Have you ever seen this????
- Thread starter Dom
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muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
I see a ton of vermetid snails below the coral on the rock work. They could be irritating the bottom half of the coral.
OP
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Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
Is that what all this spiney things growing from my rock and and plumbing are?
I didn't think that it was anything irritating it because the area looks completely bleached.
It isn't just bleached, the tissue is gone. Rapid tissue necrosis. It could be caused by stings or other severe stress.
Did you have a massive swing in the last day? How long have you had this colony? Do you feed it? How old is your system? It could have also been stung by something as suggested
OP
OP
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
Well... my calcium was very low when I checked over the weekend. I'm planning a new build, so, I didn't want to invest in any dosing equipment until the new build is under way.
I have the same coral in green and it is unaffected. All of my other corals are unaffected and thriving.
There was a time when I would add microvert to the tank to feed, but I ran out years ago and haven't fed since, relying on their filter feeding from the water column.
This tank has been up and running for 770 days. And all the corals in this tank started as frags 3 years ago (they were moved from a smaller tank). Everything else s thriving.
I don't have a cleanup crew of any kind in the tank, and it is bare bottom, so I don't believe there is anything that is irritating it.
It was suggested earlier in the thread that vermetid snails may be the issue, I'm not sure what these are. Are they the spiney projections growing from my rock and return?
I'm off to check my parameters, although, I don't believe that is the issue. If it were a parameter issue, I would think it would effect more then this one coral.
OP
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Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
Ok... I think it comes down to this; I have been neglecting the tank. Looking at my notes, I can see this to be true.
Spring is here and with all that is going on, I imagine most of my time outside will be spent in my own backyard. So with the extra heavy cleaning and my new power washer (I Love Toys), I haven't been watching things too closely.
Getting back to regular water changes will be a good place to start. But I will increase from every 7 days to every 5 . I noticed several months ago that my Calcium and ALK consumption rate had picked up. I may have waited too long to address it.
Tests and water change tomorrow, then a plan.
Spring is here and with all that is going on, I imagine most of my time outside will be spent in my own backyard. So with the extra heavy cleaning and my new power washer (I Love Toys), I haven't been watching things too closely.
Getting back to regular water changes will be a good place to start. But I will increase from every 7 days to every 5 . I noticed several months ago that my Calcium and ALK consumption rate had picked up. I may have waited too long to address it.
Tests and water change tomorrow, then a plan.
muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
Yes, the vermetid snails are the spiney projections growing from the rocks. They make the rock look a bit like a pincussion. They are a filter feeding snail that builds a calcium-based skeletal structure to protect their bodies and put out a mucus web into the water column to feed. The reason they are such a difficult pest is they don't really have any natural predators and dips don't seem to affect them. Some people have luck with bumblebee snails and some wrasses, but it's limited at best. I'm currently battling them in my tank and the more I remove the more I seem to notice. And that's the ones that I can see. I'm sure there are plenty deep in the rockwork and maybe even the plumbing that I can't get to.
After reading some of the other responses, I'm not so sure the vermetids would have caused this level of RTN but I guess it's possible. However, they are definitely not something you want in your tank. They spread incredibly fast and can irritate corals with their mucus web. When you start your new build, if you're planning to transfer any corals over from this tank I'd highly recommend being diligent about inspecting and removing any vermetids first. Even better would be to quarantine your corals first to make sure none slip through. All it takes is one to get through and they will propagate in your new tank. There are numerous threads on the forums here about people breaking their tanks down because of these guys.
OP
OP
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
UPDATE:
I completed a 25% water change today and will do another in 5 days. My test results from this morning are as follows:
Temp = 77.4
Salinity = 33ppt
pH = 8.2
Alk =8.5
Ca = 200 (way low)
Mg = 800 (way low)
PO4 = .12
NO3 = 0
I've made adjustments to salinity in the new water going in. I mixed to about 37 ppt and will continue to do so until the salinity is at 35ppt.
The big issue is the calcium. Water changes used to be enough to replenish my elements, but not any more, apparently.
So I've begun a Kalkwasser drip who's rate is 12 drips per minute. Nothing fancy, just a simple, gravity-fed drip. If necessary, I will dial it back (or open it up) depending on my calcium numbers tomorrow.
Pictures of my Kalk drip system:
I completed a 25% water change today and will do another in 5 days. My test results from this morning are as follows:
Temp = 77.4
Salinity = 33ppt
pH = 8.2
Alk =8.5
Ca = 200 (way low)
Mg = 800 (way low)
PO4 = .12
NO3 = 0
I've made adjustments to salinity in the new water going in. I mixed to about 37 ppt and will continue to do so until the salinity is at 35ppt.
The big issue is the calcium. Water changes used to be enough to replenish my elements, but not any more, apparently.
So I've begun a Kalkwasser drip who's rate is 12 drips per minute. Nothing fancy, just a simple, gravity-fed drip. If necessary, I will dial it back (or open it up) depending on my calcium numbers tomorrow.
Pictures of my Kalk drip system:
Last edited:
Uncle99
10K Club member
I guess if you were not feeding and push came to shove “maybe” but not top of my thinking.
I mean that’s a lot of polyps gone for one night, just in that area, rest looks quite healthy, rest of your corals are fine.
Quite strange....
OP
OP
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
What's also odd is that my protein skimmer has been out of the tank for about 2 weeks (cleaning) and preparing it for a new sump as part of a rebuild. I get good growth of the chaetomorpha in the fuge.
And the NO3 number is tested and confirmed using API and Red Sea.
Uncle99
10K Club member
Your posting indicated a MG at 800ppm which you rightfully tagged as low.
When MG is low, it becomes very difficult to bring the Alk and CA up to range.
When I make adjustments to Alk and/or CA, I make sure my MG is in the 1260-1360ppm range first.
That being said, I personally dont think it is your cause.
Usually water issues that are Ok, but not ideal would cause a slow demise, your talking overnight which baffles me, other than lunch or polyp bailout due to a significant and fast change in chemistry, or temp.
When MG is low, it becomes very difficult to bring the Alk and CA up to range.
When I make adjustments to Alk and/or CA, I make sure my MG is in the 1260-1360ppm range first.
That being said, I personally dont think it is your cause.
Usually water issues that are Ok, but not ideal would cause a slow demise, your talking overnight which baffles me, other than lunch or polyp bailout due to a significant and fast change in chemistry, or temp.
