Catalaphylia not happy.

[vpierce3]

Hi everyone. Looking for your thoughts. As the title says, my catalaphylia is not happy.
Last week the hose on my doser came off for a few days. I dose b-ionic 2 part. As a result my Alk went from 8.6 to 7.1. But I got it back up….but now my Ca is high.
‘Current chemistry is:
Alk is 8.6
Ca is 500 (working to bring it down slowly)
pH cycles between 8.21 to 8.34 each day
PO4 is undetectable
NO3 hovers around 2-3 ppm.
If I give him reef roids, it eats.
The other thing I found was the stainless steel scraper on my Algae Free mag cleaner had a small line i
of rust. So I disconnected the metal part and took out.
Previously he was happy and doing well.
The other corals (softies, lps, sps) are doing fine. My clam is super happy.
Do you guys thinks he’s just ticked off? Or sick?

 

[Nano sapiens]

Although these corals are notorious for developing bacterial infections, this usually is apparent within a few weeks (or even less) when first added to the aquarium and they typically stop eating. Since yours is hungry, I suspect it's just upset at the rapid changes.

I'd just work towards stabilizing the parameters and keep feeding it at least weekly (as long as it accepts food).

 

[dedragon]

Looks a bit ticked by something, but I have had mine decide to close up for a day or two before and it was fine. How long have you had this coral for?
I would look to see if that angelfish is nipping the tentacles as well

 

[Nano sapiens]

I would look to see if that angelfish is nipping the tentacles as well

Good point (didn't notice the Flame Angel down there).

 

[vpierce3]

Looks a bit ticked by something, but I have had mine decide to close up for a day or two before and it was fine. How long have you had this coral for?
I would look to see if that angelfish is nipping the tentacles as well

I’ve had it for 5 weeks or so. I have never seen the angel go near it.

 

[vpierce3]

Although these corals are notorious for developing bacterial infections, this usually is apparent within a few weeks (or even less) when first added to the aquarium and they typically stop eating. Since yours is hungry, I suspect it's just upset at the rapid changes.

I'd just work towards stabilizing the parameters and keep feeding it at least weekly (as long as it accepts food).

What do you suggest for bacterial infection?
I’ve had the coral for around 5 weeks. Angel has never gone near it.

 

[Nano sapiens]

What do you suggest for bacterial infection?
I’ve had the coral for around 5 weeks. Angel has never gone near it.

Funny things that many people have reported regarding Dwarf Angelfish:

1. They can be model citizens for months or years, then all of a sudden start bothering a coral or clam.

2. They seem to play a game with their keeper: mess with a coral or clam when the he/she isn't looking.

As for infection, I haven't treated one in this coral before. However, there are many threads and even articles about it on the web, Here's a good one to start:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/e...se-and-treatment-with-fresh-water-dip.654005/

First thing is to make as accurate a diagnosis as you can as to whether the coral has this condition, or not (if not, then you'll just stress the animal out by treating it for something it doesn't have).

 

[dedragon]

Freshwater dip is a great recomendation especially if it comes down to elegance coral syndrome which is most likely dealing with a bacterial issue. I would also look into getting cipro (ciprofloxacin) if the problems get worse.

Do some research into elegance coral syndrome and see how yours compares just in case that is what you are dealing with. It is a problem that most wild caughts unfortunately face

 

[vpierce3]

Freshwater dip is a great recomendation especially if it comes down to elegance coral syndrome which is most likely dealing with a bacterial issue. I would also look into getting cipro (ciprofloxacin) if the problems get worse.

Do some research into elegance coral syndrome and see how yours compares just in case that is what you are dealing with. It is a problem that most wild caughts unfortunately face

Thank you.

 

[vpierce3]

Funny things that many people have reported regarding Dwarf Angelfish:

1. They can be model citizens for months or years, then all of a sudden start bothering a coral or clam.

2. They seem to play a game with their keeper: mess with a coral or clam when the he/she isn't looking.

As for infection, I haven't treated one in this coral before. However, there are many threads and even articles about it on the web, Here's a good one to start:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/e...se-and-treatment-with-fresh-water-dip.654005/

First thing is to make as accurate a diagnosis as you can as to whether the coral has this condition, or not (if not, then you'll just stress the animal out by treating it for something it doesn't have).

Thank you.

 

[homer1475]

Is this a conical base type elegance?

If so, it should be on your sandbed pushed down in so it's polyp can lay out on the sand. This is how they grow in the wild, and how they should be kept in the home aquarium. Not put on a rock structure.

They also do not like a ton of light. So on the sandbed partially shaded is the best spot for these guys.

 

[vpierce3]

Is this a conical base type elegance?

If so, it should be on your sandbed pushed down in so it's polyp can lay out on the sand. This is how they grow in the wild, and how they should be kept in the home aquarium. Not put on a rock structure.

They also do not like a ton of light. So on the sandbed partially shaded is the best spot for these guys.

Thank you for that. It is a conical type. I just moved it down to the sand bed to see if that helps. At any rate, less light should be therapeutic.

 

[LPS Bum]

Hi everyone. Looking for your thoughts. As the title says, my catalaphylia is not happy.
Last week the hose on my doser came off for a few days. I dose b-ionic 2 part. As a result my Alk went from 8.6 to 7.1. But I got it back up….but now my Ca is high.
‘Current chemistry is:
Alk is 8.6
Ca is 500 (working to bring it down slowly)
pH cycles between 8.21 to 8.34 each day
PO4 is undetectable
NO3 hovers around 2-3 ppm.
If I give him reef roids, it eats.
The other thing I found was the stainless steel scraper on my Algae Free mag cleaner had a small line i
of rust. So I disconnected the metal part and took out.
Previously he was happy and doing well.
The other corals (softies, lps, sps) are doing fine. My clam is super happy.
Do you guys thinks he’s just ticked off? Or sick?

I have 3 Elegance corals in my reef. They're usually among the last corals to get ticked off about parameter swings. Normally you see that in other LPS corals first, and especially with SPS.

Having said that, I have seen all of mine deflate and look very similar to yours at various times. It lasts a couple of days, then they go back to normal. When one of them didn't go back to normal, I discovered it was because my Powder Brown Tang was picking at it. Nibbling on the polyps. So I put a plastic dome over him and he was back to normal the very next day. Eventually my tang forgot about it and it all worked out.

So based on my experience, my guess is something is picking at him.

 

[vpierce3]

I have 3 Elegance corals in my reef. They're usually among the last corals to get ticked off about parameter swings. Normally you see that in other LPS corals first, and especially with SPS.

Having said that, I have seen all of mine deflate and look very similar to yours at various times. It lasts a couple of days, then they go back to normal. When one of them didn't go back to normal, I discovered it was because my Powder Brown Tang was picking at it. Nibbling on the polyps. So I put a plastic dome over him and he was back to normal the very next day. Eventually my tang forgot about it and it all worked out.

So based on my experience, my guess is something is picking at him.

Thank you for your response. I was just reading up about them and found out that clowns can irritate them as well. The same article cautioned about putting them on rock work because that can injure them when they’re open. Hopefully moving it down to the soft sand bed will solve the issue. But I am watching the fish closely now.

 

[Uncle99]

Hi everyone. Looking for your thoughts. As the title says, my catalaphylia is not happy.
Last week the hose on my doser came off for a few days. I dose b-ionic 2 part. As a result my Alk went from 8.6 to 7.1. But I got it back up….but now my Ca is high.
‘Current chemistry is:
Alk is 8.6
Ca is 500 (working to bring it down slowly)
pH cycles between 8.21 to 8.34 each day
PO4 is undetectable
NO3 hovers around 2-3 ppm.
If I give him reef roids, it eats.
The other thing I found was the stainless steel scraper on my Algae Free mag cleaner had a small line i
of rust. So I disconnected the metal part and took out.
Previously he was happy and doing well.
The other corals (softies, lps, sps) are doing fine. My clam is super happy.
Do you guys thinks he’s just ticked off? Or sick?

That’s a 1.5dkh fast decrease, followed by a correction.
You get some reaction beyond .5dkh change in 24 hours.
If he was happy before the doser problem, leave him, sometimes less is better.

 

[vpierce3]

Here’s an updated picture. There is a little white stuff near the left mouth. I fed it Reed roids and it ate. So fingers crossed.

 

[Uncle99]

Here’s an updated picture. There is a little white stuff near the left mouth. I fed it Reed roids and it ate. So fingers crossed.

That coral notorious for just letting go.
It’s stressed, feeding not going to help that.

 

[LPS Bum]

Thank you for your response. I was just reading up about them and found out that clowns can irritate them as well. The same article cautioned about putting them on rock work because that can injure them when they’re open. Hopefully moving it down to the soft sand bed will solve the issue. But I am watching the fish closely now.

Yes all 3 of mine are on the sand. They seem to do very well down there.

Clowns hosting in the Elegance could definitely cause it to retract. If I’m not mistaken I saw a flame angel in your original post pic. That could be a culprit too.

Keep a close eye on it. They are pretty darn hardy though.

 

[vpierce3]

I thought I’d post an update to supplement the collective knowledge of the community.
The coral was about to let go a week ago so I decided I had nothing to lose.
It was exhibiting all the signs of elegance coral syndrome. And my LFS said it’s quite possible that it came from Indonesia instead of Australia.
So I gave it a 12 minute fresh water bath, put it back in a low light area of the tank on the bottom. Then I stole the plastic strainer from my wife’s salad spinner and placed it over him.
Today, a week+ later, I noticed it was still fluorescent green and puffing back out a bit. So I touch it and he quickly retracted…..still alive!!!
I blew the gunk off of him, put him in a spot on the bottom, partially shaded.
And now the wait begins to see if he recovers or if something starts picking at him.
The two fish I’m watching too are the flame angel and the matted filefish. So we’ll see…..

 

[vpierce3]

Update. My coral seems to have stabilized albeit, not in good shape at all. But seems to be on the road to recovery.
I saw the flame Angel nipping at it today. So I re-bated my trap and finally caught him. He’s a weary fish and took him a bit to trust the trap. I also caught my Sailfin tang with him….he was NOT happy. Lol.
Anyway, the Angel is in my sump until I can sell him. Too bad tho, such a beautiful healthy fish.
I can also recommend the Nyos floating fish trap; super easy to use and effective.