Purple gorgonian skeleton showing

[katekate087]

Lately my purple gorg has some skeleton showing through in the very very bottom branches that tem out from his truck. How do I remove/fix this issue before it possibly spreads through the rest of him? What could this caused by? My phosphate is .45 because my phosban reactor is currently down but everything else's good. I've never dosed my tank, in the 5 months it's been up, with calcium. Should I?

 

[jwoyshnar]

I think you answered your own question. Phosphates are quite high. They don't like high phosphates. Is there another coral near by? It could have been stung also

 

[TealCobra]

Most likely a PO4 issue. I would address your nutrient issue by:

1. Strong skimming
2. Water changes (try for at least 25-25% monthly)
*You might consider aggressive water changes to bring things down
3. Strain your fish food, don't overfeed.
4. PO4 reducers like Phosban
5. Filter socks if you have a sump (don't forget to change them when they get funky)
6. Make sure your tank has good flow. Over time pumps slow down and need to be cleaned. Periodically blast at your aquascape with a powerhead to prevent detritus from building up.

 

[katekate087]

My phosphates are .25 sorry. Still anything higher than zero is too high. The only other coral on that rock are ricordea. I'll do some aggressive water changes I the coming weeks but how do I make sure the skeleton area doesn't spread to the rest of him? Can I cut those branches off? What's the proper way to do that without hurting it more?

 

[TealCobra]

My phosphates are .25 sorry. Still anything higher than zero is too high. The only other coral on that rock are ricordea. I'll do some aggressive water changes I the coming weeks but how do I make sure the skeleton area doesn't spread to the rest of him? Can I cut those branches off? What's the proper way to do that without hurting it more?

Cutting them off isn't really going to prevent it spreading unless you are dealing with diseased coral IMO. Better tank pars is the best way to prevent it from spreading. A picture would be helpful but getting those PO4's down should be the key to this problem I bet.

 

[katekate087]

So I have my pars back to normal, I'm continuing with my water changes until I see him getting better. My phosban reactor is back up and running. I'm noticing that he's still shedding and the two branches that were showing skeleton are now completely bare. The truck closest to the rock is shedding and exposing black? What could that mean? Is only getting worse. I'll post a picture later when I charge my camera. I reallllllly don't want him to die. I've never dosed my tank and I do have a lot of livestock so I'm thinking I need calcium or something? What do you guys think?

 

[katekate087]

Also, about two months ago he broke off his original rock so I just stuck him down in a live rock. He seems to have twisted a little since.... Maybe that could be what's causing the black skeleton? If that's what it is? Please help

 

[TealCobra]

If you see the core then you are essentially looking at its skeleton. It can generate new tissue back over it but will take some time even with good parameters.