Help, my bottle brush is flaking!

[kevensquint]

I have 12 SPS frags and all are growing well, but I added 3 new frags last week-end, a bottle brush, a monti digi and a green slimer. One of them, the bottle brush is'nt doing well, its skin is flaking off all over, not RTN,not bleaching, its skin is desintegrating all over. Why would only one frag do this? I put it at the bottom and away from the light, but my lighting is indeed much more intense than the LFS, could that be it? Params: S.G 1.026 Temp 81F, PH 8.2, Ca 420ppm, Alk 9dkh, Mg 1300ppm all the rest is 0ppm. This would be my first coral death in about 3 years, any ideas.

 

[kevensquint]

anyone? I just did the only thing I could think of. I switched the 2-13ks for 2-20k's and left a single 13k in the center. I also lowered the photoperiod to 6 hrs 2-250 watt 20k followed by 2 hrs 1-13k 250 watt. The coral in question had been 2 months in a 15" deep tank under 175 watt 20k.

 

[jsweir]

Why do you think it isn't RTN. Tissue peeling off is RTN. Deepwater corals are known to be touchy. I recently got a frag of a green bottlebrush from someone who has had the coral for over a year. It only lasted 3 days in my tank. Sorry to say - not all corals make it in every tank....

 

[kevensquint]

As far as I have seen in E.Bornemans book, RTN is when the skin comes off of the coral from the base upward. During the process you can see a clear line between bare white skeleton and healthy skin. In my case there is no more healthy skin it is all coming off everywhere and not working its way up from the base. That being said, I only read that article on RTN and maybe there are different kinds of it. Unfortunatly or fortunatly, I don't have much experience with coral problems, since up to now everything has been going well.

 

[jsweir]

STN usually starts at the base. RTN just happens quick - usually a day and all that is left is skeleton. Good luck...

 

[Froggy]

I had a green bottlebrush frag in my tank for well over a year. One day, it decided to RTN and nothing else in the tank was affected. I am not sure what prompted the bottlebrush to meltdown as all my tank parameters were as they usually are.
The tissue started coming off and within a day there was nothing but a stark white skeleton left behind.

 

[kevensquint]

Thanks fellas, maybe it just did'nt like the change. If a miracle happens, I'll post it, since I won't give up trying to keep it alive.