strange bali slimer problem

Harville

Harville

Premium Member
My first sps frag was a bali slimer (this was about 4 years ago)

Since that day, that frag has been nothing but good to me. It has always kept it's color (deep neon green) and has grown like a weed.

I now have several established colonies of that frag growing throughout the tank.

About a month ago I noticed a small bald spot on one branch that I originally thought nothing of, assuming I had accidentally chipped it while inside the tank.

Then a week later I noticed several more "bald" spots on several branches and was more alarmed. I did a full scale test of all water parameters.

They are as follows:
SG 1.024
Ca 430ppm
Alk 8dkH
pH 8.0-8.2
Temp 78-80
Mg 1250ppm
NO3 undetectable
PO4 undetectable
NH3 undetectable

The problem seems to advance as weeks go by yet all parameters continue to be stable and all other corals/fish appear to be thriving by all accounts.

Also, the slimer itself continues to grow which leads me to suspect that something is eating at it.

So, today I clipped a few branches off to inspect the coral a little more close. On the front side of the coral (the one that gets more light) I saw no visible predatore or anything out of the ordinary aside from the "bald" spots.

On the flipside (the back of the branches) I saw what appeared to be some sort of red infection that I could only compare to the appearance of a skin rash.

I tried to take a photo and will post here
68818usethis.jpg


Hopefully, if you look close you can see it.

I am unsure as to what brought this on. The only thing that has been done differently in the tank was a change from 2-part Ca/Alk over to Kalk in order to save money and keep things more stable.

I kept the parameters the same throughout the change (which took about a month) and I continue to use the 2-part (just not nearly as much)

The kalk I now use is made by 2 little fishes and the 2-part is/was B-Ionic

Coincedentally, the change over was shortly before I noticed the "bald" spots. That is my best guess that may have a part in this. I am looking for suggestions and other helpful insight as to what this is and what to do about it.

I'm sure you'll ask... so here is more info about my tank:
90 gal reef, lightly stocked (about six fish), filtered by an algae turf scrubber (which surges 3/4 gal of water into the tank twice a minute) and a Deltec skimmer (which fills the cup about twice a week) I also have 4 powerheads on a wave making device to ensure proper flow in addition to the surge from the ATS. The tank is lit by two 250w 10k Halide lamps and two 96w PC actinics.

Thanks for any help... sorry this thread was too long.
 
I would like to see this coral pic close up in the tank. Although bali slimers do this red thing when they are stn-ing. But I need to see if there is bite marks. If none. Its an alk issue I think. Due to the change over.
 
Random bald spots on a slimer sounds like it could be AEFW to me. AEFW's love slimers and I have seen them infect one without the usual "many small white dot" appearance that is typical but with the random white spots of about 1/4" in size. Of course it's hard to tell what the random white spots look like without a pic of those. Has the recent change in dosing caused a big difference in alk? That could be something as well.
 
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according to Salifert test kits, there has been little (if any) change in Alk.

When dosing 2-part Alk was about 7 dKH (before morning dose) and about 9dKH (after dose)

When I switched over to Kalk, I noticed I could more steadily keep the ALK around 8dKH with little fluctuation... I was pleased with that. This is the only ill effect I have noted since I began dripping Lime.

I will upload a photo of the coral in the tank if I can get a good photo.

Thanks for the responces... I hope to hell this is not a Flatworm problem.
 
I have been having ALK issues lately to finally discover my Salifert test kit far from accurate. I guess there is a bad batch of ALK kits out right now. Has your PH been running on the low side?

I would first check the accuracy of your test kit and if it checks out fine, fresh water dip that frag and inspect the bowl for flatworms.
 
And when he says fresh water dip it. Just swirl it in it. Have the water the same temp and correct ph. And still theres a risk of killing it that way.
 
Are the bald spots at the tips? Hard to tell from the pics. Good idea to dip but much safer to dip the coral in TMPCC.

That is a significant alk change if it happened fairly quickly. FWIW I use homeade 2 part and kalk and that has worked well for me for years. It's hard to keep Ca up using just kalk.

Chris
 
I don't know about FW dip. A little to extreme if you ask me. I know Bali Green Slimers are considered good beginner acros, but it is still likely a FW dip would kill it. Do a TMPC dip. Much safer. Just use a smaller dosage and dip for a short period of time. If you have AEFW, they will fall off pretty quickly anyway. No need to harm a coral with a full blast if AEFW is not the issue.
Reading your first post, I said definately AEFW. Now looking at the pics, I'm not too sure. They usually start on shaded areas near the base of the coral. I do notice that they all seem to be between the branches, which would be typical of AEFW, but I would have expected to see them start in much more shaded areas.
 
Thanks for the replies,

a FW dip is almost impossible as this coral is about 13" tall and 10" wide with a bunch of thin branches as you can see...

Also, the base has encrusted a rock that probably weighs about six lbs. (of course it provides structure for about four oher rocks)

I can't see it being AEFW... it just doesn't look like it to me (although I've never had them myself)

Does anybody have any theory over the red "rash" on the bottom of the branches?

My best plan of attack so far is a return to the 2-part that I've been using since the biggining, a decent water change, and new impellers for my powerheads...

I'm not sure a FW dip is a route I can take... but I'm still very open to suggestions as I haven't outruled it yet
 
Also, I should probably say that I have not added anything new in about four months (that was a squamosa clam)

The last sps I got was about eight or nine months ago (I've mostly stopped buying livestock and just been spending money on upkeep since things have been going so well for the last two years or so)

I might also add that these "bald" spots are not "white spots" but... well, they have their color and flesh is there but the polyps are gone (not sure if that makes sense)

Thanks again
 
Try Breaking a piece off with a bald spot and dip it to see if you have the Flat worms. I lost my green slimer to them. The damage looks like it could be the worms. If you got them you cant save the big colonies any way so the best thisng to do is ID them right away. Frag some of the bigger pieces and go ahead and get them out of your tank. The smaller colonies can be dipped and you can beeat them that way. Althought ter are more than one kind of ARFW the ones I had loved the Millis and damaged /killed them more effectively than some other types of corals. So watch them close.
Good luck, You can beat them.
Dave
 
I have tried to FW dip on a few of the frags (with "bald" spots) that I cut off.

Nothing fell off the frags... I used a magnifying glass and a clear glass container to dip them in.

However, this red "rash" is all the more visible after the dip.

Whatever is behind these red markings is the cause, I'm sure of that...

Do these red markings (shown in a photo above) ring a bell to anyone?

Thanks again.
 
Sounds like AEFW to me as well. This is exactly what happened to my green slimer when i had the AEFW. They attacked it first. I never did find a single FW on my colony.
 
Harville, I have them but im having the same problem as Kip right now so could be connected. I can take pics later if you want.
 
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