My brain coral came off it's base! - 10/02/08 Thank you for your wonderfully enlightening website! I have searched and searched and I can not find out if my brain coral is dead. It came off it's base about a week ago. <I see this...> It has traveled some around the 36 gallon tank. I'm thinking because it has nothing to hold on to. But it is still shrinking at night and swelling during the day. <... needs to be lifted, put back on either the rock or "face side up" on the sand/substrate...> The shop I bought it from insists it has to be dead <Mmm, no> since it left it's base but my husband and I believe it lives on. <He is correct> Can you tell us what you think and what we should do? <Again, reach in, carefully brush water at it with your hand, to make the fleshy part retreat a bit... for a minute or so... lift up, if you can by the edges, and place "right side up" (the part currently facing out). Bob Fenner> Thanks! Annie

CNN.com - Study names Top 10 coral hot spots <Thanks for this Big Wave. Bob> http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/02/14/reef.hotspots/index.html

Coral I.D. (actually a red algae) Hi The Crew, <Howdy> Hope you guys enjoyed the hot summer. I have this thing growing out on one of my live rocks about two months ago, now it grew to about 4" around. It feel soft at touch, and the appearance like Japanese maple tree. Would like you guys to identify it for me. As always appreciate your expertise. <It's a species of Red Algae. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/redalgae.htm> PS: Just thought you might interest to see this picture: One of my tomato clown in a purple tipped Condylactis anemone. SWEEEEET. <Very nice as well. Bob Fenner> Wayne

Algae/Coral I.D. Hi The Crew, <Hi the fellow fish nerd> Hope you guys enjoyed the hot summer.  <I'm thinking about shaving my entire body... heat index is over 100 here in Pittsburgh with serious humidity. Sneeze and it triggers a thundershower> I have this thing growing out on one of my live rocks about two months ago, now it grew to about 4" around. It feel soft at touch, and the appearance like Japanese maple tree. Would like you guys to identify it for me. As always appreciate your expertise. <it is clearly a red algae species... very attractive to me. Enjoy it!> PS: Just thought you might interest to see this picture: One of my tomato clown in a purple tipped Condylactis anemone. SWEEEEET. Wayne <with kind regards, Anthony>

Coral ID Help WWM Crew- I was wondering if someone knows what type of coral this is. The picture isn't the greatest but, it was the best I could get. The coral in question is still very small. The entire group of 6 or 7 branches is only like 3/4 of an inch. Any ideas? Thanks! Ann <Sorry Ann, but the best I can do from the picture is a wild guess. It does appear to be some sort of large polyp stony coral, but I cannot be sure. -Steven Pro>

Looking for Good Coral Books Anthony/Steve/Bob, I'm starting to study up on the art of reef keeping after years of successful fish only tanks. Will you please recommend a good "beginner's" book on reef tanks? I have CMA and I did order Anthony's book but the more info the better. I know I will spend a LOT of time on WWM too before even thinking of starting a tank. Thanks for any recommendations you can give me! Wes <Anthony's book is fairly comprehensive, but not a lot of pictures for identification. If you can find it, I like Eric Borneman's first book "A Practical Guide to Corals for the Reef Aquarium". Other than that, "Corals: A Quick Reference Guide" by Julian Sprung is ok. Also, take a look at Bob's book review section on WWM. -Steven Pro>

Coral issues I have a 60 gallon reef tank that has been problem free for 2 years. I do 25% water changes every month and all my tests (ammonia, nitrates, nitrite, ph, alkalinity) indicate good water quality. I began adding corals to my tank 5 months ago and with two exceptions, all of them have become established and are doing well. My first problem is with a mushroom leather which developed a hole on the outside edge of its cap. The hole spread to the edge and appears to have stopped traveling. However, a second hole has now developed. I have read many postings on predatory worms and snails, but I have checked 100 times and found nothing. I also took a sharp knife and scraped the edges of the hole it try and uncover anything that might be eating at the cap. The cap is one of two large caps that have already attached themselves to my live rock. I can not take the cap out without seriously disturbing the coral. BTW, both caps are growing and look very healthy. Any thoughts? <there are so many possibilities, although little to worry about as leather can be sliced, propagated and salvaged so easily. Sometimes these anomalies go away unexplained and other times they get worse. Some snails and hydroids eat from the inside out and you'll never now what hit you until it is too late. Maintain good water quality and observe longer. I doubt that is a pathogen. If it is nothing it will heal quickly... if it is a predator, it will continue> My second problem is a rapidly dying hammer coral. It is the newest addition to my tank. It looked fine for about three weeks, but has now started to die back quickly. The coral fell (soft side down, into a bed of feather dusters) one evening and was not rescued until the following morning. Could this have caused a killing chain reaction for the coral. Is it too late? <yes...easily have cause the mortality. The problem with Hammer corals and like LPS species is that despite their many tentacles, they have only a few large polyps that make of the animal. On Caryophyllids like your hammer, it is often just one to three polyps. As such, when they sustain damage or an infection it is catastrophic. Quite unlike a colony of button polyps where each individual is a separate polyp. If the animal is rotting and necrotic, remove it to a quarantine tank and consider freshwater dips or an iodine bath/swab. Truthfully, though... you are likely to loose most or all of it. Most coral are not at all this sensitive. This is one of the many reasons why beginners are strongly advised to avoid keeping hard corals for at least a year (addressing the WWM post readers, not you specifically)> Other clues... I run about 4 watts per gallon on the lights. I feed the coral with DT's 2 - 3 times  <you didn't mention anything that would eat DTs... any gorgonians, Nephtheids, bivalves? Else, very few stony coral eat it. Great product though> a week and also offer silversides for my brain, hammer, and plate corals.  <yes... good meaty foods but be sure to feed minced pieces...easier to digest (they get more from it and less pollution/regurgitation ends up in the tank> They are all well spaced. I run a remora skimmer, U.V sterilizer, a small sponge filter, and use the 100lbs of live rock for my main filtration. The tank is teaming with life from the reef. Thanks CB