White spots on my Yellow Leather Coral
- Thread starter Mikro
- Start date
tinyreef
New member
are you talking about the white zone directly in the center? it's glared out.
i would be a little concerned. such appearances of "white spots" at the center often leads to rot (not sure if it's indicative or consequential though).
i'd carefully clean it off (light rubbing or blowing off with a baster) and add a little more flow to the coral or move it to a higher flow spot.
the area might already be "soft" if the white has been there for a few days. it can recover but it needs to be cleaned off.
the shrimp crawling all over it ain't helping it either.
i would be a little concerned. such appearances of "white spots" at the center often leads to rot (not sure if it's indicative or consequential though).
i'd carefully clean it off (light rubbing or blowing off with a baster) and add a little more flow to the coral or move it to a higher flow spot.
the area might already be "soft" if the white has been there for a few days. it can recover but it needs to be cleaned off.
the shrimp crawling all over it ain't helping it either.
Mikro
Premium Member
Well if it is rot will it foul my whole tank? I ask that because I had an anemone get caught in a power head and I lost a few corals.
While searching for info on Yellow Leather Corals I came across this:
"Tips on care: Give moderate to strong light and good current. May not extend polyps after the following: handling, water
changes, moving coral to a different location, or shipping. Leather Corals slough off an outer layer of tissue at regular
intervals as an anti-fouling aid, and this is normal."
Could the white area be it sloughing off some of its skin?
While searching for info on Yellow Leather Corals I came across this:
"Tips on care: Give moderate to strong light and good current. May not extend polyps after the following: handling, water
changes, moving coral to a different location, or shipping. Leather Corals slough off an outer layer of tissue at regular
intervals as an anti-fouling aid, and this is normal."
Could the white area be it sloughing off some of its skin?
tinyreef
New member
well, i don't think it's an immediate thing to be concerned about. sarcos rarely crash/necrotically rot quickly. but over time, it would bring problems into the tank as it wastes away (if it gets to that point).
an anemone is more like a water ballon, 'pop' and it's all over with flesh and stingers.
imo, the sarco's more like a chunk of meat. it'll just sit there for a while before slowly getting all funky and yucky.
i highly doubt it's simply shed skin in the typical sense but it could be skin that's decomposing from fungus or bacteria attacking it.
tinyreef
New member
i don't think qt'ing is necessary unless you have other similar corals in the tank that haven't yet shown similar patches. then it might be a good idea to limit the issue (if it's even infectious).
right now, i think it's better to address the spot with cleaning and additional flow (letting the coral's natural healing come into play). i don't think you'd really need to dose anything at this point.
other than a waterchange right after the cleaning to dilute any "farting" by the coral, i wouldn't bother with anything out of the ordinary. it won't be happy as you're cleaning it and will most likely be "farting" its allelopathic "scents" so some carbon filtering can't hurt either.
as long as the polyps are still coming out and the coloration doesn't get mottled i think it'll be fine afterwards.
the flow shouldn't be too strong though. moderate, 2"~4"/sec., intermittent flow would be best imo.
Mikro
Premium Member
Well I reached in there with a clean paper towel and was able to just brush that white stuff right off
It was almost like a fine powder.
My wife tells me she thinks it may be from when we used Joe's Juice to kill some aptaisia Honestly I can't remember if we already had the leather or not...
It was almost like a fine powder.
My wife tells me she thinks it may be from when we used Joe's Juice to kill some aptaisia Honestly I can't remember if we already had the leather or not...
tinyreef
New member
i don't think it'd be joe's juice. i believe it's predominantly lime/kalk. if so, it would've burned the coral flesh like acid (or a caustic in this case).<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7789626#post7789626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mikro
Well I reached in there with a clean paper towel and was able to just brush that white stuff right off
It was almost like a fine powder.
My wife tells me she thinks it may be from when we used Joe's Juice to kill some aptaisia Honestly I can't remember if we already had the leather or not...
otoh, it could've resulted from being irritated by something like that (if it was in the same time period) if left for a few moments even, sort of like a bruising or burn/welt effect. but i doubt the "powder" you removed is the actual joe's juice residue.
btw you should have enough flow to clear the cap of occasional debris. or you should blow clean it every now and then. periodic coral hygiene is critical for a couple of species of sarcos imo (especially vase-shaped species, e.g. s. roseum). lack of true wave motion allows detritus buildup on the caps sometimes.
there are a couple of different "white spot" issues that commonly affect sarcos. one is a powdery residue (usually a little fluffy ime, almost like ich), another is a "scabbing-effect" (similar looking to shedding but much more localized/smaller), sometimes detritus left on a cap will discolor the flesh beneath (vase-shape problem mentioned above), and hitchhikers sometimes look like white spots (sometimes harmless and sometimes parasitic bloodsucking coralivores! :mad2: ).
the shrimp may be bothering it but there's not much you could do about it without removing one of the parties. i was more kidding than serious. but it definitely could bother it like an occasional wandering hermit would when crawling over it. if the shrimp decides to bunk on the coral all the time i would think about removal but otherwise live and let live imo.
Mikro
Premium Member
Ok this time I'll use the turkey baster.
The polyps looked like little bumps. Is that the way they are suppose to look or is suppose to be like a little flower thing?
I just bought some more live rock which I'm curing. As soon as it ready (zero ammonia?) I'll be redoing the rocks a bit and will be able to get it more flow. I had read that it is bad to keep moving it around after first getting it as it stresses it..
tinyreef
New member
the polyps are supposed to look like flower things. serenei (if that's what it is) does show more prominently protruded polyps when retracted than elegans though. so in that sense, it's normal but it shows an unhappy "state".
zero ammonia isn't enough. at the very least the nitrites should be zero too and the nitrates should be lowish at least (20~40 ppm?), preferably zero too though.
i would tend to agree with the moving around comment. corals tend to grow into wherever they sit, i.e. slowly adjusting to water, light, neighbors, etc. if they're moved around constantly or often they won't be able to adjust or adjust incorrectly imo.
zero ammonia isn't enough. at the very least the nitrites should be zero too and the nitrates should be lowish at least (20~40 ppm?), preferably zero too though.
i would tend to agree with the moving around comment. corals tend to grow into wherever they sit, i.e. slowly adjusting to water, light, neighbors, etc. if they're moved around constantly or often they won't be able to adjust or adjust incorrectly imo.
chrisbenavides
New member
so its recommend to buy this coral (Yellow Leather Fiji) online because of bad shipping?
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