Favites brain infection or inflamation help needed

SkiFletch

New member
Hey guys, got a question here about my favites brain coral. Poor guy got stung by a shroom that decided to detach and float his way. Long story short, a couple polyps were damaged by the shroom. Didn't look all that bad. Last night, it appeared to me that there were a few more damaged polyps and perhaps a mucosal layer forming around them. I figured I'd just see what it looked like in the morning. Today, half the coral is covered in this same mucous and its beginning to get out of control. I've looked up some pics on brown slime infection and I'm not sure this is what I have or whats going on. What I'm seeing looks more like a white mucosal layer with the polyps still alive behind it. They're also covered in some strange stringy white fragments which dont move. That makes me doubt that they're nudis or worms. I am however terrified for the health of my coral.

What should I do here? Frag? Treat somehow? Both? I'd really rather not loose this specimin (even if I have to frag to the last polyp, as I saved it from irresponsibility once (poor thing was under plain white T12 light, dont ask). Heres the pic:

DyingBrain002.jpg


In case anyone asks, all other tank inhabitants look fine. This includes, mushrooms, gsp, zoos, zoas, xenia, hammer, open brain, leather, bubble coral, acro frag. Also all fish are fine, 2 Oclowns, 2 bar gobies, 1 fairy wrasse.

Tank is a 45tall with 3x96w PC (1 10k, 2 actinic) with a 30gal custom sump underneath. Protein skimmer hasn't gone haywire yet.

Chemistry stats;
Temp 82
pH 8.0
sg 1.026
ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, phosphate 0
alk 10dKH, calc 420ppm

Home made two part addatives only added to adjust alk and calc if necessary (which is almoast never). 10% water changed weekly with reef crystals. Tank is 4 months old and the favites brain coral is about 1.5 months in my tank.

Anything you guys can help with would be awesome, thanks.
 
Well, thanks for the advice all. Took my first crack at brain surgery last night :D. Things seem to have turned out really well. I saved about 1/4 of the specemin and chucked the rest. Cut a groove with the dremmel where I wanted to split it, and then popped it out with a really sharp chisel. I then scraped the half-cut polyps out with an exacto knife. Was nerve wracking as all hell, but it worked.

The remaining small frag is alive and seemingly doing well. There were no further signs of mucous or necrosis this morning. Hopefully that will still be the case tonight when I get home from work. Thanks again for the quick responses, looks like swift action saved the colony.
 
I've had a few do that, never found anything to save them other than fragging. Even that didn't always work. I wouldn't have tossed the scrap pieces though, I've got 2 pieces I kept that are growing back. After fragging I cleaned off all the gunk and swished them in FW w/Lugols to help prevent spreading any type of infection.
 
I actually had the same problem last night :eek: I put my brain in some iodine based coral dip and squirted all the brown jelly off, then squirted straight dip on the newly exposed skeleton and ajoining coralites and soaked it 10 minutes. It hasn't come back yet.....if it does I guess I'll frag. Has what I did ever worked for someone else?
 
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