Can I save this frag?

[terahz]

Hi
My first sps frag. Have had it for 2 weeks and today I noticed this:

The frag looked like was growing since all the small bumps on the tips formed after I got it (I assume these are/were new branches). It was tipped a couple of times by a snail before the glue had cured so I glued it to a piece of rubble last weekend and placed it on the sand to cure for a couple of days. The flow there was basically the same (relatively high but indirect from a nano koralia).

I just moved the frag higher again this morning, but don't know if I should cut off the dying part or let it recover.

I have a monti cap that was added with this frag and that seems to be fine.

Few zoas that I have are also happy.

Parameters:
Size: 10G AGA
Salinity 1.026
Alk: 10.9
Mag: 1460
Cal: 520
Ammonia, NO2, NO3: undetectable (lowest on my test kits - Salifert)
Don't have phosphate test kit but don't seem to have too much algae, just a few left overs from the cycling of the tank and a few Ulva leaves that I've left so that tank doesn't look too empty

Temp 78F
Lights: 6white, 6 blue CREE LEDs driven at 600mA and 750mA respectively.
Flow: 2 coralia nano
Filter: AC50 modded fuge with chaeto
Bioload: 2 perculas, 3 hermits and about 12 snails.
Age: little less than 10 weeks old, 7 weeks after end of cycle.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Don-Coraleone]

how many watts are the led's? and how high in the tank do you have the coral?

 

[maharsreef]

Hi there. It looks like stn/rtn to me. it does not appear very fraggable in my oppinion. 10 weeks is fairly young for trying to keep sps. cal and alk seem kinda high. Have you been having any alk spikes? Good luck

 

[terahz]

LEDs are 3W each and the frag was about 7" from the lights, then I moved it to about 10".

All params have been stable since the cycle ended about 7 weeks ago as far as I can tell...

I'll leave it alone for now. At least it is only a frag. Maybe I'll try again in a few months.

 

[terahz]

Arghhhh! :blown::blown::fun2::fun2::fun2::hammer::hammer::hammer:

I'm sure the crab didn't cause it, but that will not help the poor coral recover!

(I took him down)

 

[elijaher]

Does your crab have anything else to do. beside messing with your coral?

 

[ludiNano]

Yea i would say 10 weeks is very early to be adding SpS, IMO. I didnt add anything at all for 6 months.

Monti's are more hardy of an SpS than an Acropora.

Are those lights intended for reef aquariums?

Good luck, I also fought a 10g tank for a year or so befor i decided to upgrade to a bigger yet still to small 29.

 

[terahz]

Happy new year!

First time I see a crab climbing a coral frag!

These LEDs are good for reefs, yes. They have quite high PAR, enough to bleach corals if used on their max (mine are at about 60% power).

Since my numbers have been stable for all these weeks I thought I'd give a couple of frags a try. I think this one was tipped too many times before I managed to finally glue it properly and that caused the TN. On the other hand I don't really see why it would make a difference between 1mo and 6mo old tank or even a year if nothing is introduced to the tank during that time.

I'm already planning a 40G breeder that I will probably start in the summer and use this one as a fuge/sump

 

[ludiNano]

bump

 

[terahz]

Well I lost it It is almost completely white just a few tiny patches if tissue about to go...
Water params are still stable so I'm going to go with stress. Can't think of any other reason why a frag that was growing would die from STN...

Thanks for the help anyways.

 

[terahz]

Hey guys, great news. The few tiny patches of tissue I was talking about actually survived. I did cut off the some chunk of the top though, but the cuts seem to be healing. Almost half of the original frag is alive and healthy. I'm actually kind of regretting cutting it off, maybe the tissue would have regrown on it faster than it will take to rebuild the skeleton.

For the record I didn't touch the frag. No dips, no special treatment for the water. Just left it there and it made it on its own.

Again, thanks for the help.

 

[luther1200]

Don't regret it, you were better off cutting it IME.

 

[elijaher]

Looking good now. Happy reefing

 

[terahz]

Just wanted to how the frag is doing. This is exactly one month after the photo above:

 

[luther1200]

Nice

 

[sedor]

Wow nice turnaround! I would have guessed that frag was a goner.

 

[dancewithethan]

wow, I also thought it's a goner too. it must have eight lives :lol2: