Green Slimer with Odd tip

[Nick Rose]

On Sunday October 4th I noticed one of the tips on my green Slimer was looking odd. It’s purple and the tissue seems to be wrinkled. Could being stung by Xenia cause this? There was a Xenia next to it that I just removed thinking it might be the cause.

October 4th

October 7th

 

[Reefer40b]

Yes could have been the xenia.

 

[C. Eymann]

Have a white light pic? almost looks like a mild case of alk burn?

Alk : NP ratio?

 

[Nick Rose]

Have a white light pic? almost looks like a mild case of alk burn?

Alk : NP ratio?

The pics were taken when blues were at 78 and whites at 45. Why would it only affect two tips. All the other tips are good.

Alk:8.5
Ca:450
Mag:1380
No3: 10 or lower
Po4: .1 or lower

 

[Nick Rose]

Here is a update. A few more tips are doing the same thing and the first tip has some algae but the top polyp is still extended. Also I took a picture under 6500k. Today was water change day so I tested numbers. The Alk has changed over the last 4 weeks. 9/19: 8.6, 9/27&10/3: 8.9, 10/10: 8/15. During the last 3 weeks I noticed that it has either slowed or stopped growing.

Salinity: 35ppt
Alk: 8.15
Ca: 450
Mag: 1380
Po4: below .1
No3: Below 10
Temp: 78
Ph:8.3

 

[vetteguy53081]

Xenia corals do not sting nor cause chamical warfare. However, they can grow aggresively and overtake nearby corals. As simple as a snail upsetting it or burnt tip from light can cause this. Overall the coral looks healthy with good polyp extension and would keep an eye on it.

 

[Nick Rose]

I should also add I'm using AI Vegas. The peak period is 4hrs at 78blues and 65white which is giving between 200-250Par at the slimer, the other 4hrs is 78blues and 35white don't know the Par at these levels.

 

[HB AL]

Any fish in there that might have gotten a liking for it. Most of the time you have a fish that decides to try a coral it almost always goes right for the tips. The part with algae growing on it is a sign that section the algae is growing on is a patch of dead coral. Good luck hope you can figure it out. If lights havnt changed then its probably an animal of some sort.

 

[Nick Rose]

It seems like the purple tips have slowed/stopped. But today I just noticed one area that has receded and there is some spider web markings. Would this be a sponge? You can see where the tissue was.

 

[Nick Rose]

Well it’s still happening. Some more tips are turning white. Have no clue why it’s happening. I checked PAR and at the green Slimer it’s around 210.

Only parameters that have changed is that Ca has slowly gone up from 450 to 530 and Po4 went from below .1 to .14

 

[KrisReef]

A fast-growing corallite tip will often look white?

 

[Nick Rose]

No this is totally different. The white area has no tissue that’s why you see the algae. The odd thing is that some of the branches that have the white area still has a green polyp at the tip.

 

[schuby]

How long have you had the Green Slimer? Are you sure that your PO4 didn't go to zero? SPS can die/starve without PO4. Have you changed your lighting schedule/duration/intensity/mix in the last 1-4 months? How much does your Alk change day-to-day, when measured at the same time-of-day? Do you have any wavermakers/powerheads to create good flow?

 

[Nick Rose]

I got the green Slimer back in February. It didn’t start to grow until May. That’s when it took off fast but stopped growing in October when this started to happen. I’m positive that Po4 never went zero, I check it every week. Since March I have been slowly raising the white channel from 36% to 65%. Right now at peak which is 2.5hrs the blues are at 75%, whites 65%, Green/Red 10%. The Alk does not change day to day. I have two Icecap 1kGyres. There one bladed (but this week I’ve add the other blades)I’ve slowly ramped them up to 100%. There are Sine wave 100% cycle duration of 1min. I have attached a video of the polyps moving.

I’ve reduced the blues the other day. Thinking maybe par. My pocillopora likes it at 140-175.

This was in February

 

[KrisReef]

Was that a clownfish? I have had a clownfish that would tear acropora frags off their plug and dump them across the tank. I presume that the fish was making room for it's host anemone. Could your clownfish be biting these tips?

Good photo documentation on coral growth.

The only other question, have you done an ICP test recently?

 

[Nick Rose]

Was that a clownfish? I have had a clownfish that would tear acropora frags off their plug and dump them across the tank. I presume that the fish was making room for it's host anemone. Could your clownfish be biting these tips?

Good photo documentation on coral growth.

The only other question, have you done an ICP test recently?

Haven’t seen the clown fish nipping at the coral. The last ICP was in June.

Here is a time lapse of growth from May 26th to September 15th.