Concern or overreaction -AEFW???!

[dfm34]

So before a start to panic that I have AEFW I wanted some opinions on what it is and how to treat. The pic I am positing is the only coral that is showing signs of any damage and it has been in my tank for about 4 months and I just noticed the odd spots a day a ago.

The only recent change I made was to add a calcium reactor last week. An my alk did rise from 7.0 to 9.9 during the course of the week.

My current parameters are

Cal 430
Alk 9.9 steady for three days
Mg 1050
No3 .02
P04 .05

Thanks for the help.





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[Hentz]

First, we need better pictures. Can you turn ONLY your whites on, NO blue, and get as good as a picture as you can get of the tissue?

I recently battled flatworms. Here are the small little bite marks that you need to look out for: Little white spots as you can see all over this acropora.

Also, you will want to look at eggs on any dead spots of the acropora or base. This is what the eggs will look like: Brown little clusters

If you see either one of these, please report back ASAP!

Also, my preferred method to get this little suckers:

I start by looking for eggs. Right above that, I will make a cut on the acro. Essentially you're just cutting the area of the acropora with the eggs off.

Once that is done, I'll take Bayers mixed with tank water and dip it for 8-10 minutes. Then after the acro is rinsed off (1 or 2 times in different cups of tank water), I will mount them on a plug and set them on a frag rack. I then baster them daily just in case. I also have a Yellow Coris swimming around ready to catch any of those little bastards.

 

[dfm34]

Ok I will take a better pic when white lights come on. I don't see any eggs the base is encrusted. I was going to buy a melanarus wrasse today as a precaution.


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[Hentz]

Or better yet, the way I get really up-close pictures with my phone is this:

Take a flash light and have it point directly at the coral, more underneath if possible.
Take your phone and press it flat against the glass with the camera pointed at the coral, zoom in a little bit and usually tapping on the area you want the camera to focus will let it focus nicely on the coral without the blue LED saturating the picture.

 

[jda]

Most AEFW bites are on the underside of the colonies. With those being on the top, that looks more like burnt tips from alk swing or too low of nutrients combined with higher alk - 9.9 is no good if your P is really low.

 

[Hentz]

Most AEFW bites are on the underside of the colonies. With those being on the top, that looks more like burnt tips from alk swing or too low of nutrients combined with higher alk - 9.9 is no good if your P is really low.

Agreed, they do look like Alk burns.

Though with the Alk at 9.9 and nitrates are around 2, that could be a slight cause as well.

I'd slowly lower the Alkalinity to around 8.5 if possible. I've noticed with lower nutrients, 8-8.5 is great. I run ZEOvit, so ULNS. I've found my Acopora are happiest around 7.5-8dKH.
7-9.9dKH is quite a drastic increase. So slowly, slowly move it back down to what I had mentioned above (7.5-8dKH).

Calcium seems spot on for NSWish.

I would say slowly raise your Magnesium to 1250-1300 also. It is quite low, sitting at 1050.

 

[dfm34]

Agreed, they do look like Alk burns.



Though with the Alk at 9.9 and nitrates are around 2, that could be a slight cause as well.



I'd slowly lower the Alkalinity to around 8.5 if possible. I've noticed with lower nutrients, 8-8.5 is great. I run ZEOvit, so ULNS. I've found my Acopora are happiest around 7.5-8dKH.

7-9.9dKH is quite a drastic increase. So slowly, slowly move it back down to what I had mentioned above (7.5-8dKH).



Calcium seems spot on for NSWish.



I would say slowly raise your Magnesium to 1250-1300 also. It is quite low, sitting at 1050.

I was hoping alk Burn and could not figure how all of a sudden I would get AEFW with out adding anything new. I am keeping an eye on it and will post better pics when I get home.

Thanks all for the quick responses.

Dan


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[dfm34]

So here are some better pics. I went to my LFS they thought alk burn or nips from my pyramid butterfly

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[adtravels]

Not AFEW in my opinion.

 

[macdaddynick1]

Burt tips

 

[Piper27]

What fish do you have? Looks like a fish could have eaten them. I agreement not typical aefw damage.

 

[dfm34]

Fish list

Pj cardinal
Maroon clown
2 blue jaw triggers
Purple tang
4 disbar anthias
Pyramid butterfly(I am watching closely)


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[jda]

Could be fish bites. I agree that the Pyramid is the only likely candidate on that list.

 

[o2manyfish]

There appears to be damage to the coralites. If it was an alk issue the tissue would be burned but the coral structure would be intact. Definitely could be a fish, of it's also something that crabs will do. They will come out at night and cut the corals down like that.

Dave B

 

[Piper27]

There appears to be damage to the coralites. If it was an alk issue the tissue would be burned but the coral structure would be intact. Definitely could be a fish, of it's also something that crabs will do. They will come out at night and cut the corals down like that.

Dave B

This is what I was thinking. Even though those triggers are reef safe it doesn't mean they won't take a bite every now and then, or once. The marks look like a fish that has jaws and a mouth big enough to damage the skeleton and not just the flesh as well. The butterfly would most likley just nip the polyp or flesh, unless it's pretty big. Just my experience.

 

[dfm34]

Interesting I just noticed a blue eyed hairy carb in a nearby colony. The colony the crab is in is damage free. Would the crab live in one colony and eat another ??


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[Piper27]

Get that crab out, blue eyes and hairy body means it will be bad, might be damage from it.

 

[Piper27]

Those crabs do whatever they want...

 

[Reef Bass]

Moving the phone a little further away from the coral would likely improve focus. A little further back and sharply focused is way better than in your face and blurry for diagnostic purposes.

Based on what I can see, I agree with the the damage not resembling typical AEFW activity.

 

[dfm34]

Those crabs do whatever they want...

Looks like I am going crabbing this weekend


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