Blasto Problems :-( Need advice/help

[ski33]

We have a blastomussa wellsi in our tank that seems to be having issues. We have had it for 5 months and it seemed like it was doing great until about 2 weeks ago. When the problem started, it looked like the center of one of the polyps was burning out. Then it started to spread across the bottom of that polyp and toward the right side. When the blasto puffs up completely, you can hardly see the problem area. We have included several pictures so that you can see what we are talking about. The white part that we are referring to is soft tissue and it isn't hard like the polyp's skeleton.

Tank Specs:
46 gallons
4x39W T5 Light
All water measurements well within normal parameters

Picture 1 = Blasto's Placement in Tank


Picture 2 = Blasto semi-detracted


Picture 3 = Blasto completely detracted



What is this? How do we stop it? Is the whole colony going to die?

 

[Thisseemsfishy]

I would suggest too much light, but if ts been doing well for 5 months that may not be it. I have found when my calcium is high it doesnt like it, but it just shrinks up, no real browing

 

[Thisseemsfishy]

Have you changed your flow lately and that possibly tore some of the Blasto's tissue?

 

[firsttank]

I would suggest dipping the coral in revive and then feeding it on a regular basis. My blastos like to be fed.

 

[ski33]

Thanks guys! On another blog, someone suggested that it was a worm and that all we had to do was remove it. That definitely did the trick!

We will definitely take your advice, firsttank, and dip the coral to help it heal as the infected polyp seems to be in pretty bad shape. What do you feed your blastos? We've tried Coral Frenzy and all the other coral in our tank seem to like it while the blasto seems impartial.

 

[ilyad]

Thanks guys! On another blog, someone suggested that it was a worm and that all we had to do was remove it. That definitely did the trick!

We will definitely take your advice, firsttank, and dip the coral to help it heal as the infected polyp seems to be in pretty bad shape. What do you feed your blastos? We've tried Coral Frenzy and all the other coral in our tank seem to like it while the blasto seems impartial.

i feed my corals oyster feast, which they seem to enjoy, one caution though, it tends to clump up into a huge blob once it hits the water, so i hold the pipet over the coral I want to feed, and shake the pipet up and down while squeezing it lightly to make sure that the pieces that fall out are small enough to digest. Then I leave my pumps off for about 20-30 minutes so the coral can suck up the "juices" around it as well...

All of the corals I have love that stuff, and it makes them super bright