dead/dying coral and 85 degrees

[aquadonkey]

Hey guys.
My tank heated up to 85 degrees on Saturday (house was closed up and got that hot). It looks like almost everything is going to be fine. My question is about my elegance (which was an impulse purchase, but had actually started doing quite well - but, if this one doesn't make it, it won't be replaced).
I'm pretty sure it's a goner - it was pretty upset about the heat, has been upset since, and now I can see the ridges of the skeleton. Should I take the coral out? Is it releasing any toxins into the water?
Everyone else is okay besides some seriously grumpy xenia and two shrimp that are MIA...... it's a small tank (29g), so I'm really puzzled as to where two large shrimp could be hiding - sort of worried they died then got dragged into the goby/shrimp burrow which is fairly extensive.

 

[dreaminmel]

Not sure of a concrete answer on the Elegance but I have seen coral rebound if given the chance sometimes. Have you tested for Ammonia yet? I know the one shrimp was missing when you left town and if the other is now MIA too I'd test for that. If you get a reading above 0 I'd do a water change. If it reads 0 then I'd have to assume they are either hiding somewhere really, really well or if they did die that the remains were cleaned up by the pistol, snails, crabs, bristleworms and/or whatever else may be in there.

 

[superkat]

oh Lizz...i hear ya on the temp thing. got a pic of the elegance? i've killed 3. i can tell you if it's a goner or not.

 

[jaybfresh]

Look up 'Elegance Coral Disease' and see if thats what ya got. Do you know where yours came from? Aussie Elegance are less prone to the disease, but almost all Elegance from Indonesia will die from it.

 

[aquadonkey]

This is/was an Aussie elegance, and it was doing fine until the temp shot up. I've seen pics of the elegance disease - with the bloated body and short tentacles. Mine was looking like that when it heated up and has been going downhill since.

I don't have the heart to take a picture Kat....

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

have heart!

have heart!

picture needed to determine course of action

 

[aquadonkey]

Okay - I'm I'm pretty sure everyone is going to say it's a goner....

Here's "before" - also with one of the missing shrimp

and "after"

You'll have to excuse the picture quality... and in the after only my actinics are on.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

was the "after" pic just taken today?

 

[aquadonkey]

Half an hour ago....

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

IMO it appears very recoverable in that pic

 

[aquadonkey]

Really?!?

I can't imagine a coral looking much worse.... you Are looking at the second picture right?

I'll leave it and keep a close eye - is there a point at which it becomes dangerous to the other tank occupants?

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

Keep you fingers crossed, it doesn't look like a goner to me yet...

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

is there a point at which it becomes dangerous to the other tank occupants?

if/when it disintegrates

 

[aquadonkey]

How dangerous is it if/when that happens?
It's looking worse in the 45 min since I took that pic.
I was planning on heading to bed soonish. Is this worth staying up for? Should I stick around to watch the progress in case it starts to disintegrate? What's the danger to the tank?
Sorry..... I'm still such a newbie.....

 

[superkat]

Lizz....i do not believe you will lose that. If it's still all puffy like that....if it starts to sink lower into the skeleton and loses some of it's "glow"...then i'd worry. Right now...it kinda looks ticked off. As a note...my heater broke in the 90g and the elegance looked like that for a couple of days...and now? it looks even bigger than it was before....keeping my fingers crossed for you!

 

[EllieSuz]

Lizz, maybe it's time to talk about controllers. We're getting to that time of year when overheating can be a plague. You could get a Reefkeeper Lite for $99 that would regulate your heat problem by turning on a fan. You would be so surprised how much cooler a fan can make the temps in your display.

 

[dreaminmel]

Removing the glass top and adding a fan for the days your house heats up would definately help.

How is the frogspawn doing Lizz?

 

[aquadonkey]

Update: ammonia was possibly high this morning. It's hard to tell with the salifert kit, but it was maybe as high as .25. I found some shrimp pieces and removed them. It wasn't a whole shrimp worth, but possibly the rest was eaten. I also did a 5% WC. It was all I had time for.
Elegance is still looking bad...
So - should I try to get home on my lunch break? Is this an emergency to change more water ??

Mel - the new froggie looks great - I rearranged some stuff and it seems quite happy!

 

[superkat]

define "bad" Lizz. is there any frothing on the elegance?

 

[superkat]

Lizz...update, please....