Can you tell me what is causing this?

[thebradybunch]

I have 3 SPS corals that appear to be loosing flesh. I do not see bug bites or anything that looks like bugs or eggs. The tank has been up for over 2 years and the last corals added were added last October. I noticed this in early December. The tank is a 125 lit by 3 250w mh SE Phoenix bulbs. It's flow comes from a Mag18 and a CL powered by a Reeflo Dart. My parms are extremely stable. They are:

PH 8.0-2.2
Alk 10
Calc 400
Nitrate 10
Mag 1300
Temp 78.5 no more than 1 deg difference due to Apex.

Dosing is done with Drews Dosers from BRS and BRS 2 part controlled by Apex.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[skinny sam]

You might want to dip at least one of the frags and just see if any flatworms come off of them. It looks like all the parms are fine to me. I had a colony look just like that and it was aefw. It wouldn't hurt to dip one just to make sure.

 

[buy_baff]

I would say somethind is deffinetly eating it.

 

[thebradybunch]

Thanks guys, only 1 of them can be dipped. The other 2 are encrusted to the LR. Whatever I do I am going to have to do in the tank.

Also what would you dip it in? I have Revive but I didn't think it worked on AEFWs.

 

[skinny sam]

I have never used revive myself but I know coralproRX will kill them and I am pretty sure revive will as well. But if the one you dip does have aefw the others will have to be removed for treatment as there is not a intank treatment for aefw.

 

[thebradybunch]

But if the one you dip does have aefw the others will have to be removed for treatment as there is not a intank treatment for aefw.

What about Interceptor?

 

[smtank]

Interceptor only treats Redbugs and related parasites. AEFW are much harder to treat. Personally I would check very closely for the flatworms and eggs. Hopefully that is not it.

 

[thebradybunch]

I made up 4 gallons of water and added the Revive. By putting it in a bucket I was able to remove the entire rock and dip it. I warmed the water to the tank temp and added the corals. I examined the corals under a magnifing glass and could only see something on the smallest coral. I can not tell if what I am seeing is bite marks or just spots on the coral. I took a couple pics of one of the corals before I dipped it. Could you look at it and see what you think. Sorry the pics aren't great.

 

[thebradybunch]

I just realized my salinity has fallen and is actually at 1.021. I normally keep it at 1.025 but I haven't calibrated my refractometer and when I did it was off quite a bit. Could this be causing my coral issues?

 

[sfexplicit]

Will do AEFW do this kind of damage overnight? Or in a couple days? How fast did your acros lose that much tissue? I'm asking because I've had alk swings that have caused STN. But after some time the tissue grew back and the piece looked healthy with good color and polyp extension.

 

[thebradybunch]

The damage has been over time maybe a few weeks. I noticed it a couple weeks ago and thought mine was due to lower Alk also. The damage appeared to stop and begin to heal and then this weekend I noticed it was spreading again. I am beginning to think mine may be due to an Alk swing a few weeks ago and low salinity now. I did not see anything on the corals when I dipped them. I am watching them now and hoping they get better as I bring my salinity back up.

 

[Hurdicuss]

If you are setting the corals in the dip, letting them rest and then removing, chances are you probably will not notice any potential pests... While you have the coral in the dip, occasionally baste different areas of the coral and look for anything that flies off. The AEFW's hold on really well and you will not be able to see them just by looking at the coral. The eggs are easy to spot and identify usually, but the worms will need to be basted off the coral...

That is, IF AEFW is what you are dealing with. I wish I could say that i never had a problem with them, but I am currently involved in a conflict with them myself.

 

[dancewithethan]

Not saying this may be the cause, but it looks like what's happening with my my Acros.

One by one my Acro SPS started to have STN also.
- Always started from the base
- No AEFW can be found
- all perimeters are spot on

If I have to bet, that last coral introduced into your tank has SPS pest on it. These bugs are extreamly small to be seem by naked eyes. I discovered these two bugs when doing a Macro video on a coral that were STN.

Type one (pods like with tails, with fast movement)

Close up,

Type two. (red in color, movement like worms)

Anyone know what they are?

 

[jhildebrand]

I've seen type one and would love to know what they are, and if they are the root problem or just eating dying or dead tissue...