Have you brought a corals back from the dead

[sixty_reefer]

Looking for stories of anyone that brought a coral back from the dead, tips and guide lines would be really cool also.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Unfortunately, yes, several to be honest. I actually had a mini tank crash due to low nutrient availability. I was literally starving tank inhabitants with clean water Once I stabilized the nutrients, things improved rather quickly.

I've also had some bacterial infections that I was able to stop with iodine dips. The dip would sterilize the infected site and allow the coral to recover.

 

[Phildago]

Maybe. When I first started I had a light that was way underpowered. I had some zoas that died and got buried in sand. A few months later I upgraded my light and began to be able to keep corals. A year later I found some of those zoas that had died growing on the shell that had been burried.

 

[Johniejumbo]

I’ve had a plate and a hammer coral come back from dead looking skeleton. I really can’t say that I did much to help with that as I was the cause of them looking dead in the first place. I did manage to keep the water quality pretty good but other than that they cheated death on their own. So far.......

 

[redfishbluefish]

Most recently I had set up a twenty long to hold a hammer colony that fell apart as I removed it from my DT.

While on vacation the powerhead and filter clogged with algae, resulting in no flow. I came home to a dead tank:

I cleaned the powerhead and filter, but was so disgusted, I left the tank running with the intent to clean some other day.....a typical procrastinator move....and one I do quite well.

When I finally got around to clean and toss everything out, I found little green heads coming out of the stalks of what I though was dead coral.

A close-up:

My advice....procrastinate....don't be so quick to throw out what you think might be dead. It just might come back from the dead if you give it a little time and loving care.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Most recently I had set up a twenty long to hold a hammer colony that fell apart as I removed it from my DT.

While on vacation the powerhead and filter clogged with algae, resulting in no flow. I came home to a dead tank:

I cleaned the powerhead and filter, but was so disgusted, I left the tank running with the intent to clean some other day.....a typical procrastinator move....and one I do quite well.

When I finally got around to clean and toss everything out, I found little green heads coming out of the stalks of what I though was dead coral.

A close-up:

My advice....procrastinate....don't be so quick to throw out what you think might be dead. It just might come back from the dead if you give it a little time and loving care.

I'm sorry to see that. It makes me sick to the stomach!

 

[jason17star]

My GSP didnt come out for a month but it eventually opened back out.

 

[vetteguy53081]

YES, MANY. HAD A DINO OUTBREAK IN CONJUNCTION WITH HIGH SALINITY. BATTLED THE DINO EASILY THEN LOWERED SALINITY. Some pieces that looked like bone have re-emerged to be Duncan, trumpet, birdnest, stylo, and Chalice

 

[fish farmer]

I had a head wave nuke my tank back around 2002. I recured all my rock. I had some bleached out palys and a green striped mushroom pop out after a few months. 17 years later the mushrooms are a menace.

 

[roberthu526]

I have had some acro coming back from almost all covered with coraline algae with some spots browned out. After water quality improved the tissue came back amazingly.

 

[ZoWhat]

Currently doing that with my zoas/palys dominated tank.

6mos ago zoas/palys were stagnant.

Sooooo.... 3 weeks ago starting daily adding:
* 1ml of amino acids polyplabs "booster"
* 2ml of brightwell "replenish" trace elements
* Two 1/16th teaspoons of ReefRoids
* removed my filter socks
* turned down my skimmer by 25% on the dial

Not sure which of the above actions is doing what....But I'm seeing areas where I was convinced my zoas had melted.... are now REGENERATING opening tiny polyps!!!

 

[Dennis Cartier]

With my frag tank, I have too many examples, right now unfortunately. This past winter, 3 vacations, 3 crashes. I lost most of my LPS and pretty much 100% of my SPS. Right now I have a hammer skeleton that is showing small polyps growing like @redfishbluefish, a plate coral that is showing no signs of life yet and a large frogspawn skeleton that is showing nothing yet. One of my favourite corals that I had kept for the last 5 years, some sort of smooth astreopora, had started growing back, it went from 1 polyp to 2 to 3, and then an urchin came along and ate the whole thing :mad:. I did not see the urchin do it, but when the same thing happened to my burning banana stylo, I noticed the urchin on the frag plug, and then my 5 remaining polyps were gone ... or so I thought. I noticed 1 polyp that was in a divit that the urchin could not reach. So I have a single polyp of burning banana that is attempting to grow back. I moved all the urchins of that type to the sump as I no longer consider them reef safe. I have a superman stylo that has managed to grow back to 25 polyps or so from 3. I am just trying to keep the parameters stable until the burning banana gets a less tenuous grip on life, lol.

Dennis

 

[jasonrusso]

3 times a year I think my favia is dead, then a couple weeks later it inflates bigger than ever!!

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Yes my first zoa. Was destroyed by a crab only one polip left then knocked down so many times it died again with only a tiny polyp left then I glued it down and it was happy for awhile but was finally destroyed by algae.

 

[DSC reef]

Lost a colony of a nice colored chalice growing for years. An alk swing decimated it. Ended up leaving the rock/skeleton in the tank and months later noticed a little tissue growing back. The pics in order is the colony, the colony dieing and the chalice coming back.

 

[Salty Lemon]

I had an Acan that grew to be a brilliant shade of white. Thinking it was dead, I placed a leather coral about five or so inches from it and I had plans to chisel the dead coral off the rock eventually, but just didn't get around to it. One day, I noticed some glowing pink in the "dead" white Acan when the blue lights were on. I kept it there and now it looks happy and healthy. However, my leather has become large -- but not as big as he will eventually get. I'm trying to decide whether to chisel the rock section that the acan is on to move it or relocate the leather -- both will be a pain in the butt. But I have to decide soon.

 

[Santa Claus]

Lost a colony of a nice colored chalice growing for years. An alk swing decimated it. Ended up leaving the rock/skeleton in the tank and months later noticed a little tissue growing back. The pics in order is the colony, the colony dieing and the chalice coming back.

Looks like a Christmas miracle to me!

 

[DSC reef]

Agreed

 

[noahreefer]

A year or so ago I took in my buddy’s frog spawn that looked like it was about to die and I was able to revive it and it has been growing quite well for me.

 

[Flippers4pups]

A while back, they are much bigger now.

9 years ago my stepdaughter bought me two heads of what looked to be dead Caulastraea for Father's day. Now, probably 500+ heads. Simply grows like a weed! Lol