tissue necrosis or parasite...or something else?

skyshrimp

skyshrimp

New member
Parameters-
Salinity-1.026
Ph- 8.0
Ammonia- 0 ppm
Nitrites-0 ppm
Nitrates- 15 ppm (has jumed up due to late water changes and dosing chromaplex)
Phosphate- 5 ppm(jumped up due to same reason Nitrates did)
Alk-9
Calcium-450 ppm

Stocklist- trumpet coral, frogspawn, gsp, bsp, orange montipora, zoanthids, green horn coral, gbta, 2 perc clowns, bullet goby, yellow clown goby,2 damsels, pearly jawfish, ywg, tiger pistol shrimp, cleaner shrimp, 2 pepp shrimps, 8 hermits, emerald crab, and 3 turbo snails. Also some small crabs with sharp claws but I only see them eat detritus, they hh on live rock.

Ok this is my problem. In the last month or so I've noticed firstly my turbo snail activity decline from active grazers to now staying in one spot for weeks but still kicking. Hermits seem less active as well. I'll admit ive been slacking on my water changes abit. The last 2 were each 3 weeks apart from my normal 15 gallons weekly wc on my 75g. Then about 3 weeks ago I added mod rocks for scaping and now they are covered with hair algae and its spreading and nothing eats its not even the emerald crab. Red bubble algae is popping up as well. Recently cleaned out my canister filter about a week ago as well in hopes of bringin nitrates and phos down. It dropped from 20ppm to 15ppm. I ordered a yellow wrasse about 2 weeks ago but he died 1 day later. He was fine the first day then the next he started to rapidly declining. Irradic swimming and such. Now my trumpet coral and green horn are falling victims to some sort of tissue necrosis or parasite. The idea of maybe a parasite is because I saw a snail looking thing in my tank one night but it looked a tan slug with a very small shell on its back and it moved at the speed faster then a nass snail!!. The trumpet coral tissue is receding from the base and is headed for the polyps. The green horn is having tissue receding from the edges of branches. Hope you guys can help me out ask me anything and ill give you as best a answer I can. Oh yea my lighting is 216 watt 4 bulb fixture. 2 12,000k and 2 ATI blue plus. Hope you all can help.
 
your phosphates are very high. It sounds like you know what the problem is your water quality is likely very poor due to missed water changes,. I would ditch the canister filter that will help also.
 
So would I be bettter off with no canister and just letting my protein skimmer do the work? Cuz the way the tank is situated there is no room for a sump. My tank stand is divides into three section so too small for one. Thanks for the advice.
 
All a sump does is store you stuff below your tank so you don't see it in the tank and a little extra water volume. YES loose the canister filter. I agree 100% your water quality is the issue. Are you sure 5 ppm is your phosphate because that is extremely high. It sounds like the rock you just added is leaching something into the water. I would remove it and do large water changes. Also what are mod rocks??
 
If I get rid of my canister filter what will filter my water for me? Will it hurt my water quality with no canister filter? And my phos may be lower but I know it isnt 0 ppm. Oh and mod rocks is a typo, i meant more rocks.
 
Your small tan slug with the small shell is a Stomatella sp. Completely harmless, actually beneficial - because they actually eat hair algae. I've personally witnessed them eating Derbesia like you, or I would chew down a stalk of celery. I'd have to concur with the PO4 assessment. Son, you've got work to do.

DJ
 
I run a magnum canister filter for my carbon. Are you saying this could contribute to high P04 although I change it out every 3 weeks?
 
mmotown said:
I run a magnum canister filter for my carbon. Are you saying this could contribute to high P04 although I change it out every 3 weeks?
Click to expand...

No you're confusing PO4 with nitrate (NO3). PO4 enters the system from food. It must be either physically exported through mechanical or chemical filtration, or by incorporation into biomass within the system.

DJ
 
mmotown said:
I run a magnum canister filter for my carbon. Are you saying this could contribute to high P04 although I change it out every 3 weeks?
Click to expand...

why would a tank with a canister filte have higher phosphates than the same tank without one?

It just seems like a bad idea to remove the canister filter, if anything you can get some phosban to stick in their.
 
ctenophors rule said:
why would a tank with a canister filte have higher phosphates than the same tank without one?

It just seems like a bad idea to remove the canister filter, if anything you can get some phosban to stick in their.
Click to expand...

I run two filters. One for phosphates and carbon. Just making sure
 
The reason the canister filter is a bad idea is because you forget to maintain it. Its just a time bomb. When you go to the bathroom you flush the toilet right? If you didnt it would get real nasty in there. Skipping water changes is probably the reason your having problems. Also How much new rock did you add to the system? Was it cured at all? Your Live Rock is your filter.
 
Ok guys heres an update. Come to find out two of my turbos died in the back of my tank. They both were the largest in my system and found weged under some rocks. When I found them they had a bunch of black goo and plenty of snail meat left in the shell. 5 water changes later since then my parameters have returned to normal. But the remaining turbos seem sick. They are just barely alive and will literally sit in one spot for days on end same for all my other snails turbos,nass,cerith. I dont even see the little grazer snails anymore. Hermits still aren't very active but all my shrimp are just fine. Should I buy new snails and hermits. Thanks for your input guys.
 
skyshrimp said:
Ok guys heres an update. Come to find out two of my turbos died in the back of my tank. They both were the largest in my system and found weged under some rocks. When I found them they had a bunch of black goo and plenty of snail meat left in the shell. 5 water changes later since then my parameters have returned to normal. But the remaining turbos seem sick. They are just barely alive and will literally sit in one spot for days on end same for all my other snails turbos,nass,cerith. I dont even see the little grazer snails anymore. Hermits still aren't very active but all my shrimp are just fine. Should I buy new snails and hermits. Thanks for your input guys.
Click to expand...

Buy nothing until you figure out what's going on.

DJ
 
Ok makes more sense anyway. I'll wait a few months. The corals seem to be gaining new tissue as well and i have been pulling out the hair algae by hand as well. Hair algae has stopped growing and has brown tips. If I buy some culplera to suck up the Nitrates will it out compete the problem algae?
 
It can, but Caulerpa sp have issues of their own, and can become problematic. I will concede though, they look considerably better than hair algae. I'm thinking you should ascertain what the exact problem is with the system and find options to aid in solving that/those issues.

DJ
 
The rocks you added could have had copper in it. Doubt check to see if you have dinos. Toxins from the dinos killed the 2 turbos snails I bought. As well as a fighting conch... Fish and coral seemed to be ok. I did lose 2 corals at the same time the snails died.
 
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