Finger leather anatomy?

[ynot65]

I recently lost a finger leather by neglect on my part. I had gone BB and in the process of rearranging my tank my leather got smashed and. Didn't catch it for two weeks. I was doing a water change and noticed alot of white (dead) material coming off of the leather when I moved on of the rocks and noticed that it's trunk had been creased and also had ruptured. I removed it from the DT and in to a small pod tank. 2 days later and necrosis was seen again so I removed it from the system. I had a large colony of spotted shrooms that had been growing around the base of the leather that I wanted to save. I removed as much of the leather as I could cause the shrooms were not coming off. The next day I noticed that the area where the leather was was now looking like tiny shards of glass, almost crystalline in nature. I felt them and they are sharp as well. I will try to get a pic tonight. Is this still part of the base of the leather ? Or some type of skeletal system of the stalk ? The base of the leather was about he size of a wrist. Also these shards are now falling off, what to do ??

 

[ynot65]

Best pic I could get, the white area is the crystalline stuff I'm questioning

 

[RadReefer]

There is a fibrous tissue inside almost like fiberglass running lengthwise that gives the coral a little rigidity. basically, your coral lost its tissue. This was probably secondary to a bacterial infection the coral got from the tissue injury when it was ripped open. I had a nepthea with a bacterial infection. The base became pitted as it lost tissue and the fibrous material was exposed. If you catch it early you can treat the infection with an iodine dip and they recover well. You can take a container of tank water and add iodine until the water becomes tea colored. Place the coral in the container and let it soak for 15-20 mins. Rinse the coral in clean salt water and place back in the tank. This usually kills the bacteria and allows the coral to heal itself. I've noticed that my leathers have contracted bacterial infections most often if they are touching the sand bed.

 

[ynot65]

Thanks RadReefer, but sad to say I was to late to save it but your info will come in handy in the future Im sure as I still have my toadstool and its now about 6" across. have a Happy New Year

 

[RadReefer]

No problem, the iodine dip works with all softies and even LPS with bacterial infections.