Is my leather doomed?

[Ciscokid]

I bought a leather a day ago. When i brought it home i noticed an emerald crab under the crown of the leather. When I put it in the DT the crab hung out on the rock nearby. An hour later I noticed a small nudibranch on the glass near the leather. I watched it for a little while and it started to move towards the rock the leather was on. 30 minutes later I found out it looked like a predator nudibranch. I checked the tank again and the emerald crab was eating something and it looked like a piece of nudibranch was stuck to its claw. After licking his claw clean I thought nothing of it. I inspected the rock and leather for any eggs of any sort.. nothing. This morning the leather still wasn't happy. Some of the tentacles looked like they were starting to come out and it was shedding a little in certain spots of the crown of the leather. I thought this was normal. This evening I decided to move the leather higher and noticed a tear on the side of the trunk of the leather. I know it wasn't there yesterday when i put him in.

Now I am wondering if the emerald crab isn't feasting on my leather.

Should i move the emerald crab into my refugium?

Should I start cutting the leather up for frags before it completely dies off?

 

[Ciscokid]

After reading some other threads, I will be cutting him up.

Can it wait until the morning?

 

[Ciscokid]

Well, I couldn't wait until the morning to cut up my leather. I would not have been able to sleep not knowing what was happening to my leather. I am glad I did. When I took it out of the tank, almost half the trunk was missing. :sad2:

As i was cutting pieces off, it started coming detached from the rock it was on. The last piece i was going to leave some of the stalk with it. I pulled gently and it came off the rock.

Underneath the stalk to my surprise, was a big white worm and a little white worm. I assume they were eating the leather from the bottom up!

Can anyone identify these worms that were eating my leather?

 

[Ciscokid]

Bump or two

 

[Khemul]

No idea on the worms, you could try the invert forums. There are some people over there who are very good at IDing worms.

It could be coincidence, since scavengers will be all over something dead in no-time in marine environments. It is hard to say for sure without an ID. I'm not sure if it is just that they show damage more or maybe lighting shock, but I've noticed at least around here that LFS's are very good at killing leathers. That one was definitely in trouble. They can look like they are very sick without much concern, but any sign of rotting or breaking apart is very bad. And you did about what you can do to save one.

 

[Khemul]

No idea on the worms, you could try the invert forums. There are some people over there who are very good at IDing worms.

It could be coincidence, since scavengers will be all over something dead in no-time in marine environments. It is hard to say for sure without an ID. I'm not sure if it is just that they show damage more or maybe lighting shock, but I've noticed at least around here that LFS's are very good at killing leathers. That one was definitely in trouble. They can look like they are very sick without much concern, but any sign of rotting or breaking apart is very bad. And you did about what you can do to save one.

 

[Ciscokid]

When i bought the leather there was no signs of damage. The next day i noticed a small tear. That same night i cut it into 5 pieces. All 5 pieces look better already, even some of the tentacles are starting to come out.

Do i need to give them a DIP in some medicine like Coral RX or something?

 

[Khemul]

Sounds like they are doing well. You can dip them if you want, but if they are already responding the water is good they should be fine without it.