Possible dying coral, need help identifying the exact condition and next steps.

[TerranGuy]

I had a phosphate bloom while I was traveling for work, and my family doesn't know how to test the water while I was gone. I have the water chemistry almost balanced again, but I don't know how quite to describe this hard white scabbing the coral is doing. It is growing very fast. Once I know what to call this I should be able to Google the rest, but would also appreciate any suggestions from your experiences.

I've also been fighting Aiptasia and Bubble Algae. I've had this tank for a year and never experienced anything like this. I let my guard down. I feel terrible.

PXL_20230806_170756443 by Jinkguns, on Flickr

PXL_20230806_172702349 by Jinkguns, on Flickr

365532747_175826278849538_6608562271361645916_n by Jinkguns, on Flickr

 

[glb]

Please don’t feel terrible, we’ve all been there! I think the white you’re seeing may be the skeleton of the coral where the tissue is receding. You could dip it to see if that helps.

Bubble algae is pretty easy to get rid of. You can pull it off manually. Try not to pop the bubbles so the spores inside don’t spread. If you have a lot, emerald crabs will take care of the job.

Aptasia is another story. If you just have a few, you can try Aptasia X, making sure you cover them completely. The problem with Aptasia X is I’ve always found new Aptasia shortly after using it. Another thing I’ve tried is completing covering the aptasia with reef putty, the kind you use to affix corals to your rock. If you have a lot, however, aptasia-eating nudibranchs are the way to. I had an infestation a while back and bought three nudibranchs. It took a bit, but they totally eradicated the aptasia.

Hope this helps!!!!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

There is aptaisia all over the frag disk, thats why the coral is not happy, its being stung by the aptaisia

 

[TerranGuy]

Please don’t feel terrible, we’ve all been there! I think the white you’re seeing may be the skeleton of the coral where the tissue is receding. You could dip it to see if that helps.

Thank you! The odd thing is that it appears to be a hard substance, like a cement being built on top of the coral opening. It doesn't appear to be a sponge or skeletal structure. It is above the original height of the coral's skeleton.

 

[TerranGuy]

There is aptaisia all over the frag disk, thats why the coral is not happy, its being stung by the aptaisia

Thanks! I have added Berghia but they haven't reached the numbers yet to make an impact, I have stopped using F Aptasia because I was afraid it would poison the Berghia. I will use a syringe and lemon juice to target any aptasia near any coral. Thank you!

 

[Lavey29]

You can take that wall hammer out and remove the algae and aptasia but wall hammers are prone to bacteria infections. You may want to try a lugols dip to save it.

 

[TerranGuy]

You can take that wall hammer out and remove the algae and aptasia but wall hammers are prone to bacteria infections. You may want to try a lugols dip to save it.

I did a few things.

1.) Remove the hardened "white" substance, it had turned soft. HORRIBLE smell. I'm guessing bacteria or fungus.
2.) Dipped in ReVive. Used water flow to softly clear all of the dead/dying flesh inside the ReVive solution.
3.) Murdered the Aiptasia with lemon juice.
4.) Released even more Berghia.
5.) Added 2x more Emerald Crabs.
6.) Continue to balance water chemistry with 33% water changes every 5 days.

It looks a LOT better.

 

[Lavey29]

I did a few things.

1.) Remove the hardened "white" substance, it had turned soft. HORRIBLE smell. I'm guessing bacteria or fungus.
2.) Dipped in ReVive. Used water flow to softly clear all of the dead/dying flesh inside the ReVive solution.
3.) Murdered the Aiptasia with lemon juice.
4.) Released even more Berghia.
5.) Added 2x more Emerald Crabs.
6.) Continue to balance water chemistry with 33% water changes every 5 days.

It looks a LOT better.

Cool deal, wall hammers are still difficult to maintain long term. they just seem to succumb to bacteria infections unlike branching hammers that can lose a head but still be fine.