My birdsnest always die from bottom up

[reefer1970]

It has turned white from the bottom up about an inch+. Could it be the frag glue? This has happened before but recently I was given a 3" long birdsnest frag and mounted it to a plug with super glue. I believe the correct kind- cyno something. Lighting would be my second guess. it was placed on the sand bed below Kessil 360's for a week or more and now in the middle to top area of the tank and polyps are extending great and showing great color. There is nothing shading it.

 

[reefer1970]

help plz

 

[Wazzel]

Without more information it will be hard to figure out. Can you post you levels and tank specks?

 

[reefer1970]

Just got Salifert test kits. Everything normal but Phosphates really high at 1, Calcium, alk, and mag all a little low at 410, 7.7 and 1170. will be doing a water change, just ordered Kalk, mag and a phosphate reactor. Any of these sound like the culprit?

 

[simpleman98]

Phosphates @ 1 are high if that # is accurate. Also Mag @ 1170 is low. Also what % are you running your kessils? Birdnest don't need much light to thrive IME.

 

[ThRoewer]

I had almost all my birdsnest die on me, even several that I had grown from a little sticks to a fairly large bushes and all their daughter colonies. The acropora in the system were not showing any issues.
I feel I got a Seritopora pest into my tank with a wild colony. The wild colony was the first to die - in a very strange way: the tips where growing while the rest of the coral would die from the bottom.
The only Seritopora that had a few colonies surviving this was a histrix.

 

[Husterix]

How large is your colony?

I had one that grew from a little frag to a big piece and started to die from the bottom, this was because the branches in the bottom didn't receive enough light. The coral grew to dens.

 

[Wazzel]

It could be not enough flow. My birds nest gets white at the core, but does not die off.

 

[Logzor]

Some asterina will eat birdsnest coral. Have you noticed them on your corals?

 

[ThRoewer]

I noticed my emerald crabs hanging out in the birdsnest corals and thought they may do the damage, but since it also happened in tanks without emerald crabs I come to think that they were just feeding on already dying tissue.

Shortly after I got it:

About 7 months later:

After a year:

By end of February it was all dead, including all frags and daughter colonies. It only affected Seriatopora corals, Acropora, Porites, Montipora and others do OK to fine. Before this Seriatopora were the most resilient and successful corals in my tank.