Euphylia ancora Green died for one night. Please help!!!

[altunian]

Hi dear co-aquarists. I have the following problem:
My Euphylia ancora Green died for one night - at the next morning there was only the sceleton - the hard part of the coral. I removed it from the tank and looking for a possible problem, I broke the coral and inside of it I found several small stars like Ophiuroidea with a size of less than 1/2". I am affraid about my other Euphylias, as my tank is over 260g and is full of different coral. Can the Ophiuroidea be the reason for the problem? Can it be another reason? Just for clarification: The tank parameters are nearby perfect, I have the tank for over 7 years and have some skills so it cannot be a problem with the water - I made all possible water test and they are OK.
I really hope that anyone can have some positive idea

 

[tektite]

I have a lot of little brittle stars in my tank along with a lot of LPS, they have never been a problem. I highly doubt that's the issue. Was there any changes in the coral in the days before it died? Did it close up or withdraw into its skeleton during the day?

 

[altunian]

On the one evening, I saw that something is wrong with it, half of the coral was already dead. I took it to a friend of mine, who has a reef tank too. On the next morning the euphylia was fully dead (no green parts, only white "stone" rest) and as a surprise - his euphylia was dead too!!!! So it has to be the stars, because they were in the "stone" part of the coral, as I already wrote. But I have never read about these stars being dangerous for euphylia corals...:headwally:

 

[tektite]

There are transmittable diseases that kill euphyllias, contagious so if one has it others can get it too. There's no way a few micro brittle stars killed a euphyllia in one night. Especially with your friend's euphyllias dying too, there is something else killing them.

 

[altunian]

What can it be? I have had euptylias for years... and now I am affraid of loosing all of them

 

[tektite]

I know what its like, lost a bunch of euphyllias like that before not much you can do. Best thing would be to just give them the best possible conditions, stable calcium and alkalinity, magnesium levels over 1300, maybe dose some iodine, feed them 1 or 2 times a week.

 

[M007]

The stars did not kill your coral, they were simply scavenging the remains.

 

[altunian]

In the menawhile almost all of my euphyllia died. I still cannot explain the reason. The other corals are doing well. I thought, that my boxer shrimp made the problem - I removed it - no difference. I thought, that it could be planaria or another parasite - I took the corals through a dip of a medication for parasites and took the corals to a carantine tank - and they continued to die. Are there known parasites or other ways, that 2-3 heads per day would die?

 

[altunian]

here is a photo

 

[altunian]

no idea?