Bubble coral seems to be on the way out

[serbusfish]

I have had a purple Bubble coral for 6 - 7 months. For a long time it did great, here is how it looked:



And after I moved it:



But something happened to it a couple of months ago (im not sure what) which left it missing a small chunk of tissue on its right hand side. Since then it has had days where it has looked very happy and full, and other days where it looks very deflated. For the past 3 weeks it has looked bad, it doesnt seem like it will recover to me, here is how it currently looks:



Is there anything I can do to try and save it? My tank parameters are spot on, all other corals are happy as can be, this one just doesnt seem to be recovering.

 

[CStrickland]

Yeah. That's bad.
Mine took a few hits during shipping and they seem to recover verrrry slowly. Is the damage the same as it always was, or is the flesh receding and the wound getting bigger?

My likes to eat a lot, are you target feeding it to keep strength up?

 

[serbusfish]

Yeah. That's bad.
Mine took a few hits during shipping and they seem to recover verrrry slowly. Is the damage the same as it always was, or is the flesh receding and the wound getting bigger?

My likes to eat a lot, are you target feeding it to keep strength up?

Every now and again, but I will definitely start feeding more.

 

[bundybear1981]

when you say your parameters are 'spot on', what exactly are they? (salinity, alk, cal and mag)

Have they drifted off being spot on recently? I know if my alk drops my corals look very sad.

Is there anything in the tank that could be attacking/irritating it? A list of what else is in the tank (corals, fish and inverts) could help track down any potential issues.

 

[serbusfish]

when you say your parameters are 'spot on', what exactly are they? (salinity, alk, cal and mag)

Have they drifted off being spot on recently? I know if my alk drops my corals look very sad.

Is there anything in the tank that could be attacking/irritating it? A list of what else is in the tank (corals, fish and inverts) could help track down any potential issues.

Tank size: 75 Gallons
Lighting: Maxspect Razor 320W
SG: 1.025
Cal: 420
Mag: 1380
KH: 8.5
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: 0
Dosing: liquid calcium every couple of days, liquid KH booster every couple of days, 1 drop iodine every other day.

Fish are in my sig, I also have hermit crabs, emerald crabs, peppermint shrimp, trochus snails, nassarius snails, and a cleaner shrimp. There are no other corals near the bubble as I heard they can be aggressive. I have a couple of softies but run carbon to deal with toxins.

 

[jayball]

How many dkh of alk are you replacing at a time? Every 2-3 days can be okay but that depends on how much your system is sucking down between doses.

If the swing is large than that is a source of stress for all of your coral.

 

[serbusfish]

How many dkh of alk are you replacing at a time? Every 2-3 days can be okay but that depends on how much your system is sucking down between doses.

If the swing is large than that is a source of stress for all of your coral.

It will drop usually by 0.5 - 0.7 over 2 days. Sometimes it has dropped by 1.0 but I have been told buffing KH by 1.0 shouldn't bother corals.

 

[bundybear1981]

There is a possibility that the coral beauty is nipping on the coral. The drop you are experiencing in dKH isn't very much and shouldn't cause any issues. Are you able to build a 'cage' out of eggcrate to ensure no fish are bothering it? If you can do that combined with target feeding would give the best chance for recovery. Maybe also try to up the carbon too.

 

[whosurcaddie]

I've seen bubble corals lose every bit of tissue and months later tiny bubbles appeared and the tissue grew back. Don't be so quick to toss the coral if all the tissue recedes.

 

[serbusfish]

There is a possibility that the coral beauty is nipping on the coral. The drop you are experiencing in dKH isn't very much and shouldn't cause any issues. Are you able to build a 'cage' out of eggcrate to ensure no fish are bothering it? If you can do that combined with target feeding would give the best chance for recovery. Maybe also try to up the carbon too.

I havent seen the Coral Beauty bother it, he used to lightly peck my Acans but he doesnt bother them anymore. Apart from those he doesnt seem interested in corals, he just goes around pecking the rocks, but I will keep a closer eye on him.

I dont have any egg crate, but what if I cut the top off a 2L soda bottle and cut small holes in the side? The only thing is I dont know how much light the plastic from one of those would block out?

 

[serbusfish]

I've seen bubble corals lose every bit of tissue and months later tiny bubbles appeared and the tissue grew back. Don't be so quick to toss the coral if all the tissue recedes.

So you're saying even a seemingly dead skeleton could regenerate later down the line? When it gets to that stage I normally assume its gone and get rid. It has only happened twice so far though (a Hammer coral got stung and lost all its tissue, and a Torch coral lost all 4 heads for an unknown reason).

 

[jayball]

So you're saying even a seemingly dead skeleton could regenerate later down the line? When it gets to that stage I normally assume its gone and get rid. It has only happened twice so far though (a Hammer coral got stung and lost all its tissue, and a Torch coral lost all 4 heads for an unknown reason).

Yes, especially some LPS. It only takes a little bit to stay alive in the skeleton to eventually regenerate. If you have ever seen a hammer or frog sprout a polyp from the side of bare skeleton it is basically the same thing.