Monti Setosa in Trouble?

[IslandLifeReef]

Hello all,

Could someone please help identify what this is and how to treat it. This brown fuzz? has been on my monti for about a week. It has only gotten slightly worse than when I first noticed it. This monti frag fell from its spot about 2 weeks ago.

My params are; ALK 7.8, Cal 435, Mag 1300, Sg 1.025, temp 77-78.

Here is a picture.

You can see what I am talking about at the very top.

PLEASE HELP!

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

It looks a little bleached so the algae may be colonizing the coral which is unable to fend it off. What are your water parameters like?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

My parameters are;

Alk 7.8
Cal 435
Mag 1300
Temp 77-78
SG 1.025

I don't think it's bleached, I do think that the fall may have had something to do with it. If it is algae, how do I take care of it?

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

What are you phosphate and nitrate values?

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

It's not bleached, the flesh on the tip where it received damage from the fall has died allowing cyano or algae to grow there. I'd cut it off if possible then put it in a spot that gets better water flow.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

My Nitrates are 2ppm and phosphates are .03ppm.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

It's not bleached, the flesh on the tip where it received damage from the fall has died allowing cyano or algae to grow there. I'd cut it off if possible then put it in a spot that gets better water flow.

If I can't cut it off, is there anything else? The flow in that area is moderate to high.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Bump. Can anyone else help or tell me what to do if I can't cut off the section that was damaged. Will the coral continue to grow?

What about dipping the coral and then applying glue to the damaged section, would that work?

 

[JaaxReef]

Bump. Can anyone else help or tell me what to do if I can't cut off the section that was damaged. Will the coral continue to grow?

What about dipping the coral and then applying glue to the damaged section, would that work?

In my experience, the Setosa should grow right back over it if it is healthy. I would not glue over if you clip it. But it is missing flesh where the algae is growing.

It is looking a little on the light pink side color-wise. What are your lights/par/schedule? Where is it placed? It may be getting a little too much light or not enough flow or nutrients. Your other parameters look ok.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Thanx @JaaxReef,
The coral is 12 inches below the water line and 4 inches above the sand bed. The light sits 10 inches above the water line. I don't have a par meter, but the light is on 10 hours a day with a 1 hour ramp up and down. I am running a Hydra 26HD and below is the light schedule. Based on the max light output, I figured that the max par I should be getting over the coral is 120. I would describe the flow there as moderate. The color looks better in person than in the photo, but could probably be a little darker. I'm concerned with doing more damage because the area would be hard to clip off without damaging the larger section. Would it be ok to just leave it as is?

 

[JaaxReef]

Thanx @JaaxReef,
The coral is 12 inches below the water line and 4 inches above the sand bed. The light sits 10 inches above the water line. I don't have a par meter, but the light is on 10 hours a day with a 1 hour ramp up and down. I am running a Hydra 26HD and below is the light schedule. Based on the max light output, I figured that the max par I should be getting over the coral is 120. I would describe the flow there as moderate. The color looks better in person than in the photo, but could probably be a little darker. I'm concerned with doing more damage because the area would be hard to clip off without damaging the larger section. Would it be ok to just leave it as is?

I have the same light and my settings are similar but I only run my peak lighting for 7 hours and my nitrates are about 4ppm. If they go down to 2ppm or lower I do start to see some corals get a little more pastel in color. You could try slowly backing down the time your lights run and peak and see how it responds.

Another thing that helped me with colors and coral tissue recovery was dosing Aqua vitro Fuel every 3 days. My coral growth and color have substantially increased since I started dosing that product. But it doesn’t give results for everyone. Thought I would mention it anyway. If you don’t like putting chemicals in your tank, you could just up your feeding a little and try to get some more nitrates and see how corals respond too. Either way I bet it will recover in time. Setosa is a tough coral. Here’s my Setosa in an overhead shot:

 

[Mal11224]

I have one that has been through hell. One of my first corals and any damage I've had with it, the coral grew right over it but you have to let it heal. Let it get good flow and medium light. It does take time. Mine is about 6 inches wide now.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Thank you all. I will leave it alone for now and only dip or cut it if it is obvious that it is getting much worse. I started raising my nitrates about 4 weeks ago due to my nitrates always being almost undetectable. I added a sponge filter (nitrate factory) to my sump to try to get more nitrates and more color in my corals. I do feed reef energy and started feeding reef roids. I only feed reef roids twice a week and don't add reef energy on those days. I also added a fish 4 weeks ago to help provide "nutrients." I think dosing the reef energy masked the issues with low nutrients. Since raising my nutrients, I had a very small and brief, less than 1 week, algae outbreak that's gone away. The largest bits of algae seem to be on the Monti.

Thanks again for the help, and if you or anyone else has any more advice, I am happy to listen.