OP I've had for months and quadrupled beached overnight

Kmsutows · Jul 25, 2017

My OP that I got as the tiniest nub which has now grown huge comparably bleached over night and I don't get it. Totally devastated. I assume it's my PO4 but for it to be so fast?

Po4- between 0.16-0.36 with red sea
Alk- 7.6 dkh
Ca- 390
Mg- 1350

View attachment 20170725_200527.jpg

Mattrg02 · Jul 25, 2017

Oh man, so sorry to see that. I know how frustrating this thing can be.

My guess would be a rare swing of pH or Alkalinity or something got into your tank. Do you run carbon? I started running carbon just incase something sketchy gets in there.

Kmsutows · Jul 25, 2017

Started running chemipure and phosgaurd not too long ago in n filter sock

Fishfinder · Jul 25, 2017

Temp change?

BoomCorals · Jul 25, 2017

Most common would be alk, ph, temp swing of large amount or pests. But there are a lot of other reasons it can happen too, including reasons we may never know.

ReefBeta · Jul 25, 2017

sorry to see that. What is OP short for?

Mal11224 · Jul 25, 2017

Sorry for the loss. For RTN to happen that fast, there had to be a swing in something or too much of something added at one time. Did you change your lighting at all? Is your salinity where it should be? Could also be a combination of the chemipure and phos guard.

Kmsutows · Jul 26, 2017

No temp swings or alk swings that I can think would be possible. What a bummer it went from like three polyps to the size in the pic. OP=orange passion

Scorpius · Jul 27, 2017

Welcome to the world of Acropora where your favorite Acro will rtn overnight.

BoomCorals · Jul 27, 2017

Scorpius said:
Welcome to the world of Acropora where your favorite Acro will rtn overnight.

Ain't that the truth! But it doesn't deter us, we just buy MORE.

ejazzle · Jul 27, 2017

Wow OP is probably one of the hardiest acros out there. My guess is a temp swing, with a frag that small you don't have much room for error. I have had temp swings kill off pieces very quickly.

evolved · Jul 28, 2017

Forgive me here, but I can't help myself and must offer a point of clarification.

This coral did not bleach overnight; it RTN'd (rapid tissue necrosis). And those are two things which are quite different.

A bleached coral is one that has expelled its zooxanthellae from its tissues. It therefore appears white (hence the term, bleached), but it is still perfectly alive with its tissue and polyps intact. It is in a troubled state however, as it cannot sustain itself in the long term without any zooxanthellae in the tissue. It can recover from being bleached in time if conditions are good as it will take up new zooxanthellae.

A coral with suffers from RTN (like yours here) is one that the tissue rapidly dies, and the tissue and polyps peel and slough off quite rapidly (in a matter of hours). This simply leaves the skeleton of the coral behind - it looks white but it's 100% dead. This is not a condition the coral can recover from.

Kmsutows · Jul 28, 2017

Uhh ok... I know but it makes zero difference in this instance

ReefBeta · Jul 28, 2017

Does the term RTN even add any value? It just means "yo, that **** died/is dying very fast". It's a superficial description of the effect, have no implication of cause whatsoever. Might as well just said "that coral died" and you still providing the same level of information.

NickNiz · Jul 28, 2017

If it's RTN it was most likely an infection or Alk swing.

Or a temp swing as others have said... This probably wasn't a direct factor, but it couldn't hurt to raise your calcium a bit! Sorry for your loss.

Donovan Joannes · Jul 29, 2017

I can take a wild specimen and it will grow in my tank with no issue. I bought ice fire echinata frag and it's gone in less than 8 hours. Sometime we have to say goodbye for the losses and cherished those still kicking for you. It does happen to everybody. Don't sweat trying to find the cause as you have other corals doing just fine.