Purple Stylophora Question

[Nwest]

So I have had this colony for going on almost two years now.....started as small plug maybe an inch tall. Ever since setting up my 180 8 months, I have had a nitrate issue but nothing to crazy(around 10-15). It was always doing awesome with great color and great polyp extension. Well Long story short I noticed that the poylps were starting to recide in some place and show bare skeleton. Well one morning I caught my emerald crab what I thought to be eating the polyps. Well I pulled him out and broke him in half and fed him to my triggers... Well since then just been going down hill this is all that is left. I fragged it tonight where there was still polyps hopping to save some of it... any thoughts on what it could be............

 

[FF337]

Maybe he was cleaning it from a parasite. Id frag a couple of good pieces and surely one piece or 2 would make it.

 

[reefmutt]

you should camp out at night and watch with a flashlight for snails or some other little monster looking for a late night snack.
that coral looks like it has been eaten... not sure if it was the emerald crab, though.
maybe a nudibranch??

 

[M Woodhill]

you should camp out at night and watch with a flashlight for snails or some other little monster looking for a late night snack.
that coral looks like it has been eaten... not sure if it was the emerald crab, though.
maybe a nudibranch??

+1

i had one and faded fairly soon in a very similar way. it was eaten up by few pest crabs

 

[Nwest]

It was tough, but I fragged all the tips that were left with polyps left. I hope some make it. I have 4 wrasses in that tank. I dont think there could be any nudis or bugs in there but you never know... Here is list

Paracheilinus carpenteri
Paracheilinus lineopunctatus
Halichoeres melanurus
Macropharyngodon negrosensis

 

[reefmutt]

I'm thinking a snail that emerges at night when the wrasses are cuccooned somewhere..
if its a crab, the wrasses won't do much either..

 

[dan223]

I had a colony that was pretty sensitive to flow, just a little bit less than optimal and it would decline like that.

 

[gon08]

In my experience judging by the amount of connective tissue loss between polyps (you can see skeleton between the polyps even at the tips) I would say it is too far gone.

Hope I'm wrong, Good luck.

 

[Justin74]

I suspect water quality/chemistry issues. I think the crab was being opportunistic and taking advantage of the film algae that was collecting along with the dying tissue that was receding/sluffing off/polyps bailing out. Sounds like a nice salad if I were a crab..

My first suspect is alkalinity. It appears that it was not stable and/or allowed to deviate to low..

My next suspect would be phosphates. Stopping the calcification process all together for more sensitive stonies. And as mentioned, flow can only compound a bad situation. These guys are in exposed reef flats, and hammered by the strongest reef crest action, as reflected in their form. They are genetically designed for high flow.

IMHO Stylo's are just like frogspawn. Hailed as a beginner coral, yet both are really hit and miss for beginners and experienced alike in terms of 2+ year survival rates.

I've had some beautiful stylos in the past for a couple years, and when something goes wrong, their usually the first to let me know..

-Justin