Chalice not looking good

m and m · Oct 22, 2011

So I have roughly 30+ diffrent chalcies in my system, all of them seem fine but for one. Im not sure wha'ts wrong with it maybe some one on here can help me identify the issue so I can resolve it. Out of all my chalices this is the only one that is not happy, so im pretty sure its not a parameter issue. My alk is relatively stable and if It was a Pest/alk issue I would think more then one piece of coral would show a sign of issue. Which leaves me to think this might be some sort of infection maybe?

My TD seems to have a gaping mouth and no recession but spiky on one side. The other side is fine, also it seems to of bleached I think a bit but again only on one side. Here is a picture, its in roughly 110 par so its fairly low light and lower flow so the spikes on the one side are not because its being blasted. But the top half of this piece looks fine. Any ideas what is up?

td by matsinger2, on Flickr

m and m · Oct 22, 2011

Also forgot to add its in a chalices frag tank so there is no fish or anything in this part of my system so its not being picked at.

swannyson7 · Oct 22, 2011

Was it close enough to another frag that it could have been stung? Not sure about an infection, but I'd keep an eye on it and get fragging if necessary.

m and m · Oct 22, 2011

It is a one eye frag how could I frag it lol. No chance of it being stung.

swannyson7 · Oct 22, 2011

While it isn't best for survival, chalice frags can survive without an eye. Their growth rate is significantly slowed though because they rely solely on photosynthesis for feeding. If it continues to recede, I'd say it's worth a shot to keep from losing it entirely.

foxhuntr · Oct 22, 2011

looks like an alk prblem to me.......did your alk spike or drop at some point ??? i have noticed alot of times that the eye starts to gap open and starts receeding from there....check your alk readings...... good luck with it hope it makes it ok

lsingh · Oct 22, 2011

looks like chalice is loosing it tissue ...not just the gaping mouth...i would definately frag it immediately .....i usually always frag my chalices thats got more flesh with no eye....matter of fact fraging always jump starts em and usually within less than a month u always see eyes popping out...i hve dne this several times and there s not a single frag that will not pop an eye....

i suggest frag it before its too late

m and m · Oct 22, 2011

Yea if you asked me too I would say alk but I know is hasnt swung I dose and test every night my alk. Any other idea?

fab1971 · Oct 22, 2011

Toyencounters is having the same problems with some of his jfox pieces but I'm not sure if TD was one of them. I'll tell you the same thing I told him though it's just a guess at this point. Try giving it more light. He had his in lower par and they've been giving him the same issues. Our TD has been doing great, coloring up and spreading pretty fast. I have it in the middle of the tank, way up on a frag rack and blasting it with light. I don't have a par meter but my guess would be somewhere in the 250-300 range (maybe more). He also hadn't fed his in over a month and I felt that maybe it wasn't getting enough nutrition + light. Have you been feeding your frag? I know you feed your pieces as much as me (4-5 times a week). Anyway, gl with the piece. I hope it pulls through for you guys.

reefkoi · Oct 22, 2011

booger sized chalice frags are always risky!

m and m · Oct 22, 2011

reefkoi said:
booger sized chalice frags are always risky!

I dipped it in logols because I truly think its and infection/somthign else. My parameters are in check and to only have literally one piece of coral out of 40-50 all fine then just this. My personal feeling is its and infection or I went in and bought that one inch TD frag with a friend. I was babying it in low light 70 par because I didnt want to mess it up not treating it like a normal piece was the cause or and infection. I have moved it up to 210 par direct light. I will keep every one posted because I think this will be helpful to other reefers.

Troylee · Oct 22, 2011

Man I honestly feel it's just one of those things... No one can keep every single coral happy!!!! Most people don't talk about it but when you have 20, 30, 100 different corals etc something is bound to go south on ya... Just part of the game...

m and m · Oct 22, 2011

Troylee said:
Man I honestly feel it's just one of those things... No one can keep every single coral happy!!!! Most people don't talk about it but when you have 20, 30, 100 different corals etc something is bound to go south on ya... Just part of the game...

Im very curious I didnt want to bother you with a pm but since your in here. Does it remind you of your Rising sun that blew up from the mouth out?

Troylee · Oct 22, 2011

Yeah sort off... I had a problem with it receding when I first got it, did a lugols dip and it stopped... A few months down the road it was looking great with zero problems sold it and when it was time to bag it up it exploded when I was at work... It happened with in hours

after a month or so the rim finnaly peeled off and it was history... I still have the skeleton in hopes it springs back into action like I have had acans do in the past...

lps1212 · Oct 22, 2011

Troylee said:
Yeah sort off... I had a problem with it receding when I first got it, did a lugols dip and it stopped... A few months down the road it was looking great with zero problems sold it and when it was time to bag it up it exploded when I was at work... It happened with in hours after a month or so the rim finnaly peeled off and it was history... I still have the skeleton in hopes it springs back into action like I have had acans do in the past...

that would be awesome if that happened as for you Matt gl with that issue the td isnt cheap

Lynnmw1208 · Oct 23, 2011

I have a piece that is doing this also. It's my only chalice though. I did have an alk spike a little when I started getting in the swing of dosing. Went up to 9.2 or something I think and that is probably what did it to mine. I am still having a really hard time getting it to recover and the only part that has color still are the eyes. the rest is all white

i hope you can pull yours through as I am baffled as to why it hasn't recovered yet.

Sugo · Oct 23, 2011

lsingh said:
looks like chalice is loosing it tissue ...not just the gaping mouth...i would definately frag it immediately .....i usually always frag my chalices thats got more flesh with no eye....matter of fact fraging always jump starts em and usually within less than a month u always see eyes popping out...i hve dne this several times and there s not a single frag that will not pop an eye....

i suggest frag it before its too late

Interesting, I'll need to test this out.

Sugo · Oct 23, 2011

troylee said:
man i honestly feel it's just one of those things... No one can keep every single coral happy!!!! Most people don't talk about it but when you have 20, 30, 100 different corals etc something is bound to go south on ya... Just part of the game...

+1, very true

returnofsid · Oct 23, 2011

reefkoi said:
booger sized chalice frags are always risky!

My thought exactly!

Have you checked your Magnesium? Mg seems to play a large role in health of Echinophyllia/Echinopora corals.

gumby · Oct 23, 2011

m and m said:
I dipped it in logols because I truly think its and infection/somthign else. My parameters are in check and to only have literally one piece of coral out of 40-50 all fine then just this. My personal feeling is its and infection or I went in and bought that one inch TD frag with a friend. I was babying it in low light 70 par because I didnt want to mess it up not treating it like a normal piece was the cause or and infection. I have moved it up to 210 par direct light. I will keep every one posted because I think this will be helpful to other reefers.

hows it been since you dipped?