Open brain dieing?

[SW1TCH]

I think my open brain coral is dieing. It is bleached out looking and is turning hard instead of soft around the edges. My water test is good. Should i just take it out now or wait till it is compleatly dead. Do they give off toxins when they die? It has been doing great for the last 6 months or so no problems till the last few days. I can post a pic if you think it will help.

Ph 8.0
am. 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
1.025

 

[DJ88©]

[moved]

 

[3S1K]

Re: Open brain dieing?

Try getting it to eat if it isn't already.

 

[kilo]

It could be light
Too much lighting
Old bulbs
Do you dose with Iodine that could also be a problem

 

[simonf]

Have you changed anything lately? maybe new lights or changed carbon etc?

Have you added any livestock recently?

How long has it been hard/deflated/bleached? Can you see the skeleton?

A picture might help.

Initially I'd agree with kilo that maybe too much light.

 

[SW1TCH]

3S1K- I will try again tomarrow do get it to eat again.

kilo- I dont think it is the light the bulbs where new in November. No i dont use iodine.

simonf- No i havent changed anythin lately. No i havent added any live stock at all. It has been deflated for about 4 days.

I will post a pic of it tomarrow. Thanks for the replys so far will look for more replys tomarrow after i post the pic.

 

[SW1TCH]

Here are the pics it is hard to tell in some of the pics but its the only camra i have.

Here is a pic of what it use to look like

 

[simonf]

Harley Dude,
Well it certainly looked good before. I've read about open brains coming back from almost dead so I wouldn't give up yet. The bleaching is troublesome though.

A few more questions.

How are the other corals in your tank looking?

Did you move it or change flow recently?

Are the feeder tentacles coming out at night/early morning? Do you watch it eat, I think I see a shrimp in the first pic, maybe its food is getting stolen?

 

[simonf]

Hi,
I just reread your post. How long has your pH been 8? That's kind of low did you test it towards the end of your light cycle or in the morning? This could mean your alkalinity and calcium could be low or out of wack. I'd check both of these these and if they are out of normal range bring them back slowly. Maybe try the pH again and see if its still at 8.

Also you don't mention temperature. What do you try to keep your tank at? Do you know of any high/low fluctuations lately?

 

[simonf]

I was flipping through Delbeek and Sprung's 'Reef Aquarium Volume 3' and noticed on page 188 they have a picture of a bleached open brain with a legend that notes:

Trachyphyllia geoffroyi sometimes bleach after months of excellent health in aquariums. This condition can sometimes be reversed with the weekly addition of a supplement containing iron and manganese. Other causes for bleaching such as over-illumination or bacterial disease should be investigated.

If you do try supplementing Fe and Mn be sure to test. You maybe able to get by with a large water change if this is the problem.

 

[SW1TCH]

simonf- The other corals look good have had no problem with them. I have changed the direction of flow about 4 weeks ago to get rid of the red algae that grows on the sand perhaps that is the problem but it was doing great up till now. Do you think that it would take 3 weeks for this to happen? I havent seen any of the feeder tentacles come out in the last 5 days either. I keep the shrimp away when feeding the brain so it dont steel the food.
The reason the ph is low is due to it being winter here and the fish room doesnt get enough fresh air at this time of year. In the spring, summer and fall the ph id at 8.2. The temp in the tank is 80 F. I also know of no fluctuations in anything. So far I am at a total loss because everything else is doing great.

 

[kilo]

If you are not using iodiner or iodide I would start using it. I readd in the sprung book that the iodone helps th LPS to deal with light problems I think that is what could be the problem.

 

[simonf]

It certainly could be a trace element problem. When was your last water change and how big was it? A largish water change would also help dilute any pollutant or toxin in the water and bring up and low trace elements.

If you try dosing any trace elements be sure to test before and after to make sure you don't overdose since at high levels many trace elements are toxic to something.

I would try the large water change and if that seems to help then try to track down if it was a low level of a trace element causing it and then look into dosing.

 

[ACBlinky]

There's no tissue recession, so don't lose hope yet. I bought a brain that was completely bleached with some tissue recession for a few dollars - the LFS said it was hopeless - and it's now in good health and getting back it's zooxanthellae.
If it's unhappy with the new flow pattern, it could be that three weeks of stress has finally taken its toll (I doubt this is it, just throwing out ideas). Maybe try moving it somewhere slightly shaded with low flow for a while, this is what mine responded favourably to. Try feeding it something in the evening, see if that perks it up any.

 

[SW1TCH]

The last water change was monday about 10%. I did move it to a less flow spot in the tank and seems to be looking better i will try feeding again and see if it will take food. I wiil keep everyone posted as to what happens in the next day or two. As for the trace element i dont think that is the problem because i havent done anything different except the direction of flow. But i will check and keep an eye on the trace elements.