White spot on leather toadstool?

[reefwisher]

I have this neon green leather toadstool for 2 years now and it has grown from 2 inches when I bought it to 10 inches now and has been doing very well. Last week I noticed a small white spot the size of a pencil eraser about 3 inches from the outside edge. It look white because the top layer of the what I call the skin is gone. This spot has grown in a week time from pencil eraser size to the size of a button from a shirt and has a new spot about 1 inch from the outside edge a little smaller then a pencil eraser. These spot look like the flesh is gone. I would like to know what this is? All my water parameter are good. Sorry for no pictures as I have no clue how to post pictures.

 

[Hormigaquatica]

It sounds like something is eating it. You may have a fish/crab picking at it, or you could have a soft coral eating nudibranch. Keep a close eye on it- nudis can be particularly difficult to spot.

It is also possible that there is an infection. It's not uncommon for a patch of detritus to settle on a toadstool for a while and then develop a bacterial infection that eats through the debris and then continues right on through the coral. I've found that trimming off the affected area normally stops it from spreading.

 

[reefwisher]

I am thinking the same thing, that detritus might have settled on it. I will continue to watch it for the next few days to see if it spreads more. If it does I will cut it out. Thanks