up on T-5's bulbs. <Yes, but first I need to know the
length, width, and depth of your tank, and the wattage of your
present lamps.> Thanks again <You're welcome. James
(Salty Dog)> Mari
Re: White Spot On Finger Coral 2/20/09 Here
is the info on the tank Length 48 inch Width 24 inch Depth 29
inch 3 day lights and 3 actinic Current lights are 48 inch
T-5's 6x54 watts= 324 watts <Mmm, a pretty deep tank here.
Increasing the lumen output of the lamps will help you here
providing light loving corals are kept in the upper one third of
the aquarium. I suggest to replace the three daylights and two
actinics with 10K lamps which will give you much more intensity.
I'm also thinking your daylights may be of the 50/50 type,
that is 50% daylight/50% actinic, and if so, that configuration
or your present, is not going to produce the amount of light the
Finger Leather Corals require. Do read here and related
articles/FAQ's.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marlgtganthony.htm> Thanks so much
for your help! <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
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Soft Coral tank 01/12/09 Hello, I was
wondering why some of the my soft Corals shed so much. I have inquired
here before regarding my Toadstool and although it is o.k. it seems to
want to shed a lot along with another Toadstool I have and my Cabbage
Coral. Here is what I have in Corals;2 Toadstools (one Brown, one
blond) Green star polyps (growing like crazy), I colony of Brown button
polyps (open, but not in full "bloom") 1 Colt coral (always
looks good, full and tall), 1 Cabbage coral (on one rock but two
colonies, assorted mushrooms (doing well, spreading). I have 4 HO T5
lights, 2 actinic and 2 10,000k plus 2 PowerBrite strips (nice
shimmer). Mag = 1280-1320, Calc = 400-420, Alk = 9-10 dKH, Temp = 80
degrees and SG = .025 <Salinity would be better at closer to
1.026.> I guess the two main concerns I have is about the Toadstools
and Cabbage, especially the Cabbage. The Cabbage has a pattern of half
of it shuts down to shed and the other half looks beautiful then the
beautiful bunch closes down and the other bunch finishes shedding and
looks great. This goes on CONSTANTLY. It is well over 1 year old and is
spreading (but not like I have heard it would) and there is new growth.
The Toadstools are shedding every 1-2 weeks. <wow> I inquired
earlier about toxins and have added Chemipure elite but that didn't
seem to change anything. I have a skimmer in the sump and all
parameters are good. What would be your assessment of the constant
shedding and any remedy is appreciated. <Interesting... well,
leathers tend to shed to rid themselves of external irritants. Do you
have any algae or other corals stepping up onto their space? Best, Sara
M.>
Re: Soft Coral Tank 01/13/09 No offense
Sara but I did not purposely mention that nothing is bothering them as
I thought anyone responding would not give such a simplistic answer. Of
course, there all type of people and some may overlook a simple thing
like crabs walking over them, however that does not explain the
constant shedding. I took painstaking effort to describe my issues if
someone else could give me a more useful explanation of what may be
going on in the tank it would be appreciated. <Good Sir/Madam--
I'm sorry if my answer to your question did not give you enough
information. Shedding once every 1 to 2 weeks is just not all that
unusual for Toadstool leathers (i.e. for Sarcophytons). These leathers
just seem to shed more for some reason. Thus, I just don't think
you need to worry about the Toadstools. As for the Cabbage coral, it
sounds to me like you have two individuals that have grown together and
are now "stuck" together, something like "Siamese
twins." This might likely explain why they are shedding all the
time. One of the corals might be constantly trying to outgrow or shed
off the other one. They're stuck together and irritating each other
and both trying to shrug/shed off the other, which ends up actually
slowing them both down since they're "wasting" so much
energy shedding. This explanation is what makes the most sense to me.
However, I didn't want to say this was the case until you confirmed
for me that there weren't any other obvious irritants. The
irritants aren't always things we can see (they can be chemical
too). I hope I've given you enough information now. If someone else
would like to add to my input here, they are welcome to. Best, Sara
M.>
Re: Soft Coral tank, Alcyoniid shedding... beh.,
hlth. 1/14/09 Yes, yes....this was my thinking about the
Cabbage as well. I at first dismissed it because they were so close
together when it was smaller I thought it was one colony but as it grew
larger I can see the distinction. Thank you for the reply, have a great
day! <Cool... a great day to you as well! -Sara M.>
Devils hand dying? 11/13/08 Hi, Can
anyone please advise me? <I'll certainly try> I purchased a
Devils Hand Leather Coral about a week ago - very large about 14inches
across, in the LFS tank it was beautiful, all its polyps were out and
it looked like a flower bed. I got it home and settled it into my tank.
It was naturally all closed up and looked green, It is still green
although the shade of green has lightened considerably over the last
few days. I have 2x250 MA lights, 2 Actinic 54W and two Blue Actinic
54W. <Mmm, how does this and other conditions compare to where it
was housed previously?> I wasn't too concerned about it staying
closed as I thought it was just settling in. Last night I noticed that
it is splitting along a fold. I can see clean white flesh, also by one
of its fingers I can see a hole. I have checked my water param.s and
all seem okay, Phosphate 0, <Mmm, why? As in, by what means? All
life needs some HPO4> Calcium 450, Strontium 1500, <Mmm... likely
you mean/t Magnesium> Nitrate 0.01, nitrite 0, Ammonia 0. The tank
is 450ltrs and I am skimming 24/7. I feed phyto every couple of days
and I add iodine weekly. Neither the tear or the hole appear to be
necrotic, both showing clean white flesh. The tear has occurred where
the leather has 'folded' himself. What could be causing this
and what can I do to save the coral? <Mmm... if this animal is
opening, appears fine otherwise, I would not be overly concerned...
Alcyoniids do split asexually under very good and dire conditions.
Perhaps the move elicited this behavior. Bob Fenner> Any help much
appreciated Regards Pauline
Re: Devils hand dying? 11/17/08 Hi
Bob <Pauline> Many thanks for your reply. Just to update you, on
closer inspection I noticed that the Devils Hand had grown onto two
rocks and that the 'split' had occurred where the rocks met
each other. He has now fully split so I now have two!! <Can, does
happen> The exposed flesh still appears clean and white and there
are no apparent signs of necrosis. He hasn't opened up yet but
apart from that still appears okay. He is in good flow and currently
'shedding', I'm keeping a close eye on him and have set up
a QT tank 'just in case', I was about to remove him from the
tank as I was concerned that if he died he would cause the tank to
crash but on receipt of your reply I decided to leave him as is and
just continue to watch for signs of necrosis. <Good. This is what I
would do> Again, many thanks for your quick response, I wasn't
too sure if you would respond to appeals for help from the uk.
<Heeee! Some of WWM Crew are natives... no hard feelings being an ex
colonial... Ha!> Your site is a brilliant source of information and
just by looking through other QA's I have gained so much
reassurance and knowledge. Much regards Pauline <Cheers!
BobF>
Alcyoniid hlth. reading
10/22/08 Hi, I have a new system of 175l with external
canister filter, internal filter 2 Power heads so good water turnover,
temp is stable 78-80 ph of 8.0 nitrates is Creeping to 20, <Mmm, do
read on WWM re NO3 and canister filter use on/with marine systems>
calcium of 440, phosphate 1.0 <High> salinity of 1.023,
<Low> carbonate Hardness 214.8 troubles is I have a devils finger
coral that overnight has Detached itself from its rock and crumbled
mostly in to a chalky powder, <Bad> I am Worried this is
predation or disease <Environmental> please could u <...>
give me any information, I Have 2okg of live rock so it's a reef
based aquarium. Thanks Donna P.S My apologies for the bad grammar, I
was rushing when typing and forgot to run a check. Great site also by
the way. Many thanks Donna <Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/softcrlsysfaqs.htm the linked files above, and
where you find yourself embedded links of interest. Bob Fenner>
Alcyoniid hlth., reading 8/24/08 I
have a green finger coral in my 55 gal tank, I also had a brittle
starfish, I took the starfish out of the tank, and the coral started to
look wilted, does the starfish give off any toxins when frighten?
<Mmm, not as far as I'm aware, no> I changed about six
gallons of water, and still the coral doesn't look any better...can
you please help? give me any info on what I should do? <Well... need
to know a bit more here... re other tankmates, the system gear make-up,
foods/feeding... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/alcydisf10.htm and the linked files above...
till you have an idea of the sorts of data we're looking for... Bob
Fenner>
Leather coral health, no useful info.
7/15/08 Hi guys, I am new to the hobby and have a good size
leather coral in my 140 gal tank. My leather is approx 6-8 inches
wide when fully open. He has always been rather healthy, but in the
past two days he seems to be not opening as wide as normal and
seems to changed colors a bit. He is normally a purple color with a
strawberry like texture to him, <? Really? I see a Lobophytum in
your photo... Have never encountered a member of this genus colored
such> but now he seems to have a marble look to him with a
darker color and white stripes. Any help would be good. Thank you!
<... no other data? Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/alcydisf12.htm and the linked files
above.... Need to know re set-up, foods/feeding, maintenance/water
quality tests, other livestock, recent activity... Bob
Fenner> |
Was dyed.
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Lobed Leather Coral Problem 7/12/08
Hello, <Greg> I recently purchased a rose colored <? Have never seen
such in the wild...> leather coral for a reef aquarium. Other
inhabitants at the time were an open brain coral, some platypoa (sp?) <Maybe
Palythoa> polyps, pipe organ, and a mushroom rock. Everything was going great
for weeks. All corals were healthy and opening fully, including the leather.? I
then added one other mushroom rock and a single large hairy mushroom. <Oh oh...>
The leather still had plenty of room to open and not be touched by any other
coral. I left for vacation a few days later and returned today. I have now
noticed some yellow spots on the rose leather coral, with one spot turning into
a yellow ring with darker tissue inside the ring. There is also a blotch of pale
yellow on one area of the coral. I am assuming this is some type of necrosis. Am
I dealing with some type of chemical warfare or may it be a water quality
problem. <Likely the first, perhaps some of the second> All other corals are
acting fine. Tank parameters are: pH: 8.4 Salinity: 1.024 Temp: 80 F Ammonia:?0
Nitrite: 0 Nitrate:?0 I did notice that there was a power failure while I was
gone, but I don't know for how long. Also, the pH seems to have been unusually
stable while I was gone.? Usually it drifts down to 8.1 - 8.2 over several days
and I buffer it back up to 8.3 - 8.4.? <Mmm, through water changes, gradually I
hope, trust> However, after leaving for a week, the pH stayed right at 8.4.?
This hasn't happen before.? I did change some activated carbon and cleaned out
the skimmer cup before leaving on vacation.? Should I leave it alone and see
what happens or take some action. Thanks, Greg <Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: Lobed Leather Coral Problem
7/18/08 Greetings, <Salutations> Still having a problem
with a leather coral.? <You are??> It appears to be in the
process of shedding, but there are several spots of a yellow
dried wax like substance.? The yellow substance comes off easily
when rubbed with a dull plastic tip.? <Good... likely natural
material... exudate... thought to be useful in preventing fouling
organism establishment and more> No tissue necrosis
underneath, but the tissue color appears different than
surrounding tissue.? Coral has been closed up for about a week
now.? It is not showing any tissue degeneration, but does slough
off some mucous on different? spots every night.? Lastly, I have
notice some very small flat worm looking organisms on the coral
after lights out.? <Might be... flatworms> I siphoned them
off, but can't tell if any damage was done.? Some small
shrimp looking animals have also been seen after lights out
crawling around on the coral.? What should I do from here??
<Mmm, keep on, keeping on...> How long should it take for
the coral to shed?? <Usually hours to days...> Is a week
unlikely?? Two weeks? Thanks, Greg <Boosting health,
circulation, water quality... should help all the way around...
Read again where you were referred to. Bob Fenner>
Soft Coral Rotting --
05/13/08 Hi there. <<Hello>> Was hoping you
guys can help and quick! <<Let's see>> I got what I
believe is a medusa soft coral about 6-8 weeks ago and was doing
fantastic, but now is looking really worse for wear. <<Hmmm,
hard for me to tell without the polyps extended 'but it
looks more like a Sinularia species rather than a Sphaerella
species, to me. Not that it likely has any bearing on your
problem>> I have tried to include some pictures to help but
not sure how clear they will be. <<Clear enough I
think>> He has slowly refused to open more and more and for
only very short periods when he does. My other soft coral has also
gone through a bit of a rough patch and I thought it may have been
down to a water change. I added my pH buffer to the new water and
it went cloudy, this took a long time to disperse and seems to when
they both closed down, could this have been the problem? <<Ah
yes, sounds like you had a precipitation event from over-dosing the
buffer 'is very hard on your tank inhabitants. Do have a
read here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm) and also
perform a Google search on our site re 'precipitation
event'>> My other one has now recovered to almost full
health. What do I need to do?? <<Not much to do at this point
other than maintain your water quality and ensure your bio-minerals
are in 'balance' (reference the article)>> Any
thoughts or suggestions will be of great help. <<The
precipitation event was likely the 'last straw' so to speak
for this coral. It was probably already in a weakened state from
its close proximity to that Anemone I see in your tank. Judging
from the pictures, the tank seems 'just big enough' for the
Anemone alone 'and certainly too small to be housing it
with sessile inverts too 'in my opinion>> Most
appreciated Wayne Tunnah
<<Happy to share. EricR>> |
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Re: Soft Coral Rotting --
05/14/08 Thanks a lot for your help. <<Welcome,
mate>> This has been of great use.
<<Ah'¦good>> Perhaps I'll try moving him
further away from the Anemone? <<Won't make much
difference I think 'not in this size tank>> Or
should I just sit on my hands for now? <<Best to move the
coral to another tank altogether>> I've also made the
water a bit more brisk around him to also try and help any recovery
he might make. <<The increased water movement, though not
likely to 'cure' anything in this instance 'is
still of benefit to the tank as a whole>> The Anemone was
only half the size in the dealers display and looked almost fully
open at the stage of purchase. He just inflated massive when I gave
him his new home! Guess he's happier now then? <<Mmm,
maybe 'or maybe trying to gain more light from an
insufficient source by making itself larger/increasing its surface
area 'is only a guess>> Thanks again and I'll
let you know whether he pulls through or not..... Wayne
<<Please do'¦ EricR>> |
Nitrite spike... Allelopathy twixt Cnid.s
4/25/08 Hi, <Ho!> I have a 54 Gallon corner reef
aquarium with sump filtration, aqua c remora skimmer, 2 Koralia #
2's, 50 lbs LR, 25 Lbs LS, 130 Watts of PC lighting.
Livestock includes 2 false Percs, 1 royal Gramma, 1 Firefish, and
1 banner cardinal. Small clean up crew 4 Nassarius snails, 4 blue
leg hermits, 4 red leg hermits, and 3 emerald crabs. I have 2
discoma colonies that came on LR, and recently purchased a small
hairy mushroom colony and a toadstool leather. <... get...
very large> The levels were Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0,
Nitrate-2ppm, phosphate-.03, Sp. G. 1.0253, Ph. 8.06, Calcium
420, dKH 3.15 mg/l. For about 10 days the toadstool was looking
fine as was everything else. Yesterday, it began to slump over
and retract its polyps (picture included). <Yes... I see it
being burned by the Corallimorph in the foreground...> I
couldn't determine if this is normal leather behavior or if
something was wrong. <Mmm, in too small a world, too close to
a better-established Cnidarian...> However, today the leather
looked worse. I performed a water change and performed water
testing. To my surprise my Nitrites were up to .25. <Yes...
reaction from the life t/here> I haven't ever had nitrites
in the tank. Could the leather's problems be contributing to
nitrite spike? <Yes> Or is it doing poorly because of
nitrites. I haven't really changed anything else in the
system and can't figure out what would cause increased
nitrites. Any thoughts/links, etc. would be helpful. Thanks, Mike
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm for
background, then onto the Compatibility FAQs files for both
groups of Cnidarians... Your options will be obvious. Bob
Fenner>
Re: nitrite spike... Allelopathy twixt Cnid.s
4/26/08 Thanks, Bob. Relocated toadstool to a QT that was up
and running. The plan is to get this guy in shape and return to
LFS. It seems like it was a bad choice for my system. That's
what happens when you listen to LFS and don't do your
research. Lesson learned... Mike
<Ahh! BobF>
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