Long tentacle plate base torn? Eaten? Dying?

[bludeath5]

I noticed a recent issue in my long tentacle plate, but don't really know what it is or how to describe it. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.


The base looks torn, exposed. Usually it is very smooth and fleshy. This looks bony and nibbled at. Thoughts?

 

[itsken37]

I cannot see the picture.. Maybe it's me, but i'm not sure. Could you try posting it again?

 

[KrisReef]

I can see the pic here, but not in the link (too expand)

How long have you had this plate? When did the issue start?

 

[Auto-pilot]

My opinion is an infection!!! If I were you I would get it off the sand and clean that spot out with 50/50 hydrogen peroxide soution and a turkey baster for about a minute. . I have had a couple of plate corals and have had this issue. A lot of pathogenic creatures live in sand and the chance of infection goes up when you place them there. In the end I just keep my plate corals off the sand no more issues for me. This is just my experience but I think there is some sort of protozoan or bacteria that can cause this. It gets under the flesh eating away causing the coral to seperate from its skeleton. Had this happen about 3 times, every time I stoped the infection it took a couple months for it to heal.

 

[Auto-pilot]

can you pick it up and take a pic of the bottom were it is damaged

 

[Mr_Knightley]

that doesn't look too serious, just the effect of flow hitting the side of the polyp too hard. I would recommend you move it as soon as possible though, it doesn't seem to appreciate the conditions at all. As a general rule of thumb, never leave LPS corals in flow that deflates the flesh like that.
At the rate it seems to be going, a dip in Iodine would be a smart step to take. It appears that the flesh is a bit bare in that are, meaning infection can easily colonize the surface and damage the coral pretty bad. I have never tried the H2O2 method described above and don't think it would work all that well in this case, I could be wrong though.
Good luck with the coral! He otherwise appears happy, but any laminar flow hitting flesh like that is bound to do damage. Luckily the damage itself looks pretty fresh, so I don't think you'll have many problems.

 

[Auto-pilot]

that doesn't look too serious, just the effect of flow hitting the side of the polyp too hard. I would recommend you move it as soon as possible though, it doesn't seem to appreciate the conditions at all. As a general rule of thumb, never leave LPS corals in flow that deflates the flesh like that.
At the rate it seems to be going, a dip in Iodine would be a smart step to take. It appears that the flesh is a bit bare in that are, meaning infection can easily colonize the surface and damage the coral pretty bad. I have never tried the H2O2 method described above and don't think it would work all that well in this case, I could be wrong though.
Good luck with the coral! He otherwise appears happy, but any laminar flow hitting flesh like that is bound to do damage. Luckily the damage itself looks pretty fresh, so I don't think you'll have many problems.

Iodine has let me down so many times and a quick dip in Hydrogen peroxide is not hard on coral. Another look at the photo i would agree that it seems like high flow might have caused this. I do know that once there is a hole its really easy for these guys to get an infection especially on the sand.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

yeah plates are really good at getting infected lol I will have to try to H2O2 method at some point myself, as I use Iodine most times and would like to try something new!

 

[Auto-pilot]

yeah plates are really good at getting infected lol I will have to try to H2O2 method at some point myself, as I use Iodine most times and would like to try something new!

H2O2 Is great at fighting BJD. Just do not leave the coral in a solution for a long time! I once got distracted and forgot a infected frogspawn head that had fallen in the sand. 20 minutes later bubbles had formed inside the coral! It made it and the brown jelley died but I had to pop the air bubbles out of it after a week in the tank!

 

[bludeath5]

I messaged a friend, they are thinking perhaps something is eating it. I just saw a small chunk floating in the tank. I recently (last week) put my emerald crab into isolation under the tank due to picking on other coral, but I didn't notice this issue until this weekend. Other citizens are a fairy wrasse, two blennies, two clownfish, a damsel, a fire shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, and snails. I'm wondering if the crab picked a tiny bit, and then others began to nibble more.

One more picture:


Ideas?

A few thoughts:

• I could put the LTP into some cage thing to protect it until it heals and see if afterwards it could be reintroduced.
• I could start feeding more, maybe the fish are picking because they are hungry?

Thanks

 

[bludeath5]

For isolation, thought is to potentially put it in something like this until it heals:

 

[Cell]

Is it in high flow? It kind of looks like it's getting hit with direct flow from that direction.

 

[bludeath5]

There is no flow where I had put it overnight, and still chunks are floating around.

 

[bludeath5]

Well, I've isolated it and put it through a dip. Poor thing lost a lot of chunks from the dip, hoping it makes a recovery It was SO healthy for the first 3 months, so weird to see it take a turn so quickly.

Here is the pic after dip and isolation. A lot of the dead skin came away, leaving it quite bare. Makes me sad

 

[Auto-pilot]

It really does look like an infection. Peroxide dips are the most effective, I haven't been able to save corals using anything else

 

[bludeath5]

Thanks @Auto-pilot I used something recommended by my store. But just for knowledge purposes, I would just dip it in hydrogen peroxide? Is there an article that you would recommend that shows the ratio to use? I'm looking at the dip I just used, sure seems a bit weaker than something like iodine or peroxide.... it was called ME Coral Dip.

 

[Auto-pilot]

Thanks @Auto-pilot I used something recommended by my store. But just for knowledge purposes, I would just dip it in hydrogen peroxide? Is there an article that you would recommend that shows the ratio to use? I'm looking at the dip I just used, sure seems a bit weaker than something like iodine or peroxide.... it was called ME Coral Dip.

Iodine has never worked for me. I use iodine if I dropped a coral and damaged it. Mix a 50/50 mix and left it sit for a minute. Then use a Turkey baster to clean the area while it sits in the solution. I will do this twice a day one in the morning and once right after the light go out.

 

[bludeath5]

This thing is NOT looking healthy at all since the dip yesterday. I don't know what to compare this too, is my LTP doomed?

 

[Auto-pilot]

The Infection is bad, it might have been too late to try and save it. Try dipping 2 times a day. If you dont stop the infection he will be a goner

Edit: might want to try using a dropper and drop full strength peroxide right wire the infection is