calling rando or the like for echino help

[xdusty6920]

i have a blue echinopora much like randyo's that ive fragged several times in the past because of its fast growth rates.
snails commonly turn up on top of the big cup it forms for some reason and i never figured out why. however, i always knock them off when i see them. a week ago one fell on the echino and had sat there for over 24hrs. when i finally saw it and removed it, there was a half inch circle of skeleton where it had been. the next day when i got home from work, this spot had grown and had this brown goo boardering where flesh touched the exposed skeleton. i used a baster to blow off the goo. the next day it was back and even more skeleton was exposed. i decided to go ahead and hack away the effected area a half inch back into healthy tissue. and that brings us to today, where now the edges i cut have the same brown goo eating away more flesh. im at a loss as to what to do because its not possible to remove from the tank because of its size and the rock work would collapse if removed the rock its on. also as i said above ive fragged it and accidentally broken pieces off many times and never had this happen before. any suggestions or insight on what going on? how can i get this to stop?

 

[stevedola]

it sounds like a brown jelly infection. I would suggest cutting away the infected areas and doing a few reef dips. I understand that its not possible to remove but nothing is impossible. If you dont the infection will kill it.

Ive also read that lower temps can impead the inverts ability to interally combat the infection. You have to act quickly because it will spread if indeed it is brown jelly and eventually kill most to all of the coral and can pass its self onto other corals.

 

[xdusty6920]

well its at the top of a rock thats about 16" tall itself and it has some other corals attached to it as well. not to mention the size of the echinopora itself. then ive probably got around 60lbs of lr that rest against this rock. believe me, id have to literally break down my reef to get this guy out. are there any in tank remedys? could i do a decent water change and then add some iodine to the tank?

 

[stevedola]

A water change cant hurt the tank but i think the best remedy is a dip. Other than that I can only suggest sucking the jelly off and hoping that it doesnt come back. All other ideas would be conjecture and not based on facts.

 

[RandyO]

Hey xdusty,

That's unfortunate that your Echinopora is breaking down.

In the past, when I've had Montipora doing the same thing, I would clean the area the best I could with a baster. Once the coral had no brown jelly on it, I would direct a power head directly at the damaged area to prevent any more jelly buildup. I also would get some Iodine and mix it with tank water, and then baste it over the damaged area. I'm not sure if that even does anything. I also increase the iodine in the water. If your using Lugol's, be careful not to overdose. I usually use ESV's Potassium Iodide, so I didn't worry too much about overdosing.

The last thing I would do is baste the damaged area a few times a day.

Brown jelly infections can consume a healthy coral pretty quickly. When it's a coral you can't physically remove to dip, high flow is really the best thing you can do for it. The flow should be high enough that it's almost blowing the healthy flesh off the coral.


Hopefully others can learn from your misfortune. I often have snails laying on my large Echinoporas, and many times don't take them off. I'll think twice about it next time I see one on there now.

Good luck.

 

[xdusty6920]

well it seems like the receding is slowing and taking about a quarter inch a day. i went ahead and refragged all the effected areas again and took your advice randy. i directed a small mj400 at the effected area to try and keep the brown jelly from coming back. ill let you all know how things turn out.