Possible Pathogen Based Acro Necrosis
- Thread starter Kip
- Start date
Kip
New member
i am also thinking of going from 400w to 250w bulbs of similar ppfd to aid in economically keeping the system cool
i already have all of the equipment... just a 10 min swap-out
whatdya think? I dont think any of my problems are remotely associated with lighting, so this "variable" should be of little consequence to the problem but of great significance to being able to run the system cooler
i already have all of the equipment... just a 10 min swap-out
whatdya think? I dont think any of my problems are remotely associated with lighting, so this "variable" should be of little consequence to the problem but of great significance to being able to run the system cooler
Ken668
New member
Kip,
If you wanted to take a shot at examining the tissue itself, the QX5 Digital Blue microscope is a relatively cheap option you might want to look into. It has a 10x, 60x, and 200x magnification on it. It connects to a PC and you can take nice quality pictures to pass along if you find anything. I know there are several hobbyists that own these so you might be able to borrow one instead of purchasing. Might be worth a shot.
http://www.tableandhome.com/prodhedjc
If you wanted to take a shot at examining the tissue itself, the QX5 Digital Blue microscope is a relatively cheap option you might want to look into. It has a 10x, 60x, and 200x magnification on it. It connects to a PC and you can take nice quality pictures to pass along if you find anything. I know there are several hobbyists that own these so you might be able to borrow one instead of purchasing. Might be worth a shot.
http://www.tableandhome.com/prodhedjc
Ken668
New member
At 6x probably not, but I've used the QX5 and the 200x magnification is great for something like this (depending on the true cause). Things like red bug and such look like monsters at this magnification. Unfortunately I don't own one of these, but you should try asking around. Can't hurt!
Wow.....very sorry to hear about your troubles kip
I have heard of a few people losing most or all of their Acros to what seemed like a "contagious RTN". The only person I can remember at the moment is Sanjay, the only difference being his started at the tips. Wish I had some insight but I don't.
Good luck,
Chris
I have heard of a few people losing most or all of their Acros to what seemed like a "contagious RTN". The only person I can remember at the moment is Sanjay, the only difference being his started at the tips. Wish I had some insight but I don't.
Good luck,
Chris
the_anti_honda
New member
Have you come up with a treatment plan yet? I believe the half life of the Rx is 18-22 hours. Not sure if that applies in the aquarium or not but I would tend to believe its going to break down much faster. I would start with the second dose well before the estimated life of the antibiotic is out. I would also perform a few follow up treatments to get any bacteria that might have slipped by initial dosing. I would hate to see what ever it is become immune to the medication.
the_anti_honda
New member
Let me know if you need Steve's number also.
aquarius77
In Memoriam
Well, I think this hit one of my acros. I had gotten a brown acro from a bud and turns out his tank was infested with redbugs, I fought off the bugs and thought all was good, the acro turned a beautiful blue with neon green polyps and life was good.
About 2 weeks ago i noticed it loosin color again, i also noticed it was putting out slime in small areas, i figured this was redbug bites healing.
Well this went on another week and i had enough, i feared the worst thinking AEFW's so i lugols dipped and as i blasted with the turkey baster, flesh flew off with ease but there were absolutly no flatworms or eggs to be had.
After about a week of looking at this acro with patches missing i decided i would frag the tips and toss the rest. As i fragged it i noticed the "dry" look to the flesh that has been mentioned in this thread.
Once i read this thread, i knew i had damn well better get that acro out. I just took every frag of it i had and trashed it all. I am going to pray that nothing else gets infected with this because i had a very nice shipment of acro come in today, the most amazing acros i ever laid eyes on, and i WILL shut down the sps tank if this starts to spread.
here is the coral on april 26th a few weeks after bug treatment:
Here it is tonight:
Here it is in my trash can outside:
My dog wondering why im outside at 2am with a camera in the trash:
Thank you for starting this thread, you may very well have just saved a tank jammed full of SPS corals. I can only hope.
About 2 weeks ago i noticed it loosin color again, i also noticed it was putting out slime in small areas, i figured this was redbug bites healing.
Well this went on another week and i had enough, i feared the worst thinking AEFW's so i lugols dipped and as i blasted with the turkey baster, flesh flew off with ease but there were absolutly no flatworms or eggs to be had.
After about a week of looking at this acro with patches missing i decided i would frag the tips and toss the rest. As i fragged it i noticed the "dry" look to the flesh that has been mentioned in this thread.
Once i read this thread, i knew i had damn well better get that acro out. I just took every frag of it i had and trashed it all. I am going to pray that nothing else gets infected with this because i had a very nice shipment of acro come in today, the most amazing acros i ever laid eyes on, and i WILL shut down the sps tank if this starts to spread.
here is the coral on april 26th a few weeks after bug treatment:
Here it is tonight:
Here it is in my trash can outside:
My dog wondering why im outside at 2am with a camera in the trash:
Thank you for starting this thread, you may very well have just saved a tank jammed full of SPS corals. I can only hope.
aquarius77
In Memoriam
A thought just came to me....
How long are you running you lights on the affected tanks? I was wondering earlier tonight if im overlighting my tank.
Is it possible that this could be caused by too much light? I read that they can only use so much light in a day, certian species can take more light than others and so forth, so that could be why it seems to be picking off one acro at a time because maybe that species cant handle as much light as were giving it. It might also point to why it happens so slow. If it affects most acros over a period of time maybe the ones it does not affect are the most light tollerant and require the longest light durations.
Just a few random thoughts...
How long are you running you lights on the affected tanks? I was wondering earlier tonight if im overlighting my tank.
Is it possible that this could be caused by too much light? I read that they can only use so much light in a day, certian species can take more light than others and so forth, so that could be why it seems to be picking off one acro at a time because maybe that species cant handle as much light as were giving it. It might also point to why it happens so slow. If it affects most acros over a period of time maybe the ones it does not affect are the most light tollerant and require the longest light durations.
Just a few random thoughts...
boxfishpooalot
Active member
Is your Po4 actually reading 0 on the Hanna, or .03 or somthing? Because sps do need some Po4 to live, otherwise they will stn.
Also there has been some inacuracy with the salifert alkalinity test kits. Mine is off by 1.3meq/l . You can veryify your test kit by making a diy standard, taken to a pharmacist to weigh out:
1.1 grams of baking soda per 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh
My old salifert read 10.2dkh, while the brand new one read 11.5dkh! Gotta love hobby stuff. Just a heads up.
Also there has been some inacuracy with the salifert alkalinity test kits. Mine is off by 1.3meq/l . You can veryify your test kit by making a diy standard, taken to a pharmacist to weigh out:
1.1 grams of baking soda per 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh
My old salifert read 10.2dkh, while the brand new one read 11.5dkh! Gotta love hobby stuff. Just a heads up.
Kip
New member
Mar 19th i actually stepped down in ppfd by about 25-30% from a 400wEVC10kSE to 400wUsh14kSE (both on m135). This tank has ran a 9hr photoperiod since it commenced aug 04. (except for about 6 wks fall 05 i tried to go to 6hrs but wasnt happy with the color results)
thanks for your thoughts.... and if in fact you've contracted this illness in your tank... i feel for ya.
If the Abx and the temp lowering doesnt work, the only thing that will save my acros is the pure grace of God.
thanks for your thoughts.... and if in fact you've contracted this illness in your tank... i feel for ya.
If the Abx and the temp lowering doesnt work, the only thing that will save my acros is the pure grace of God.
Kip
New member
po4 reading is 0 on the hanna... but of course that is only free po4. there is po4 in the water because there is algae and chaeto in the fuge. it must be sequestered almost as fast as it becomes available so the hanna doesnt have much chance of picking it up
even if the salifert test is off by 2dkh... i am reading 9-10 constant... so that would give me a margin of error of readings from 7dkh to 12dkh. while erratic swinging within this range may prove stressful, i dont think any reading consistent within this range would cause necrosis. (i ran around 5dkh for a month or two summer 2005 w/o knowing it... had a reactor malfunction.... everything was just fine... just slow growth and a little color dullness)
thanks again for all of your thoughts
even if the salifert test is off by 2dkh... i am reading 9-10 constant... so that would give me a margin of error of readings from 7dkh to 12dkh. while erratic swinging within this range may prove stressful, i dont think any reading consistent within this range would cause necrosis. (i ran around 5dkh for a month or two summer 2005 w/o knowing it... had a reactor malfunction.... everything was just fine... just slow growth and a little color dullness)
thanks again for all of your thoughts
Kip
New member
throwing darts in the dark... anyone out there with some "issues" in their acros or having odd/new algae of any type that has/had started using Red Sea Pro salt?
outside of starting UV, O3, and the new frags over the last few months from various vendors.... the salt is the only thing i can think of that has changed (barring some change that "the wind coulda blown in")
salt... for those who've not read the 6 pages in this thread at this point... i had a few buckets of RedSeaPro shipped in to "test". I mixed up a few gallons of 100% RSPro just to get some readings of its basic chemistry. Since then, I've been mixing the RSPro w/ IO at a rate of 25% RS to 75% IO for water changes. (i've heard bad stories of switching salt cold turkey, hence the gradual change) On that note, i have a 75g that i took healthy tips of all of my acros and transplanted in there.... that tank is running 100% RSPro right now with no issues, but its only been running in this current form since 5-6-07
outside of starting UV, O3, and the new frags over the last few months from various vendors.... the salt is the only thing i can think of that has changed (barring some change that "the wind coulda blown in")
salt... for those who've not read the 6 pages in this thread at this point... i had a few buckets of RedSeaPro shipped in to "test". I mixed up a few gallons of 100% RSPro just to get some readings of its basic chemistry. Since then, I've been mixing the RSPro w/ IO at a rate of 25% RS to 75% IO for water changes. (i've heard bad stories of switching salt cold turkey, hence the gradual change) On that note, i have a 75g that i took healthy tips of all of my acros and transplanted in there.... that tank is running 100% RSPro right now with no issues, but its only been running in this current form since 5-6-07
boxfishpooalot
Active member
0 Po4 is actually zero Po4. Just because your chaeto is growing and algae, does not mean the corals are getting some. Is there any way to raise the Po4 to .03 in a closed container with one specimen? If it gets better, you know why.
The difference between chaeto and corals? They can trap organics to allow bacteria to decompose it right at the site. The corals do not trap anything, except perhaps eat some, but that supplys the polyp, not the zoox, wich is stn.
Your feeding 2 things sybiotically. Not just a coral.
The difference between chaeto and corals? They can trap organics to allow bacteria to decompose it right at the site. The corals do not trap anything, except perhaps eat some, but that supplys the polyp, not the zoox, wich is stn.
Your feeding 2 things sybiotically. Not just a coral.
boxfishpooalot
Active member
One more thing. Your dosing vodka? I would stop that, as its possible that it can effect the bacteria living on the slim coat of the coral. This can increase bad bacterias also. Including the one you think your tank has 
Including the one you think your tank has 
