Something is Destroying my SPS!

[theronsta]

Okay. This is the third SPS in my tank to do this. First it was a rainbow montipora frag that lost its color slowly and then died. About two months ago I got an ORA acropora and fragged a small piece that broke off when cutting the plug(so I had the mother and a baby 1cm frag) I Glued the mother to a rock and put the baby on my frag rack about 3 inches under the water. Over a week the mother completely lost her color and it looks like something has broken its tips off.

I put the frag on a rock last night about halfway down and it looked like this last night when I went to bed.
<a href="http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee13/ronniebo/46G%20Reef%20Tank/?action=view&current=IMG_0225.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee13/ronniebo/46G%20Reef%20Tank/IMG_0225.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

And when I woke up at 6 this morning it looked like this:
<a href="http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee13/ronniebo/46G%20Reef%20Tank/?action=view&current=IMG_0254.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee13/ronniebo/46G%20Reef%20Tank/IMG_0254.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

To me it looks like something must have actually eaten away at the actual skeleton of the coral, which I have no idea would have caused that.

This is what I have in my tank
46G Bow
Fish:
Royal Gramma
True Perc
Black Ocellaris
Algae Blenny
Byno Goby
Hifin Redbanded watchman goby
4 Green Chromis
2 Red firefish
3 PJ Cardinals
and my red mandarin recently died(not enough copepods, my fault)
~25 Hermits
2 Green Emeralds no bigger than a half dollar
~15 turbo snails

Corals:
GSP
Capnella (kenyans)
Misc zoas
Frogspawn
Orange Plate

Oh and a Green BTA that is doing great and growing like a weed
and for lighting im running 4 HO t5's. All wavepoint. 2 sunwave, 1 reef wave, and one coral wave.

Please Help:headwally:

 

[Reef Bass]

Crab or worm most likely. I agree that something is chowing down on the tips.

 

[JG1]

Emerald crabs

 

[LifeAquatic]

Id say Emerald crab got you.

 

[theronsta]

you think? I did see one of em near it last night.. Will they really chow it down like that? Do you think thats what got my monti? And the mother colony of the acro has its polyps fully out and is coloring back up. I'm wondering if the emeralds just wanted to clean it but just did too good of a job.

dang..how am i gonna get em out? Actually I have a blow dart gun. Ill spear the little boogers -grins evilly-

 

[JG1]

Unless something else in your tank has claws, the emeralds are the culprit.

 

[smokey30]

emeralds emeralds emeralds they chow on sps put em in your sump or back to the lfs

 

[MammothReefer]

good chance it's the crab

 

[M007]

With out a doubt, crab. Not so easy to catch. Good luck!

 

[Islander84]

+1 emerald...the last couple of times i have seen my emerald out hes been sitting in an sps colony. well each one has patches of tissue missing around the bases and in the center of colonies where he sits.....lack of PE. its almost like small bleached areas...and then ive noticed a few small branches lying on sandbed..!!!

 

[Islander84]

Will those areas grow back in? Anyone had this happen before? Thanks

 

[Buganddoug]

Yes it should grow back. It will need some time. I have been there before.

 

[Islander84]

i thought he was doing some good until i noticed him frequently visiting sps...then i thought well there arent any algae spots on these guys then slowly started noticing dead tissue areas...but not like stn or rtn...it was nice clean patches missing...i guess they pick at the tissue

 

[smokey30]

It will grow back just give it a safe area in the tank to heal itself. I had an emerald chow on some things and they healed nicely after a while.

 

[theronsta]

yea I got one out last night as he was finishin up that frag:headwally:

one to go.

and yeah Islander the mother colony is growing back nicely and has aquired its color.

 

[Islander84]

i went to bed last night and he was sitting in the center of my 6 x 8 inch milli colony and when i woke up this morning the bastard was still in there so after reading this thread i knew thats what was damaging my colonies.....i just would have never expected that out of an emerald...so i threw that sucker in the refugium...but the other one i had which was darker colored would attack my small fish..he went to the boneyard..so no more emeralds...ill find an alternative to remove bubble algae..

 

[smokey30]

A funny story about emerald crabs in my old nano...I was always buying clown fish and all of a sudden they would disappear without a trace it was only an 8 gallon biocube so were the heck would they go no bodies ever found. So one night after putting in a couple new clown fish I decided to watch the tank after lights out one night. so I found out that my clowns liked to rest on my fuzzy mushrooms at night I guess it was like a little bed for them. But little did I know that the shrooms would close up around the fish and then my emerald would come over put his gready little claw in the shroom pull the clown fish out and go to town. It was like a venus fly trap. Craziest thing I had ever seen.

 

[theronsta]

thats wild smokey

 

[mightymizz]

Did I count right? You have 13 fish in a 46g? That's impressive.

Glad you seem to have found out who is destroying your corals too.

 

[theronsta]

15 mighty. Is that too much? Ive done my research and gotten nice fish. its interesting to watch the royal gramma, firefish, and chromis all swimming together in the water column! The only two fish that ever fight are the two clowns because they are still establishing dominance. Theyre all small and none will get any larger than 4 inches. Plus all are happy and get along great!