Favia covered in bacteria

Forty-Two · Nov 27, 2021

Hi there - a few months ago we got a Favia that was pretty ill. It was covered in algae and clearly not doing well. We tried to heal it by doing a peroxide bath and then putting it on the bottom under low lights.

The algae all got cleaned up and it seemed to be healing - (we even had a polyp split ) however what we didn’t recognize was that bacteria was colonizing on it - presumably because it’s in a low flow area.

Its now badly covered in bacteria. I’ve moved it to an area that as higher flow and plan to get another pump to increase the overall flow in the tank - however I’m not sure what else we can do to save the Favia? It seems to be very sensitive to light - doesn’t feed well and is slow a healing.

Captain Hook · Nov 27, 2021

That’s detritus build up. No big deal just get some more flow on it.

Forty-Two · Nov 28, 2021

Captain Hook said:
That’s detritus build up. No big deal just get some more flow on it.

ahh ok thanks!

GHOSTLY · Nov 28, 2021

Favia actually do ok in medium flow imo. You could turkey baste it or move it to higher flow. Itd quite a nice piece!

Forty-Two · Nov 28, 2021

GHOSTLY said:
Favia actually do ok in medium flow imo. You could turkey baste it or move it to higher flow. Itd quite a nice piece!

Thank you.

I tried turkey basting it a bit - I was worried about damaging the polyps on it so I was pretty gentle. Not much came off. Im hoping to get a new pump today - and hopefully that will help over time.

He's a tough little guy to make happy - we've tried all sorts of stuff with him. The latest attempt is to place him under rocks so the light isnt directly on him.

GHOSTLY · Nov 28, 2021

Forty-Two said:
Thank you.

I tried turkey basting it a bit - I was worried about damaging the polyps on it so I was pretty gentle. Not much came off. Im hoping to get a new pump today - and hopefully that will help over time.

He's a tough little guy to make happy - we've tried all sorts of stuff with him. The latest attempt is to place him under rocks so the light isnt directly on him.

Mines growing out on a plate in high flow and directly under a rsdion in 13g. They're hardy