Concerning coral discoloration

[Sharkbait19]

Hi,
About a week ago I purchased five new coral frags from Petco. I inspected the tank and took the healthiest and nicest looking assorted frags. None of the frags in the store looked very unhealthy. Since their introduction, they’ve each had their fair share of fits, then they would shed, and come back. There was a growth of Dinos on a toadstool but I removed it, and there is a diatom growth on a devil’s hand which I will have to try to manually remove. The issue is, both on my new and old corals, some sections of the corals are turning white and a bit swollen. I know leather corals are hardy, but it’s happening to my zoas too. I’m not overly concerned, but don’t want to overlook a potential issue. What could be the cause of such discoloration and dying sections? Is this normal?

 

[Sharkbait19]

The discoloration is worse today!
any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[PicassoClown04]

My initial thought was growth whiteness (where when a coral is growing rapidly, the zooxanthellae haven’t colonized the new growth yet therefore leaving it white for a few days) but if the whiteness is spreading down the coral that’s not it. Is it bleaching? About how much light are they in? FTS would be very helpful

 

[Sharkbait19]

My initial thought was growth whiteness (where when a coral is growing rapidly, the zooxanthellae haven’t colonized the new growth yet therefore leaving it white for a few days) but if the whiteness is spreading down the coral that’s not it. Is it bleaching? About how much light are they in? FTS would be very helpful

They are in standard fluval 13.5 lighting for 12 hours. Sometimes I accidentally leave them on longer. Should I try reducing the lighting?

 

[Sharkbait19]

 

[MnFish1]

Do you think it might be where the bag or your fingers touched the coral? if so - nothing to worry about

 

[PicassoClown04]

Dude above me has a point, try not to touch polyps/leathers directly. But the fact that your zoas are also affected is bugging me, touching a Zoa should not do something like this. Are they sliming? How’s the flow? 12 hours is a long time but not crazy long I don’t think they’re bleaching from too much light. Possible bacterial infection?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Do you think it might be where the bag or your fingers touched the coral? if so - nothing to worry about

I mean, I did touch them when putting them in, because I had to remove a zip tie—for some reason Petco uses zip ties to keep corals on. The leathers could be okay, but like footgal said, the biggest concern is the zoas. I mean, they never were that colorful, but they’re only getting more white. I also have a torch coming in the mail this week so hope to have everything sorted out before that comes in.

 

[PicassoClown04]

#reefsquad but Im thinking probable bacterial infection or its being eaten by a parasite

 

[Lasse]

Your water parameters (especially PO4 and NO3) and which brand do you use?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Sharkbait19]

 

[PicassoClown04]

Based on that the edges are very clean and it’s in distinct areas, you have a parasite/flatworm/something is eating them. Examine closely, especially at night and see if you can catch them in the act! Do you have any fish?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Based on that the edges are very clean and it’s in distinct areas, you have a parasite/flatworm/something is eating them. Examine closely, especially at night and see if you can catch them in the act! Do you have any fish?

Only one, a firefish, who needs to move to quarantine soon, after a serious velvet outbreak.
How would one treat parasites? How can I be sure that is what is in the tank?

 

[Sharkbait19]

here’s two other pics, of my oldest leather and my Xenia.

 

[Sharkbait19]

After water tests, I stunningly found that the ammonia is 0.50! How is this possible? I have one fish, a large clean up crew, and do 30% water changes every week! Could it be the algae? Does excess algae cause ammonia?

 

[Lasse]

What do you use to measure NH3/NH4?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Sharkbait19]

What do you use to measure NH3/NH4?

Sincerely Lasse

Nitrites and nitrates are near 0. As for ammonia, I had a snail die randomly but that was a few weeks ago. The crabs poop a lot, and ever since my loss of fish to produce waste, my clean up crew has become rather lazy. I had an algae scraper which may be the culprit of such a spike, as it just sat there collecting scum and when I took it out it REEKED! I’m nervous about a bacterial/parasitic infection as I have a torch I ordered a few days ago that is coming in tomorrow! I don’t have anywhere to put it other than the display tank.
Hopefully whatever is munching on these corals will be found and gotten rid of. What about peppermint shrimp? I’ve read a few things about them chewing on corals but I haven’t seen it happen too much, maybe once or twice.

I decided to rearrange my corals to put my original leather up top and the zoas at the bottom. This should give the original leather the flow and lighting it deserves. He hasn’t been himself for a few weeks, and that makes me nervous. The open space to the right is for the torch

 

[Sharkbait19]

Update: the zoas seem to prefer this spot. They’re more colorful and I am noticing the bleached color is becoming more of a bright purple.

They’re slightly closed up right now, because a tiny nasarrius snail decided to make the zoas its home, in between the various polyps. I think the devils hand is angry because of some nuisance algae. Any idea on how to remove it? It’s really bugging it out.

 

[NatureHold]

Not much we can do to help if you don't post your full water parameters...

However, I skimmed through your build thread and didn't see anything about cycling other than adding the rock in. If you do not have a population of nitrifying bacteria (to run your nitrogen cycle), your ammonia levels will always raise to toxic levels.

IMO, if you have zero nitrites and nitrates but a high level of ammonia, your tank did not cycle. All of your livestock are little ammonia factories, and there is essentially nothing in your tank that is removing it other than your water changes which do not seem to be frequent enough to combat the ammonia spikes.

 

[Lasse]

I need to know the brand of your NH3/NH4 measuring kit. They often give false readings. we do not need good - we need numbers

Sincerely Lasse