Duncan Coral Heads Peeling Off

[mickeyfish]

So I have had this Duncan coral for about a year (since the tank was new) and suddenly it has stopped opening as much on a daily basis. All heads are fairly extended during the day, however some have short and fat tentacles while the ones in the picture have long and thin ones. I have also found it challenging to continue and feed it mysis as I usually have because it is suddenly a picky eater.

In any case, in the morning when the lights first come on, I can see that some of the heads appear to be peeling from the skeleton. See below pictures and video. Any idea what could cause this or how to fix? There have been no major parameter changes since it was healthy.

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[Uncle99]

Water quality and stability along with light is the number one Coral killer.
Can you post your parameters along with number of months these values have remained constant. This will allow the members to rule out the number one cause.

If I had to guess ( which I hate to do) I would suspect either A: wide swing in Alk or very high phosphates (there seems to be a lot of green in the last pick)

Also, is it possible someone got hungry? This would account for why some polyps are affected and some not.

Duncan's are pretty resilient, if they are unhappy, somethings out of whack

 

[mcgyvr]

That rock is pretty darn green for a tank over a year old..
Something you certainly want to address there..

 

[mickeyfish]

These are great points. Phosphate in my tank has been high. It looks like .25 on the API test kit, which doesn't go down lower so hard to tell the actual value. To that end, I have tried running GFO in a reactor as well as phosguard and the value seems to be immovable. Tried each in the reactor for about 2-3 months. Can not get it down. Recently, I have also noticed the sand turning brown within 2-3 days of the WC.
I do weekly water changes of about 15% with 0TDS water.

On the other side of this I do have an emerald crab that I have seen munching on my leather coral. I have not seen it go after the Duncan but certainly a possibility.

In any case, will these heads that have peeled off recover? Below are shots more open now that the lights are on. They seem fine except for the pulling apart. Also included is a full tank shot, never mind the closed GSP in the middle, it was just trimmed but is usually fully open.

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[Uncle99]

So there are two things to consider with phosphate.
1-how is it getting into the water? In foods and hands are likely. If you feed frozen, melt it, wash it, strain it, fed it, so only the parts get fed, not the juice. Some foods especially cheap ones contain phosphate, if is doesn't tell you likely not a good sign.

2-how do we get it out if the water. Your right GFO but Phosguard is garbage. ROWAPHOS is better but only when you get to .1 or lower, or it would exhaust itself in a day. Consider using an LC like agent green or phosphate RX, to bind it up then using a fine micron sock to trap the floculent. Way cheaper and faster this way. Use GFO to mop up the remaining down to say 0.02 to 0.05, then remove GFO.

I banned any and all crabs from my current rebuild. 24 months and still have everything including snails...I have learned not to trust them....even emeralds......

I have a Hanna checker for phosphate but I use the Salifert Kit which gets me to .05 easily and us way cheaper and faster....yup....API kit won't help much...

I notice some empty shells on the bottom.....are they extra.....or someone's lunch.....

Growing back......maybe......depends on the damage.

 

[mickeyfish]

I do feed frozen, typically Mysis PE. I alternate between that and NLS Pellets. I will start rinsing the cubes to eliminate some of the juices. Truth be told, I thought it was good to incorporate all of that so that the filter feeders and corals might grab some up.

Just out of curiosity, why do you say that Phosguard is garbage? My issue with GFO was purely mechanical. I have an Innovative Marine skimmer and even with the sponges some came out, also it would start gently tumbling one day and then be stuck together the next, making constant adjustments required. This was all in addition to not lowering phosphates. This was using BRS GFO. That is why I switched to Phosguard as it was a pellet. Some people love it, but again, does not seem to be resolving the issue. I think the chemical route might be the way to go, and have had my eye on Phosphate RX for awhile. I have been hesitant as I worried there could be other impacts.

Empty shells, those were extras for the hermits (well except for one which was the home of a scarlet hermit who passed 3-4 months ago).

 

[Uncle99]

Phosguard exhausts quickly and does little to lower phosphates in my experience.
Rowaphos on the other hand reduced phosphates from .1 to .03 in two days.
Rowaphos is twice as expensive, does the job, cones with bag.
I don’t use a reactor, use the bag in hob to mop up this organic.
Maybe a get what you pay for thinking

 

[mickeyfish]

Now I am debating if I should purchase some ROWAPHOS and run that, or the Phosphate RX.

 

[jlmawp]

Everything else looks like it's doing decently, from your pics. The other LPS seem to be opening and happy, so it might not be the water, necessarily. How is the flow on the duncan? Has that changed at all lately? I know mine likes a good amount.

 

[mickeyfish]

Flow has not changed, and is probably significant. I am starting to suspect more and more that this could be the work of the emerald crab. The front heads on the Duncan literally seem to be hanging on by a string.

I can say that the high phosphates are in issue though. Recently, the leather has dropped frags like crazy, the kenya tree has stopped opening up as much, and the euphyllia does not open as much as it used to. Nitrates are sitting pretty constantly between 20-40 on the API test and have been for about 6 months as well. Alk and Calcium are dosed via two part and are relatively stable at 8.5-9 for Alk and 420-440 for CA.

 

[Fourstars]

Tank looks great. Phosphate is fine. Sounds like you have it figured out.

 

[Uncle99]

Now I am debating if I should purchase some ROWAPHOS and run that, or the Phosphate RX.

The best and cheapest way to bring down phosphates is using an LC like Phosphate RX to get it from high, down to say .1, then run your water through the ROWAPHOS to go from .1 down to what ever your mark is going to be, for me .0.05 then take the ROWA offline until you see the 0.075 or .1, then apply the ROWA again.

In my case, to keep phosphate at 0.05 ish, I need to run the ROWA for 24 hours each month.....

Carbon dosing can bring down your nitrates, I use NoPox, but vodka or vinegar works as well...this I target for 5ppm.

 

[mickeyfish]

So the Duncan was moved and it is recovering. I think it was a crab that may have been eating it.

In any case, the heads open wide again and appear healthy, but the reality is that some are holding on by a thread... literally it looks like a string or two holding them to the skeleton. The heads look healthy, but the coral cannot eat as you can see the back of the heads in the current.

Are these heads goners or could they reattach?


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[mickeyfish]

Just as an update, the heads are really hanging on by a thread. Phosphates and Nitrates h e been reduced, and the coral moved but it does not appear a recovery is happening. This Duncan cannot way either, Mysis just sits on it and floats away.

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[Uncle99]

That’s why I do not have 1 crab in my system
It’s been over 2 years now and I have not lost a fish, a coral, not even a snail.
I am convinced crabs if given the chance eat anything,