Help! My blastos are dying

JenB · Feb 3, 2016

Blastos - one of my favorite corals. I'm starting to lose my colonies one by one and I don't know why! I'll start by saying my husband does all the water testing and dosing (so I don't know the numbers off hand). He also works at a well known LFS. So he knows his stuff about where the levels should be. That being said - we can't figure out why I'm losing my colonies. I've lost some expensive blastos! What seems to happen - is one day they all look great and then one colony starts to slowly recede. And then slowly the entire colony dies. Once that colony is dead - the next colony starts the same process. They were all doing amazing - low light - low flow.. huge heads - happy blastos. Now this - if anyone has any input that can help us save my remaining colonies that would be great!!!!

Desperately trying to save them!!

tripdad · Feb 3, 2016

If it only affects one colony at a time, then the next, I would look for a pest/predator. Any sea stars in tank? Check at night with a uv flashlight.

tristanfish · Feb 3, 2016

Agree with tripdad...

Also, what kind of fish do you have? I would get your water parameters checked just in case

JenB · Feb 3, 2016

Husband checks water almost nightly. As far as fish - 2 clowns, lavender tang, yellow tang, coral beauty, one purple Queen anthias and two Randal anthias, neon ditty back and six line wrasse

JenB · Feb 3, 2016

Gonna dip all of the blastos tonight

tristanfish · Feb 3, 2016

JenB said:
Husband checks water almost nightly. As far as fish - 2 clowns, lavender tang, yellow tang, coral beauty, one purple Queen anthias and two Randal anthias, neon ditty back and six line wrasse

Speaking from recent activities in my tank. I have over 18 diff blastos/colonies.

I've had some issues with colonies just all of a sudden melting away for no reasons also. So I thought.....one day, sat and watched all the fishies. What I saw was flame angel nipping on them. Not just nipping around. But ate pieces. Not sure what changed with him. Just out of the blue. Had to remove it and now... No more dying of blastos.

Not sure if your coral beauty would be the culprit..... But I would watch.

But blastos are weird. You just don't know.

nbagnardi · Feb 3, 2016

tristanfish said:
Speaking from recent activities in my tank. I have over 18 diff blastos/colonies.

I've had some issues with colonies just all of a sudden melting away for no reasons also. So I thought.....one day, sat and watched all the fishies. What I saw was flame angel nipping on them. Not just nipping around. But ate pieces. Not sure what changed with him. Just out of the blue. Had to remove it and now... No more dying of blastos.

Not sure if your coral beauty would be the culprit..... But I would watch.

But blastos are weird. You just don't know.

Especially Indonesian blastos. I've gone through my fair share where they were thriving one day and skeleton the next. I'd definitely look into that coral beauty too. They're just like flame angels, once they get a taste for corals... It never leaves them. Sucks cause they're such a beautiful fish too.

reef lover · Feb 4, 2016

Any shrimp in the tank? I had a peppermint that would literally rip the insides right out of lps.

JenB · Feb 4, 2016

We have a cleaner shrimp but that's it. I'll have to watch that coral beauty. We dipped the affected blastos last night - just small bristle stars came out and one red worm - looked like a baby bobbit worm not sure though - that really concerns me. But not sure what to do about it