Is this a parasite?? Please ID and advise.
- Thread starter Flobajob
- Start date
theROYSKIE
New member
uhm... they seem to b. do they seem 2 b eating the coral in the places they r located?
if so they r probably not a good resident
if so they r probably not a good resident
Hormigaquatica
Active member
Looks a lot like a pile of sclerites to me- a somewhat common issue with cabbage leathers. Can you see them move around like worms, or are they more or less stationary?
Cabbage leathers are so contorted they tend to trap debris down in their cups/folds. If that debris sits long enough (as little as a couple of days at times) then it will lead to the coral dying and rotting away in that spot. You can see the same effect from a fish bite or physical damage. There are some cases where it appears to be spontaneous, though Im sure there is some environmental factor involved. Essentially the tissue erodes and leaves those sclerites behind (essentially the 'skeletal structure' of the coral). They are the result of a problem- not the cause.
Keep an eye on it. The coral does appear stressed otherwise- Im guessing it isnt getting real strong water flow since it appears to have a mucus film over it and algae growing on some of the edges. Try increasing the flow to keep it cleaned off. If the hole continues to grow, you might want to take a razor blade to it- trim off the healthy tissue that shows no signs of recession at least an inch away from the affected area. Put the healthy parts back in the tank and toss the necrotic stuff. If its not allowed to progress too far, leathers usually recover from that. Good luck!
Cabbage leathers are so contorted they tend to trap debris down in their cups/folds. If that debris sits long enough (as little as a couple of days at times) then it will lead to the coral dying and rotting away in that spot. You can see the same effect from a fish bite or physical damage. There are some cases where it appears to be spontaneous, though Im sure there is some environmental factor involved. Essentially the tissue erodes and leaves those sclerites behind (essentially the 'skeletal structure' of the coral). They are the result of a problem- not the cause.
Keep an eye on it. The coral does appear stressed otherwise- Im guessing it isnt getting real strong water flow since it appears to have a mucus film over it and algae growing on some of the edges. Try increasing the flow to keep it cleaned off. If the hole continues to grow, you might want to take a razor blade to it- trim off the healthy tissue that shows no signs of recession at least an inch away from the affected area. Put the healthy parts back in the tank and toss the necrotic stuff. If its not allowed to progress too far, leathers usually recover from that. Good luck!
I had a poke around with some tweezers and found that the 'worms' are quite hard and brittle. Also they don't seem to move. I think that just confirms what you said.
I will try to increase the flow some more, but it is already pretty high with a tunze stream 6100... ATM I am battling an algae problem, and I think some of the algae I clean off the glass may be settling in the folds of the coral and rotting, and that may actually be the main cause of the problem.
Anyway, thanks for your help - I should be able to sort the problem out now.
Thanks again,
Michael.
I will try to increase the flow some more, but it is already pretty high with a tunze stream 6100... ATM I am battling an algae problem, and I think some of the algae I clean off the glass may be settling in the folds of the coral and rotting, and that may actually be the main cause of the problem.
Anyway, thanks for your help - I should be able to sort the problem out now.
Thanks again,
Michael.
Similar threads
