My Orange Rainbow Ricordea are Disappearing Fast

[King Nine]

AHHH. My beautiful ricordea started disappearing a couple of days ago. I had a fairly large colony that had grown though out the years. There were at least twelve of them and a small colony of about 4 slid off the rock a few months ago looking for a new home. At first I only thouht something had irratated them and they weren't open much but I'm down to about 6 now. You can see in the orange box that one is fairly shrunk up and only about half there. Is something eating them or is that a sign of them melting away?

I never see anything near them but I have a few things it could be if it is the eating problem. I have a flame angel, coral beauty angel and a peppermint shrimp that I could think might start trouble. The ONLY fish I ever see near them is my yellow tang but he is just pecking the rock plus he isn't really a threat. My other fish if you are interested are: Hippo, Orange Shoulder, Scribbled Rabbit (one of my favs), Ocelaris Clown, Mandarin, Melenarus Wrasse and Cleaner Wrasse.

The tank is a 125 with a refugium and nova extreme T5 lighting system. The water is tested normal a few days ago and always does so I dont' expect that is it.
Sorry the pic is so bad. I did it in a hurry with my phone and the glass wasn't cleaned off.

 

[dlondono]

check water parameters
reduce flow
consider moving the rock from its current location

 

[King Nine]

check water parameters
reduce flow
consider moving the rock from its current location

They are in a fairly low flow area and have been happily growing for about 1 1/2 years or more. I'll move the rock when I get home just to eliminate that but not too sure that is it.

 

[King Nine]

BTW, thanks for the response. I didn't mean that to sound ungrateful. I was just trying to be quick and get out the door from work.

 

[triggreef]

Do you feed them? Mine seem to like to eat. I haven't had any rics move but haven't had them as long as you. If they've been there that long maybe try some more food to get them to stay.

 

[King Nine]

Do you feed them? Mine seem to like to eat. I haven't had any rics move but haven't had them as long as you. If they've been there that long maybe try some more food to get them to stay.

That is exactly what I tried last night. Good idea! I started thinking that I have really cut back on my mysis shrimp feedings because it makes my new skimmer make micro bubbles like crazy. So I spot fed them last night with some. I'll try to report back if they look better later.

 

[organism]

The rabbitfish could be picking on them but it's pretty rare, how's your alkalinity?

 

[King Nine]

The rabbitfish could be picking on them but it's pretty rare, how's your alkalinity?

The alkalinity has been spot on. I'm going to check it again tomorrow or Sunday. I have to bring it to the LFS as I'm out of my kit right now. I've had great success with the pro buffer powder keeping the tank at consistant levels without too much of a swing as I was getting back when I used the liquid.

I've thought of the scribbled rabbit fish but he has been such a model citizen for so long and probably my favorite fish. I keep thinking it would be the flame but I'll sit and stare for quite a bit of time and never see him or anyone near the rock or any of my other corals for that matter.

After the spot feeding yesterday the detioration seems to have subsided. It has been too short of a time to say it is I that is truely the culprit with my lack of feeding but the little half frag is still there and I think at the rate they were dissapearing it would be gone by now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is it!

 

[philosophile]

Try turnin off the lights for two hours, then turn the lights on, and look fast! If you see a worm munching on it, try to get it out. I've had mysterious worm munchers eating my shrooms in the past, and this was the only way I saw and caught them.

 

[King Nine]

Damn! They looked like they did last night with even the little half one still there this morning. I left and came back this afternoon and bam!, the full one on the bottom of the rock is completely gone. In daylight with the full lights on. I mean he is completely gone. NO signs of a footprint or anything. Would or could they melt that fast? Sure seems like something munching on them.

I've read a few things about peppermint shrimp going nuts and eating things such as shrooms but I don't think that is the case here. I've seen him near that side before but he lives on the far side of the tank and hides out right near the pod of rics that I mentioned earlier that had slipped off this rock. Why wouldn't he just eat those 1/2" from his hiding hole?

 

[Daniel62]

I think it's your flame. People have kept these for years, then all of a sudden, they start picking. What was the last thing you added to your tank. I would think that since they have been doing well for so long that unless your have recently added something like live rock or frags with live rock plugs That might have brought something in, That the Flame gets my vote.

 

[organism]

Wow, something is definitely eating those then, any chance you can put a webcam on them and record for a while, then check the recording to see if anything is nipping?

 

[greenskull]

I caught a newly purchased emerald crab eating my shrooms. Do you have one of those?

Oh hell, I just realized you mentioned having a peppermint shrimp.... they are known to eat mushrooms, but one shrimp doing that much damage so quickly?

 

[krzyphsygy]

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