Need Help - Something killing my duncans

[pdt7361]

Hello everyone,
I was looking at my tank this afternoon and found that something or someone in my tank has destroyed my duncans. Any thoughts? All other corals in the tank are fine and all other corals are soft corals. In the tank I have:

2 Fancy clowns
1 Tri-color wrasse
1 Diamond Goby
2 Peppermint shrimp (I am wondering if they are doing it)
1 Cleaner shrimp
1 Blue leg hermit
Numerous astrea & nassarius snails
2 Serpent stars

I have attached pics of what my duncans looked like 2 days ago and what they look like today.

 

[nuttyd]

Am having a similar problem. Have a large duncan where a bottom few heads have been retracted for the past weeks. Not sure whats going on, although I am leaning towards the peppermint shrimp too.

 

[pdt7361]

Yeah I have a feeling that one of them is actually a camel. They typically stay behind the rock work so it is hard to see them in brighter light.

 

[pdt7361]

My current tank parameters are:
KH/Alk - 143.2ppm / 8 dKH
PH - somewhere 8 - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Phosphate - 0
Nitrate - 20ish (a little high tonight)
Calcium - 400
Magnesium - 1200
Salinity 1.026

All of the tests are API except the Mag which is a Nyos test. I test salinity using a refractometer.

 

[Mr D smack]

Your mag is low

 

[pdt7361]

Yeah but that isn't ripping my duncans apart.

 

[Pife]

Yeah but that isn't ripping my duncans apart.

They don't appear to be getting ripped apart. . Move then from the sand bed. And get your test results verified by a lfs. That's where I would start. What do you feed them?

 

[pdt7361]

Only the green one is on the sand bed...the other is up in the rock work. The head on the green one is ripped off of the skeleton and for the tan duncan, there were pieces of it scattered around and lose pieces hanging from its missing head.
For food I alternate between flakes/pellets, mysis, Rods, and Formula One.

 

[Mr D smack]

They could be showing you signs of being stressed. Work on getting your water parameters in check and watch for changes to the good, if its not too late

 

[Pife]

Only the green one is on the sand bed...the other is up in the rock work. The head on the green one is ripped off of the skeleton and for the tan duncan, there were pieces of it scattered around and lose pieces hanging from its missing head.
For food I alternate between flakes/pellets, mysis, Rods, and Formula One.

Yep, and I would get it off the sand bed. . They are nps corals and need to be target fed. . Are you specifically feeding them? . There mouths seem to be gapping which would indicate to me that they are starving. . Their skin will go everywhere while the slowly wither away. . You will see your clean up crew possibly eating it too, sometimes right off the coral. Please read on how to feed them.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I would not rule out the peppermints having a snack. Mine went rogue and decided to munch my frog spawn. Surviving frog spawn leftovers went into my sump to heal. Little bas...... Can turn on some types of LPS and have heard they can have a taste for some nps.

 

[smoothdog]

Yep, and I would get it off the sand bed. . They are nps corals and need to be target fed. . Are you specifically feeding them? . There mouths seem to be gapping which would indicate to me that they are starving. . Their skin will go everywhere while the slowly wither away. . You will see your clean up crew possibly eating it too, sometimes right off the coral. Please read on how to feed them.

Duncans are photosynthetic. Thew will benefit from feeding but don't totally rely on being fed.

 

[Pife]

Duncans are photosynthetic. Thew will benefit from feeding but don't totally rely on being fed.

Thanks for informing me.

 

[nuttyd]

Finally managed to catch my peppermint out and exile him to the sump. Will see if my duncan will show signs of improvement.

 

[pdt7361]

I am in the process of building a new tank - so I plan to throw the shrimp that I don't believe is a peppermint into the sump at that time. For now I have tried target feeding them both in the mornings and then feed the tank in the early afternoon.
I did completely lose the tan colored Duncan, but my nice green one has recovered after only having the 1 head shredded up.

 

[nuttyd]

Try target feeding the shrimp too until you can get him out. If he is full, its less likely he will search out food sources.