Help! Acro mini colony dying overnight.

[XLOR8T]

Woke up to scratching my head. 1 of the acros in my coral QT has gone 50% white. I don’t think I can call it bleaching. I suspect RTN. Need some help to diagnose and remedy. Has been healthy with polyps our even during the day. Sitting 3” below water under Prime HD lights on AB+ fed Reef energy AB and Reef roids and Reef frenzy. Did my nightly check at 7pm last night. Temp is controlled by Apex down to .2 degree max swing, flow is 1000+ GPH wavemaker. I have other sps that are doing ok. Except for another mini colony that looks like it’s started something similar from the bottom, my lights haven’t come on to really see LPS open up. Most of mine close over night. Parameters below. Lost a firefish in another qt last night. Not a great 24 hours. I have water ready for a water change, wasn’t sure how big I should go or if I should wait. TIA

Salinity 35
Temp 77
Nitrate 4
Phosphate 0.08
Alk 8.1
Cal 440
Mag 1520

 

[Diesel]

Are these fairly new corals in your qt?
How long has your qt been setup?
Tell us the history of the qt?

 

[erky]

how stable is the alk, how many times are your dosing daily?

 

[Aaron-A2]

I'm not an expert, but regardless of why it's happening, saving something from the colony might be in order. Consider fragging healthy pieces without dead tissue just in case the entire colony RTN's.

 

[XLOR8T]

Are these fairly new corals in your qt?
How long has your qt been setup?
Tell us the history of the qt?

Corals are 2 weeks old. QT is 2 months old. Qt plan is 80 day fallow with inverts in same QT batch.

Coral rx dip and brush bases on all corals.

Very stable with nutrients using nopox and the big marine pure block in 40gal tank

 

[XLOR8T]

how stable is the alk, how many times are your dosing daily?

Consumption is very low. Maybe 0.05 dkh drop per day. I dose 1mil of ESV bionic 2 part daily. Never had alk above 8.2 never below 7.9 (started at 7.9 and slowly rose as my ESV dose was a hair high. But stable now.

 

[XLOR8T]

I'm not an expert, but regardless of why it's happening, saving something from the colony might be in order. Consider fragging healthy pieces without dead tissue just in case the entire colony RTN's.

Ya I have to get fragging kit ASAP. What should I do with the 2nd that has white branch in the bottom.

 

[XLOR8T]

I thought he qt is Doing well. My 10 head Duncan actually split 2 extra heads in 3 weeks

 

[Aaron-A2]

Ya I have to get fragging kit ASAP. What should I do with the 2nd that has white branch in the bottom.

I would not include ANY dead tissue. Also, for sps, you may consider getting a dremel tool over a bone cutter.

 

[29bonsaireef]

The tank looks very sterile, how new is it? And, were they wild corals? looks like a Spathulata colony which are not one of the easiest to keep.

IMHO, I would re think the setup. How long do you plan to keep corals in the QT? If you're looking to QT strictly SPS you're gonna need a better light then what you've got. Everyone of those acros seems to be in rough shape. How are you exporting/controlling nutrients? When I first got into the hobby as a kid I was told the old saying 'wait till you see the purple coralline before adding hard corals". All tanks even QT need time to cycle, and balance out. I hate to say it but I don't see those acro colonies living too much longer in that system. Most everyone of us has been there at some point, and it sucks.. Ride it out, keep up with WC and stability. Look into better lights and wait until you see steady growth on frags before adding more corals or colonies.

 

[Diesel]

Corals are 2 weeks old. QT is 2 months old. Qt plan is 80 day fallow with inverts in same QT batch.

Coral rx dip and brush bases on all corals.

Very stable with nutrients using nopox and the big marine pure block in 40gal tank

IMO, that there might be the problem.
Coral RX is it can be very harsh on SPS and I mean any kind of small polyp.
Especially when you brush them as you remove the protecting skin coating all SPS have some more than others.
Than again it hard to say why some in your fragsystem have this and others not.
I have lost colonies overnight for unexplainable reasons though, even the more experience reefers experience that.
Frag what ever you can and I hope it’s not a total loss.

Btw, bayer used buy so many hobbyist nowadays isn’t that tough on SPS.

 

[jda]

Is that a wild or mari coral? They can be VERY hard with only the most perfect tanks sometimes doing Ok with them. Frags from know colonies are significantly easier.

 

[XLOR8T]

The tank looks very sterile, how new is it? And, were they wild corals? looks like a Spathulata colony which are not one of the easiest to keep.

IMHO, I would re think the setup. How long do you plan to keep corals in the QT? If you're looking to QT strictly SPS you're gonna need a better light then what you've got. Everyone of those acros seems to be in rough shape. How are you exporting/controlling nutrients? When I first got into the hobby as a kid I was told the old saying 'wait till you see the purple coralline before adding hard corals". All tanks even QT need time to cycle, and balance out. I hate to say it but I don't see those acro colonies living too much longer in that system. Most everyone of us has been there at some point, and it sucks.. Ride it out, keep up with WC and stability. Look into better lights and wait until you see steady growth on frags before adding more corals or colonies.

It’s 80% lps and 20% sps in the qt. At shallow depth where I’m keeping the sps im getting 250-300 par. It’s a Prime HD coveting a 6” by 12” tack. The larger parts are on another prime but sitting 10” below water. 100-150 par

Nutrients are stable using nopox. Sometime they drop too fast to 0.25 and up my feeding go get up to 1-2 nitrate. PO4 was zero. I started some brine shrimp for the nassarius and PO4 is up to 0.08 used to be 3ppb on the hanna ULR.

The tank was cycled and stable. No issues with LPS and the other sps are doing ok. The birds of paradise is growing. My Duncan has grown 2 extra heads in 3 weeks. I know what you mean by maturity but I want waiting 6 months on a qt there fishless. It’s not going to mature without life in it and I’m not introducing fish to it.

 

[XLOR8T]

IMO, that there might be the problem.
Coral RX is it can be very harsh on SPS and I mean any kind of small polyp.
Especially when you brush them as you remove the protecting skin coating all SPS have some more than others.
Than again it hard to say why some in your fragsystem have this and others not.
I have lost colonies overnight for unexplainable reasons though, even the more experience reefers experience that.
Frag what ever you can and I hope it’s not a total loss.

Btw, bayer used buy so many hobbyist nowadays isn’t that tough on SPS.

I only brush the frag plugs or rock not the sps itself. I have revive too but used coral rx with advice of my coral source that has one of the best selections and quality of corals.

I will frag it. Should I only frag odd the dead part of the other one there 90% ok?

 

[XLOR8T]

Is that a wild or mari coral? They can be VERY hard with only the most perfect tanks sometimes doing Ok with them. Frags from know colonies are significantly easier.

It’s a wild Aussie colony. Don’t know what it’s called. I will frag it. It will be my first fragging experience. Gonna buy a dremel and get to work.

 

[jda]

I see a littany of potential issues. No 2 month old tank is stable - none. QT is even harder without much rock or places for bacteria to grow. Hydra alone is not a great light for acropora right out of the ocean - these can be very hard to start with and most people who have great success land them under better lights. Organic Carbon dosing (NoPOX) on a fresh tank is asking for trouble, IMO.

I do not dip wild stuff until it has recovered and started to grow. Sometimes, this can take months... but if it is in a QT, then there is no huge hurry. Bayer is better than CoralRx or Revive and is easier on the corals.

Nass snails need to eat more then brine shrimp. Some mysis or other more nutritious stuff is better, but fresh detritus (not yet broken down) is best. They really need a constant supply of food from an established tank to do well. This is why coral and invert QT can be next to impossible except for on paper since it is so hard to provide snails and inverts a proper home for 80 days without fish or a full ecosystem to support them.

You can frag with stainless bone cutters. There is no need for a Dremmel unless you HAVE to - the rotary blades get hot and the coral will be out of the water for too long. Sometimes you cannot avoid a Dremmel or tile saw, but you should if you can.

As you have found out, birdsnest or LPS (duncan) is not on the same level as acropora. Do not use a birdsnest as a litmus test for acros, but you can use an acro for a litmus for a birdsnest, monti, poci or stylo.

 

[XLOR8T]

I see a littany of potential issues. No 2 month old tank is stable - none. QT is even harder without much rock or places for bacteria to grow. Hydra alone is not a great light for acropora right out of the ocean - these can be very hard to start with and most people who have great success land them under better lights. Organic Carbon dosing (NoPOX) on a fresh tank is asking for trouble, IMO.

I do not dip wild stuff until it has recovered and started to grow. Sometimes, this can take months... but if it is in a QT, then there is no huge hurry. Bayer is better than CoralRx or Revive and is easier on the corals.

Nass snails need to eat more then brine shrimp. Some mysis or other more nutritious stuff is better, but fresh detritus (not yet broken down) is best. They really need a constant supply of food from an established tank to do well. This is why coral and invert QT can be next to impossible except for on paper since it is so hard to provide snails and inverts a proper home for 80 days without fish or a full ecosystem to support them.

You can frag with stainless bone cutters. There is no need for a Dremmel unless you HAVE to - the rotary blades get hot and the coral will be out of the water for too long. Sometimes you cannot avoid a Dremmel or tile saw, but you should if you can.

As you have found out, birdsnest or LPS (duncan) is not on the same level as acropora. Do not use a birdsnest as a litmus test for acros, but you can use an acro for a litmus for a birdsnest, monti, poci or stylo.

My QT had a 8x8x4 marine pure block in 40gal tank. More surface area than any volume of rock I can fit in there and I have rings in the filter too. I know acros are harder and wild ones are even more so. I just didn’t understand how it went from full polyp extensions and happy over night to this. If it was slowly declining I would take credit for the inadequate environment.

I feed my inverts a variety. Mysis, LRS Reef frenzy and herbivores diet. Algae wafers. I’ve had good success with my inverts in qt in the past.

 

[Diesel]

Reading through all your answers on questions and suggestions other hobbyist gave you I believe you did everything right, it was a bad colony.
This could happen to anyone.
Keep doing what ya be doing and sometimes take a loss as it is.
There isn’t a right solution for it.

 

[XLOR8T]

Reading through all your answers on questions and suggestions other hobbyist gave you I believe you did everything right, it was a bad colony.
This could happen to anyone.
Keep doing what ya be doing and sometimes take a loss as it is.
There isn’t a right solution for it.

Found this. Not sure if it has anything to do with it. Seeing 6-7 of them

 

[Acroporaaddict]

From what I've read, wild acro colonies need lower alkalinity. I'll see if I can find the link. Also, I think you need stronger lighting for them as well