Flatworms?

[BTimms]

I have been having slow STN or death... on a few of my sps and monti.

I can’t see for sure, but I suspect flatworms. My parameters have not moved, and are Stable.

What is your professional diagnosis?

 

[ScottB]

Montis and acros are attacked by different critters: monti eating nudibranchs and aefw respectively.

As they are both being affected, I would suspect a more systemic issue. If you want to rule out aefw, remove the acro and dip/baste it. Google some images for flatworms. You won't be able to see them on the flesh, but in a clear or white container they show up plainly.

The monti eating nudis are white little snowflake critters that come out at night.

Again, that both are troubled, I would be double checking parameters and doing an ICP to rule out possible metals, etc.

 

[jda]

AEFW are only on acropora, that I have never heard of. You should be able to see bite marks and egg sacks - I don't see any of those in the photos. I don't know of any birdsnest pests, but I don't keep them so I just might be dumb... sorry.

 

[BTimms]

Thank you both!
I do not see any flatworms, but I do wonder if I see eggs or sometimes even the white nudibranchs.
I did however recently raise my lights, but this issue started before that event.

my parameters:

Alk 8dkh
Cal 420
Mag 1300
Phos 0.1 or less

 

[vetteguy53081]

I see no foreign pests but possible RTN

 

[BTimms]

I see no foreign pests but possible RTN

I tend to agree.
I lost an Acro a couple of weeks ago in a very rapid way, but this seems different.
my concern is that the tissue death is happening in shaded spots, which could be lighting issue or bugs that don’t like the lights. And the birds nest coral is in wide open direct light. I’m lost.

 

[Chrisv.]

I tend to agree.
I lost an Acro a couple of weeks ago in a very rapid way, but this seems different.
my concern is that the tissue death is happening in shaded spots, which could be lighting issue or bugs that don’t like the lights. And the birds nest coral is in wide open direct light. I’m lost.

I was just going to comment about the shadows.

You would have to have exceptionally bad luck to have a pest that either eats all three genera (idk of any) or three different pests.

My vote is shadow issues. Is this a single point source light, like a kessil?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I tend to agree.
I lost an Acro a couple of weeks ago in a very rapid way, but this seems different.
my concern is that the tissue death is happening in shaded spots, which could be lighting issue or bugs that don’t like the lights. And the birds nest coral is in wide open direct light. I’m lost.

​

Check temperature and salinity. Temperature stress can increase chances of coral disease development in several ways by creating stress in the coral's zooxanthellae and decreasing its resistance to infection and pathogenic bacterias. This is where lighting is important.

Some possible triggers of infection are:
- Alkalinity spike
- Temperature spike
- Salinity spike
- Low dissolved oxygen
- Poor water quality related with phosphate levels up to 5 ppm
- Change in water flow
- Additions of sand
- Changes in brand of salt
- Bad test kits giving faulty results
- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium
- Light intensity
- - Changes in water flow

 

[BTimms]

I was just going to comment about the shadows.

You would have to have exceptionally bad luck to have a pest that either eats all three genera (idk of any) or three different pests.

My vote is shadow issues. Is this a single point source light, like a kessil?

It is two led strips. Which create somewhat of a panel.

 

[BTimms]

​

Check temperature and salinity. Temperature stress can increase chances of coral disease development in several ways by creating stress in the coral's zooxanthellae and decreasing its resistance to infection and pathogenic bacterias.

Some possible triggers of infection are:
- Alkalinity spike
- Temperature spike
- Salinity spike
- Low dissolved oxygen
- Poor water quality related with phosphate levels up to 5 ppm
- Change in water flow
- Additions of sand
- Changes in brand of salt
- Bad test kits giving faulty results
- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium
- Light intensity
- - Changes in water flow

Could an issue like this be caused by too much iodine? Other than a slight lift in lighting, iodine has been the only other thing that has been added. I added a bit of iodine thinking it might help.

 

[Chrisv.]

Could an issue like this be caused by too much iodine? Other than a slight lift in lighting, iodine has been the only other thing that has been added. I added a bit of iodine thinking it might help.

If you have a decent amount of coral, you will have a hard time keeping iodine in the detectable range... unless you add a ton. Do you measure it?

 

[BTimms]

If you have a decent amount of coral, you will have a hard time keeping iodine in the detectable range... unless you add a ton. Do you measure it?

Six drops

 

[Chrisv.]

Six drops

Oh I meant do you measure the iodide concentration in your tank.
I'm of two minds here. On one hand I tend to believe that one should test for something if they plan to supplement it. On the other hand, I've never had enough iodine in my tank unless I just finished dosing...so sometimes I dose and shrug my shoulders.

 

[BTimms]

Oh I meant do you measure the iodide concentration in your tank.
I'm of two minds here. On one hand I tend to believe that one should test for something if they plan to supplement it. On the other hand, I've never had enough iodine in my tank unless I just finished dosing...so sometimes I dose and shrug my shoulders.

Yeah I agree. I’d prefer to be able to test for it. But I have no way to test iodine.

 

[Chrisv.]

Yeah I agree. I’d prefer to be able to test for it. But I have no way to test iodine.

I use the seachem test kit and I really don't like it. Anyway, not trying to get in the weeds. I doubt you are ODing iodine.

 

[minus9]

If you can’t test for it, then I probably wouldn’t dose it. Too much iodine can cause TN issues. Can you tell us more about your tank? Size? Age? Dry rock or live rock (ocean or from another established tank)? Fish? Having TN on a variety of corals points to a couple of things, but as suggested above, ICP could help illuminate some of these issues. Inadequate lighting and parameter swings or elevated trace elements or depleted elements can cause TN. There are too many variables here, so having more info may help.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

The montipora has some white squiggly looking things on the back part of the coral that look very suspect of being monti eating nudis.

 

[jda]

Iodine is a halide which are all poisons at some level - close to bleach. Iodide is what most reef organisms use. I would stop doing it. There are all sorts of articles about this or that with none really proving that any is really needed in our tank. If you must dose it, then look to dose iodide, but just water changes should be enough. Dr. Holmes-Farley has an excellent article on these compounds... it is complicated.

All of that said, I doubt that too much Iodine is your issue.

Go back to the basics. Recalibrate your refractometer, check your temp with something with mercury in it, check your test kits for expiration and accuracy and all of that. If you can beg or borrow a PAR meter, then try that out. Check out your RODI filters and TDS. ...you know, that kind of stuff. Change some water.

You totally could have pests, but the MEN don't affect the others and the AEFW only affect acropora. The same kind would not be getting all of them, and I hope that you don't have many different types.