new frag bleaching out

[claytontong]

I've had fish, LR, and soft corals in my 125 for over a year, and I want to try to grow SPS. During my current attempt, I got an acropora frag 12 days ago, and on day 11, it has started to bleach at the base and is working its way up - I fear I'll lose the whole frag based on time and previous attempts. What am I doing wrong?? The frag is at the bottom of a 22 inch tank, in a low light area under a 250MH (10k). Acclimation was very gentle, over an evening and next morning with a heater. the water looks good: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate all test zero, CA high around 450, dkh around 9, ph between 8.3-8.5, temp between 78-80. copper was tested for about a month and a half ago - zero. water changes of 10% / week for the last 8 weeks. currently running some resin in case any unknown metals are in the water; was running carbon for a month, but no longer. Help!

 

[saltygeek]

Its losing tissue. I would cut it above the branch bending to the right and superglue it to a piece of live rock or plug and see if it stops.
your acclimation was too long and likely stressed the frag out.

 

[claytontong]

thanks salty. I'll do that when I get home tonight. I noticed this AM that there the bleaching / loss of tissue increased over night. can you tell me, or point me to some reading, about tissue loss - why when part of the specimen starts down this path you need to cut it away (why doesn't it just stop? reminds me of gangrene - amputate the limb). also, any thoughts why it started? this is not the first time time an sps frag has gone this route, thus why I suspected that it would spread quickly....

 

[saltygeek]

Hard to say why they are doing it, how is the flow around the frag? May need to bring it into better flow. What kind of lighting was it under before you got it? Look up STN (slow tissue necrosis). If all else(lighting, flow and water quality) are well it may have been the amount of time you acclimated it for. No reason it should take more than a half hour or so.

 

[saltygeek]

Take a look at this for acclimation
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=157

 

[Gills 619]

What softies do you have?

 

[claytontong]

I have mushrooms, zoas, and a couple of xenias. all seem to be fine, just color not particularly bright. have been trying different things with the lighting recently.

 

[saltygeek]

How's it doing?

 

[claytontong]

I took your advice and fragged it - there are now 2 small pieces where there was one. By the time I got home, the bleaching had moved up well past the lateral branch, so I was only able to save about an inch off the top, slightly less from the lateral branch. I also have another large colony that was introduced to the tank the same weekend - I believe it to be a type of acro, but I'm not sure - larger than a softball, kind of tangled like a birds nest. This morning it had succombed to the same malady - extreme white at the base moving upwards to the branches. Seeing how fast the other one got destroyed, I broke up this new one to 12+ smaller pieces, from 1 to 2 inches each. I was sickened to do so, but doing nothing would probably have doomed it.

what the heck is going on?!? my temp is pretty steady between 79-80; some seem to think this is on the high side, so I'm going to slide it down this weekend - maybe 77-78...

 

[claytontong]

will something like a nudibranch affect the corals this quickly?

 

[saltygeek]

Its not the temp. Many people keep their reefs at that temp. Any tissue loss on the frags now?