Huge Pink Birdsnest Dead RTN?

[ostrow]

Woke up this morning but had to rush out. Lights not on yet. My huge pink birdsnest right in the center of my tank, ghost white except for signs of polyps at the very top.

I'm hoping this is just weirdness with lights out. Saw a hermit crab crawling around on it.

But I'm expecting to find an enormous dead coral in the middle of the tnak when I get home.

Man, I hope this isn't gonna spread. I've added over 15 SPS frags in the last 6 weeks from various highly dependable sources (Menard, Mike Hurley, Rod). Don't want carnage now, man.

Tested water last night, all perfect 80deg, 1.025, 470Ca 9.3dKh 8.3pH 1275 Mg.

 

[aiko670]

Hope that was the only casualty! Good luck!

 

[ostrow]

I hate it when stuff like this happens. I mean, if there were large dead fish in there, or the temp went to 90 or 60, I could handle that. But so often things just die for no apparent or identifiable reason.

 

[menard]

Joel
What change in the last 7 days, anything you can think of? We might be able to solve this mystery. Birdsnest is one though coral, would not bleach just like that. A spike in alkainitiy will. Kalk from a top off, rushing into the system quick, only a matter of time before U notice the impact then breaks apart.
Any Gorilla Crab?
Whats your Nitrate, Po3 ?
Crank your Mag. to 1300 to 1350

Dont let your Alk. bounce around too much. I keep mine steady at 8 to 9 Dkh. all the time. CR, just dial in , dial out, the input in Co2. SPS corals act negatively if Alk. is not stable. Very important !

 

[ostrow]

No gorilla crab I know of. I know I am surprised it was the first to show bad signs, they are tough. Only additions were from Mike Hurley, and there were maybe 8 corals ... all healthy and doing fine ... green birdsnest, blue tort, unknown acro, a pocillopora and a millepora.

And super glue and cement to hold them.

Nitrates and Po3 test zero. Mg today test 1325.

 

[ostrow]

I also replaced my uv bulb. That shouldn't cause RTN tho.

The weird thing is it affecting the birdsnest first. Gonna retest nitrates and phosphates again but those always test zero.

 

[menard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8077785#post8077785 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ostrow
I also replaced my uv bulb. That shouldn't cause RTN tho.

The weird thing is it affecting the birdsnest first. Gonna retest nitrates and phosphates again but those always test zero.

There is a snail that feeds on Seriatopora, Pocillopora, styloporas. But it aint gonna be rapid like overnight. what about salt creeps fell onto the colony. Do U experience any Alk. swings in the past 7 days ?
Does the colony flaking, tisue peeling off ?
What did it look like ? PICS ?

 

[cw150]

birdsnest one of the most likely to RTN I've always heard.

 

[ostrow]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8078586#post8078586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by menard
There is a snail that feeds on Seriatopora, Pocillopora, styloporas. But it aint gonna be rapid like overnight. what about salt creeps fell onto the colony. Do U experience any Alk. swings in the past 7 days ?
Does the colony flaking, tisue peeling off ?
What did it look like ? PICS ?

Salt creep is possible but not a ton. On the big Oceanic tanks there is a large glass center brace. I accidentally knocked a 1"x7" or so rectangle of salt into the tank when trying to remove. The birdnest is below that spot, but the salt got blown to ohter sections of the tank. A little may well have fallen on the birdnest.

Alk has been very slowly rising, at 10.4 now was like 9.3 about 7 days ago. This is a planned increase to balance Calcium which had gotten high. Today Ca tested 465 or so, and dKh 10.4 so that seems good.

Phosphate reads nothing on Salifert as always (waste of money that kit is). Nitrate reads zero from above, 25 from side so I'm guessing nitrates are between 3 and 5. Negligible.

The birdnest is dead now, I managed to try to frag a few pieces. Tissue peeling off. Hermits eating what they can find.

A green slimer (or very similar looking, mine is a slightly more neon look) right next to the birdnest also all dead now except for a small encrusted spot on the rock. It was a reasonable sized piece too but only just beginning to send shoots upward.

REst of the corals fine for now. Did a 30gal water change, hopefully that'll help. Carbon was fresh 6 days ago, not sure if I should change or not.

Sorry can't get pics as 1) digicam in shop and 2) coral is all dead now.

 

[menard]

A green slimer (or very similar looking, mine is a slightly more neon look) right next to the birdnest also all dead now except for a small encrusted spot on the rock.


Joel
There U go! U accidently NUKE them.
Maybe U just dont realized how much fell derecly on them.
.

 

[Edward Smith]

You gotta to be kidding? Drop a little salt and a prize coral is history. This hobby is like balancing a bowling ball on the head of a pin. I guess this is what we get for attempting to recreate the ocean in a small glass box.

Sorry to hear Joel.

 

[ostrow]

I'm not so sure about this Menard. The coral head is much larger than the salt that fell. The tissue sloughed off more like RTN than appearing burned or anything. We'll see what happens.

BTW: my Squamosa clam has been closed since Friday afternoon. This was before any of this stuff. This makes me wonder if there is something else I ahven't found yet. The croceas are fine (except for the continuing pinched mantel problem which Squamosas are supposed to be immune to). I'm hoping he isn't on the way out too. I target fed and he opened and closed rapidly like 6 times, then was maybe 1/3 open for a while. Closed again this morning. Lights out or lights on have little effect.

These may well be unrelated problems though.

 

[menard]

Maybe its just me. I know how deadly is salt creep is , depending on the concentration. the thicker it is, is like nukelear bomb. I know what it can do to a coral. I have few of my shared casualties.
Now I keep the top clean all the time , I dont let it buld up uncheck. I have no room for error my corals are fused together, one salt creep fell from the top will ended on the corals below.
If U let it go, u gonna see burn marks , burn marks lead to infection.

 

[ostrow]

Drat. Hopefully the casualty list will end at 2. I'll report more later. I wonder what happened to that gigantic crab that was nestled inside the pink birdsnest. Tremendous camoflauge artist. Looked exactly like the coral itself. I'd be bummed if that guy got nuked too...