stressed acro due to lights out?

[jayball]

Hello everyone,

So I was having some issues with a bit of cyano so I did a 3 day light out (ended 8 days ago, w/3 day re acclimation) and one of my acro frags is looking very stressed. I have had him for about a month and he had been encrusting well and even started pushing new branches from the base. the other acro frags in te tank look happy along with zoa's, leather, euphilla, and other SPS.

He has a combination bleaching and browning at the base and is showing filaments but not like a feeding response. Is there anything I can do to help it

Paramaters:
(red sea and hanna for po4)
9 DKH
430 CA
~1500 MG
2-5 ppm NO3
.03 PO4

Kalkwasser at 75% saturation keeps my alk steady. Plus changes with instant ocean, last one was a week ago the same day the lights went back on.

yesterday:


today:


overall it is deteriorating... any suggestions?

I have observed it during light on and off and have not seen anything crawling on it, there are also no visible bite marks like I have seen on many pictures here.

When is it appropriate to frag off the top of a frag to try to save it, ie. how long can I wait?


PS. excuse the washed out pictures, taken with an Iphone5. It has more color in real life.

 

[Nanighan]

Looks like a stress response or feeding response. Stay the course unless it starts to stn. Maybe even target feed it.

 

[MrSandman]

Definitely a stress response. Could be expelling zooxanthellae due to the lights out and reintroduction of lights. Maybe try backing off on the lights a little bit to reduce the shock or move that coral lower.

 

[sahin]

I would carry out a 15% water change today, and then another 15% water change 2 days later. I wouldn't frag it"¦fragging is a last resort to stop TN and IME hasn't had as much success as doing decent successive water changes over a few days. In my 15 years of keeping Acropora, I have become fairly experienced at keeping them alive; ONLY because I killed so many to begin with. :facepalm:

With regards to Cyano, lights out does work to some extent and knocks it back, but ultimately doesn't get rid of it. It exists in your tank because there is an imbalance. I recently put an LPS coral from my buddies tank; it had a thick layer of Cyano around it. When put in my tank, the Cyano didn't spread.

The best course of action to combat Cyano is water changes, ChemiPure Elite and siphoning out whatever you can during a water change.

However, don't fight the Cyanno now"¦let any stressed out corals recover for at least 1.5 weeks first.

Let us know how it does over the coming days.

 

[PaleHorse]

I would have fraged that thing already....

 

[itche_scratche]

Water change. Do multiple water change may be every other day. 15% a time

 

[jayball]

so a small update...


From last night with a flash so you can actually see it. It has gotten a little worse but not progressing at any alarming rate.

I have been doing water changes and I also changed the carbon (it was time anyway)

This guy grew a lot during those three days and is only 5 inches away from the sickly one.

 

[PaleHorse]

how far are you going to let it go before doing what you should have done in the first place?

 

[jayball]

Starting to look better than it was and is regrowing. Thanks to everyone who posted advice. I did a bunch of water changes and slowly ramped my lights back up.

 

[sahin]

Not to cause any unnecessary alarm, but the two dark blotches around the base area look suspiciously shaped like Acro Eating Flatworms...might not be, but looks suspicious...

Coral is otherwise looking happy apart from the slight tissue loss around the base, which does look like its getting better.

Keep up the water changes.

 

[Tweaked]

Not to cause any unnecessary alarm, but the two dark blotches around the base area look suspiciously shaped like Acro Eating Flatworms...might not be, but looks suspicious...

Coral is otherwise looking happy apart from the slight tissue loss around the base, which does look like its getting better.

Keep up the water changes.

+1, was thinking the same thing. Try and baste or suck up and inspect.

 

[jayball]

That is a little bit of hair alge from the receding tissue. I plan on plucking it this weekend unless you think the coral should just try to over grow it. Thanks, you gave me a startle for a moment though.