A problem with my Duncan

[fishpoop]

I've had this guy for at least three months and he's been very healthy. My water parameters are good except slightly higher nitrates and phosphates than I'd like.
I'm dosing vodka in hopes to reduce them. My tanks inhabitants are pretty healthy.

I think this started with a fish (since removed Coral Beauty) nipping on it a couple weeks ago.
Two of the six heads are retracted, loose around there attachment and one seems to close to coming off. They are both on the same major branch, so to speak. I'm thinking it's time to cut off the offended section..... Or what?

 

[philosophile]

yeah the one on the right seems completely detached. I'd probably take it out, just so it doesn't end up rotting in the tank.

 

[ilyad]

Sorry I cant offer you any definite advice regarding the duncan, in my personal experience, mine got attacked by a shrimp and it ended up regrowing the lost tentacles and healed the puncture in the polyp itself... also, when I just bought mine, it had a receding head too, but it started to regrow and reattach... I dont know if you feed yours or not, but I found that mysid shrimp and oyster feast really gets this guy going... mine was a tiny little guy with the head about the size of a penny and after only a week the same head got to the size of a quarter.

So basically, unless you think its a disease, I'd leave it be, feed the healthy heads and see if it can recover... they're sturdy little guys... at least mine is.

I hope this helps and maybe someone else will chime in with other information

 

[ilyad]

yeah the one on the right seems completely detached. I'd probably take it out, just so it doesn't end up rotting in the tank.

Do you think it wont have a chance of surviving? Typically I thought the rule of thumb was that if there's tissue theres a chance... Im not going against your advice, just trying to figure out what the better thing to do in such a situation

 

[fishpoop]

I don't give those two much hope and don't want anything spreading to the healthy heads. If I remove them should I cut off the whole double branch or just clean out all the tissue?
I feed them mysid but I have a skunk cleaner shrimp who reaches down there mouths and steals most, if not all I give them :mad2: they never seem distressed about it but I'll bet they're frustrated.

 

[ilyad]

I don't give those two much hope and don't want anything spreading to the healthy heads. If I remove them should I cut off the whole double branch or just clean out all the tissue?
I feed them mysid but I have a skunk cleaner shrimp who reaches down there mouths and steals most, if not all I give them :mad2: they never seem distressed about it but I'll bet they're frustrated.

Thats one of the reasons Im so hesitant about getting another shrimp, the pep shrimp was traded away. I love what they do, but they think that food that corals get is for them. I found that feeding the shrimp a little before, in a spot of the tank that doesnt have much coral gets them less aggressive and then feed the coral. I also ended up standing by the tank the whole time waiting for the coral to digest, shooing the shrimp away anytime it got close... it was such a hassle though

 

[romsoccer12]

i think leaving it on would be best.
duncans are hardy and the other heads seem to be opening fine, and i bet take food.
a group of polyps working together acts like a colony, evening out nutrients caught in one head to them all. separating it would probably kill the damaged 2 heads, but could save the whole colony. IMO i would leave it be and make sure to target feed. a little extra flow to fight off infection wouldnt hrt

 

[sweedish15]

careful with the vodka. Im no expert, but when I experimented with vodka dosing just a little bit I saw massive regression in most of my soft tissue lps (hammer, frog, acans). Everything else in the tank was stable. the only variable at the time was vodka, i read a bunch and thought i had it right but i guess not.

I stopped dosing vodka, and almost immediately stopped losing tissue on my lps. Not saying thats your problem or that vodka is a problem, just simply dangerous and seemed to cause issues in my tank

good luck

ps maybe try and to a little dip in revive too especially if you cut or clean out tissue

 

[fishpoop]

I'm leaving them there for now. Their tissue is still alive and not appearing any worse.

Can anyone tell me about the grayish membrane over the branch skeleton? It seems real consistent on the healthy ones and quite tattered on these.

Maybe some revive WOULD help. And Sweedish, I don't think it's the vodka as all my other stuff including 8 or 9 other LPS are thriving, but I'll keep that i mind.

 

[ChanceReef]

Cut them

Cut them

If u have a saw I'd cut them I had that happen and I cut them a little bit o the healthy green side and a new branch came in after that. It's like most once it starts and u don't take off the dying part it will consume the rest

 

[donduncan]

Mine did that when my alk flucuated