Does necrosis on Sinularia = certain death??

[YankeeJeff]

Hi Folks- After QT of a recently purchased Sinualria, placement into my aquarium resulted in the apperance of black tips on many of the tips of the leather coral. These appeared after the first night. It has taken a few days for the Sinularia to erect itself and it now looks sturdy and doing well -except for the black tips. What can I do about this??

I really don't want to stess it out further with 'surgery'. It looked good in the LFS. My parameters are within reef recommendation range except for nitrates which are at 25 at the moment. I do not know Silica, Iodine, Strontium, Boron, Iron, Magnesium or phospate but I doubt they are out of range.

There are not many articles that I'm finding on dealing with what appears to be necrosis. Is it even possible for it to be necrosis if it did not have any signs during QT? Is it possible for it to appear so rapidly on several tips? I read about the sensitivity of these creatures, and I was not wearing gloves when I placed it into the tank but I don't recall it suffering any injury. I also read in one article that suggested this might spread to other corals. I have a small toadstool, small open brain, and small plate coral in there now - all healthy. Again, the coral now looks like it has recouperated quickly except for those black tips.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
-Jeff

 

[gflat65]

The black tips don't necessarily mean death, but they can certainly lead to it. Try blasting it with a turkey baster to blow the necrosis off. How hot is the tank getting? How long has it been set up? Run carbon and do water changes (generic answer, but almost never hurt).

 

[YankeeJeff]

Thanks for the response. The tank is at a consistent 81-82 degrees. Its an extremely young tank - 5/27/07. The tank cycled quickly via very nice live rock , live crushed coral, and my damsels. I've just placed a PURA pad, a Poly-pad to go with the Chemi-pure elite and Purigen that, in combination, have replaced all my Fluval media (including sponges) and HOB canister media. The water is pristine and like I said - the parameters are within range. I think I made the mistake of touching it but I had no idea it was such a sensitive coral. I thought these guys were supposed to be hardy.

 

[gh0st]

Give it good flow and water quality, and it may very well recover quickly.

If it gets worse, snipping the tips a bit ahead of the necrotic areas should save the colony.

 

[LockeOak]

I had a black patch appear on the "trunk" of my sinularia after it rubbed against a xenia stalk for a day or two. The black area was only about the size of a pencil eraser. After a couple of days a paper-thin layer of black flesh peeled away and it's been healthy since.

 

[YankeeJeff]

Thank you folks. I'm happy to report that, although it looked grim, the Sinularia has recovered (almost 100%) on its own w/o removing or snipping it. I hope to post a picture soon.