Euphyllia Dying - Need Help

[shibashake]

I need some help. Any euphyllia I get seem to die suddenly about 3 months after being in my tank. They go from healthy to pulled in one day to completely gone the next. I've lost two torches and one hammer with a second hammer that is dying now. Frogspawn seem to be the only thing that's immune. I've tried Revive dips to no avail. I've sent my water into ATI to see if they could help solve the mystery. The only thing it found was high silicates from a bad RO/DI filter, which was corrected a month ago.

The previous hammer and the one dying now show signs of possible brown jelly, but no other corals have been introduced recently to bring this into the tank and I waited several months to put another one in the tank since the last one died. Is there some sort of disease or pest that could be causing this that wouldn't respond to being dipped? I was silly in thinking I had kicked whatever this was after a couple of months of my wall hammer doing very well and purchased some expensive torches, so I'm really motivated to find a solution. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Gernader]

I’m sorry to hear this happening. I recommend you to post your tank parameters first to see if anything is off

 

[ReefHomieJon]

I lost a torch and had no problems with my hammer or two frogspawns. They kept growing. Then my other torch that was next to it started retracting and I couldn’t figure it out so I moved it to the sand bed because I figured it was lighting or flow. Came home one day and was like WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE!?!? And took pics and posted on here and they ended up being Euphyllia eating flatworms. There were 4. I didn’t dip the torch tho, I manually removed them. This was last week, and now the torch is showing strong signs of recovery. The tentacles are getting longer than I’ve seen them in a while. Keep an eye out for worms! They may be the culprit

 

[ReefHomieJon]

 

[DarthSimon]

So you have seen brown jelly correct? This is a bacterial infection that could possibly be in your water column. Best bet is to stay away from Euphyllia for 3-4 months. Same thing happened to me last summer. Lost all of it... I stayed away from Euphyllia for 3-4 months, and started slowly.... Piece at a time until they were all ok.,

 

[ScottR]

Simple solution: iodine dip. Typically euphyllia fall victim to bacterial diseases such as brown jelly. I’ve saved lots of euphyllia using iodine dips.

 

[DarthSimon]

Also Furan dips seem to be working extremely well.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

If you don't have sufficient nitrates and phosphates, the euphyllia will eventually starve to death. What are your nutrient levels?

 

[shibashake]

Thank you. Where are the flatworms? Is it the long dark sections? I've never seen anything but now I'm worried I may have missed them. Are they out at night or when the lights are on?

 

[shibashake]

So you have seen brown jelly correct? This is a bacterial infection that could possibly be in your water column. Best bet is to stay away from Euphyllia for 3-4 months. Same thing happened to me last summer. Lost all of it... I stayed away from Euphyllia for 3-4 months, and started slowly.... Piece at a time until they were all ok.,

Thank you. I waited a few months, but that may have not been long enough. I am not certain if it is brown jelly or just the coral dying. It doesn't look exactly like the photos of brown jelly I've seen but also not completely different. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic because I've been removing any bit I see with a turkey baster immediately. Does brown jelly take a few months to kill the coral because it's been healthy for the past three months. Do you know if there is anything preventative I can do to keep the other torches alive?

 

[DarthSimon]

In my experience, I had probably 20 different corals go in a 4 week period. Was one after another sadly.

 

[shibashake]

If you don't have sufficient nitrates and phosphates, the euphyllia will eventually starve to death. What are your nutrient levels?

I did just lower the phosphates (a month ago) due to the silicate remover I put in the tank. I wonder if this is the issue. I was reading that euphyllia don't tolerate nitrates well. My nitrates are low (undetectable) but the algae in the tank tells me they are still there. I think they are just masked because I have a refugium.

 

[shibashake]

Simple solution: iodine dip. Typically euphyllia fall victim to bacterial diseases such as brown jelly. I’ve saved lots of euphyllia using iodine dips.

Thanks! I had tried Revive and didn't think about iodine! Dipping now. Hope I'm not too late!

 

[ReefHomieJon]

Thank you. Where are the flatworms? Is it the long dark sections? I've never seen anything but now I'm worried I may have missed them. Are they out at night or when the lights are on?

Yup. That’s them

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I could never keep euphyllia with undetectable nitrates. Phosphates always run 0.04-0.08 ppm with no issues at all.

If the corals are starving, they are more susceptible to diseases like brown jelly.

 

[shibashake]

In my experience, I had probably 20 different corals go in a 4 week period. Was one after another sadly.

Ugh, I'm so sorry.. that would be devastating! This is definitely not a cheap hobby and I get attached to every one of those corals and fish.

 

[shibashake]

I could never keep euphyllia with undetectable nitrates. Phosphates always run 0.04-0.08 ppm with no issues at all.

If the corals are starving, they are more susceptible to diseases like brown jelly.

Thanks. I will prob need to dose nitrates. I'm thinking my phosphates will come back up naturally now that the silicate remover is out, but will monitor.

 

[ScottR]

Thanks! I had tried Revive and didn't think about iodine! Dipping now. Hope I'm not too late!

All revive will do is stun whatever is on the coral. Iodine will work as a disinfectant. My euphyllia do best in higher flow. I believe it helps to clean them. If their tentacles are not moving enough, they seem more prone to infection.

 

[Vin's Reef]

Thank you. Where are the flatworms? Is it the long dark sections? I've never seen anything but now I'm worried I may have missed them. Are they out at night or when the lights are on?

I JUST CHECKED. I HAVE THEM TOO!!!

 

[chris new reefer]

Hello,
I know it’s a bit of old thread but I thought I give it a try.

I have exactly the same problem.
head after head is dying. And I can easily see those flatworms, because my euphylia colonies are right at the glass.

do you think there is a different solution to remove them by hand?
Maybe a dip or even an in tank treatment?

thank you very much for your help.
chris