Are these bite marks?

KJAhp098 · May 26, 2020

I have about 40 different SPS pieces in my tank and the PC Rainbow is the only one that looks like this. The polyps are out and the colors look fine, but I don't see any bugs crawling on it or see any eggs at the base. I've had AEFW in a different tank a long time ago and this definitely looks different.

fishguy242 · May 26, 2020

ouch,not sure ,expert help will come soon!..best wishes

RM24 · May 26, 2020

I see its encrusted but are you able to take it out? If so this might be helpful...

Take the coral, place it in a white bowl and fill it up with water from your reef. Add a few drops of Lugol's Solution, stir and wait about a minute. Next, use a turkey baster to blast the coral with a few jets of water, and see what blows off or out of the coral. If you see flat oval disks coming out of the coral, it is most likely infested with Acropora-eating flatworms

joseserrano · May 26, 2020

Yes. Those are bite marks. Looks really bad. Other colonies surly are infected

jda · May 26, 2020

About 90% sure that those are bite marks. Sorry.

KJAhp098 · May 26, 2020

Alright, I used coral rX per the directions. Unfortunately, the only white bucket I have was previously used for mixing eMarco cement, so there's specks of concrete on the bottom making it more difficult to see, although I still don't see any flatworms. I also didn't see eggs on the rock or base of the frag. Please let me know if you spot anything. Thanks all!

KJAhp098 · May 26, 2020

Sorry, the pics show up a lot more blurry after they're posted compared to my phone.

KJAhp098 · May 26, 2020

One more...turkey baster over a paper towel.

Bacon505 · May 26, 2020

Those are nasty bite mark from aefw

fishguy242 · May 26, 2020

look at all your corals after 2 hours lights out w flashlight,cannot see in pics,best wishes

jda · May 27, 2020

CoralRx can dissolve them. Not always, but sometimes.

Bayer is much more gentle on stressed corals, but you cannot usually see what is in the bottom unless you pour off most of the top solution. Those top-down viewing portals with the clear bottom work really well to dip since you can lots of light gets let in.

C. Eymann · May 27, 2020

For sure AEFW, did you look for egg masses? Id also seal up everything around the base with SG.

dadnjesse · May 27, 2020

I would take that coral out of your tank, it's not worth infesting all the other corals if it's not too late already.

KJAhp098 · May 27, 2020

C. Eymann said:
For sure AEFW, did you look for egg masses? Id also seal up everything around the base with SG.

I didn't see any egg masses or anything. I believe that it's bite marks of some sort, but I'm not entirely convinced it's AEFW. I've gotten about 95% of my corals from one source including this piece and every other piece shows no signs of bite marks or bugs.

Just to be on the safe side, I pulled the coral from the tank and threw it out.

fishguy242 · May 27, 2020

alway hate to hear or do that,but prob best decision in this case,monitor all very closely for time being,best wishes,happy reefing

KJAhp098 · May 27, 2020

After googling aefw bite marks, it looks like a match. Has anyone heard of bite marks being confined to one coral? I'll keep an eye on everything, but crossing my fingers it's only this piece.

Rick.45cal · May 27, 2020

Oh man, you should have kept the coral and used it as bait as it is obviously the favorite of what you have. When they pick another favorite, you need to keep it and use it to your advantage. It looks like it was mostly a goner so probably not a huge loss. You need to start a regular and frequent dipping routine of all you acropora.

KJAhp098 · May 27, 2020

I did a little more investigating and found about 4 more frags with small bite marks.

What's the best plan of action for what I have in the tank already? I haven't had AEFW in years. Is there any other solution than taking everything out and dipping?