Brown jelly?!?

bsfmaximus · Dec 19, 2017

I’ve had this torch for a few months. I was able to keep it happy in a little light and almost no flow when I first got it. I have since switched to a Gyre
pump which provides me zero no flow areas. I was hoping it would acclimate in a low flow area but it’s tentacles have stayed maybe halfway retracted for the past month. Randomly in the past week I noticed polyps completely retracted on part of one of the heads. Tonight I noticed some brown stuff and I am worried about brown jelly. I also noticed the flesh pulling away from the skeleton at the bottom of each head and where the flash once was now shows some brownish green stuff.
Does it look like brown jelly? What should my course of action be? I don’t currently have a quarantine tank. Help please!

15NaNoGuy · Dec 19, 2017

It looks exactly like brown jelly to me. I would get it out if the tank before it spreads to any others in your display tank. You can try iodine dip but I've never been able to get one back from it. Good luck.

bsfmaximus · Dec 19, 2017

Thanks nanoguy. Disappointing but my fault I’m sure.

DSC reef · Dec 19, 2017

I don't see any brown jelly. I see algae on the skeleton. Looks like polyp bailout. What size tank do you have. I run a gyre on a 75, I have certain spots with low flow for some LPS. I'd think it would have to get seriously blasted for it to be a flow issue.

Jason mack · Dec 19, 2017

DSC reef said:
I don't see any brown jelly. I see algae on the skeleton. Looks like polyp bailout. What size tank do you have. I run a gyre on a 75, I have certain spots with low flow for some LPS. I'd think it would have to get seriously blasted for it to be a flow issue.

I agree !! Do you have more info over your tank and parameters??

bsfmaximus · Dec 19, 2017

54 gallon corner. It’s just a jebao gyre, the smaller of the two. This torch was not happy unless it has had nearly no flow. The only spot in the tank I have like that is being occupied by a much larger frog Spawn and hammer. I keep my calcium around 450 alkalinity 10 magnesium 1350 nitrate and phosphate zero. I purchased another torch the same time I bought this torch and same deal with the flow except he tolerates it a little bit and has grown from two heads to around 6 heads in the past few months. I should add that I started keeping acros around the time I got these torches and don’t want to dial down my flow in the whole tank

DSC reef · Dec 19, 2017

I really don't think it's flow. I've seen torches getting along just fine in quite a bit of flow. Water seems like it could be to clean. Torches can be generally difficult too. Keeping a mixed reef is a challenge. Now that we have acropora in the reef tank there are some LPS we can't keep.

Jason mack · Dec 19, 2017

These guys can tolerate quite a bit of flow if it’s a green torch like mine

bsfmaximus · Dec 19, 2017

I don’t have another answer and assume it is flow from trial and error. Before the gyre I had some spots that were very low flow. Put this guy there and he expanded. Moved him for whatever reason to a slightly higher flow area and he retracted partially. New pump installed and he’s been ticked off ever since no matter where the placement. I also experienced this from a frogspawn and hammer I’ve had for probably a year and a half each. Hammer was ok most places. Frogspawn was not happy anywhere it was getting moved from flow moderately. I experimented with positioning for a year. I’ve got both in the corner furthest from the flow now and both seem happier than ever going on three months. What am I missing?

DSC reef · Dec 19, 2017

Flow in a corner tank can be difficult to dial in for sure. Most of the LPS we've kept in the euphyllia species could handle moderate flow as long as it was indirect. I would notice polyp bailout when they were getting blasted constantly.

samnaz · Dec 19, 2017

I'm having the same exact issue with one of my torches. It was happy as can be for the first 4 months I had it, but in the last couple of months polyp extension has decreased greatly. Once in a while it retracts so much I can hardly see any flesh sticking out from the skeleton. It's beginning to drive me crazy that I can't figure out what's wrong with it, and why all my other corals are perfectly fine. I have another torch, a frogspawn, octospawn and a hammer that are doing fantastically.

Sucks that torches can be so difficult sometimes, cause they are my favorite corals by far. They have all been worth the extra effort so far, but with this one torch I'm beginning to feel like giving up sometimes.

bsfmaximus · Dec 19, 2017

DSC you’re right about difficulty dialing in flow... I think my rockscape limits me too. This is my second reef tank and I’ve learned a lot and continue to do so. Next time... I’ll account for everything lol

bsfmaximus · Dec 19, 2017

Sam, frustrating for sure. Glad I’m not alone but sorry to hear you’ve got similar issues.

McMullen · Dec 19, 2017

You'll know Brown Jelly if you ever get it. It'll be obvious and spread rapidly.

samnaz · Dec 19, 2017

Yeah, def not BJD. Flesh would be gone in a day.

Ryan420r6 · Dec 20, 2017

If you saw brown strands coming off the coral I would assume it’s brown jelly. You need to dip immediately before it destroys the second head. I have had success with Coral RX but have heard that Revive works as well.