Space Invader Chalice Spot

Greg Depo · Jul 21, 2020

Guys I woke up this morning to find my space invader chalice with a large spot missing. Looks like it’s contracted something. He’s grown a lot over the few months I’ve had him and yesterday he was totally fine. Thoughts? Anything I can do?
Thanks

Bosreef · Jul 21, 2020

Way more info needed. Water parameter? Lights? Age of tank, tank inhabitants, etc...

Gonna take one guess of many...
Whats next to it? Anything that could song it during the night with its sweepers?

Silverrshadow · Jul 21, 2020

Greg Depo · Jul 21, 2020

Bosreef said:
Way more info needed. Water parameter? Lights? Age of tank, tank inhabitants, etc...

Gonna take one guess of many...
Whats next to it? Anything that could song it during the night with its sweepers?

Tank is a year and a half old. Tank inhabitants are yellow tang, fire fish, flame angel (who has never messed with corals) and a cardinal fish. They've all been in the tank for over a year now. Lights are 2 red sea LED90. Water parameters are nitrate 10, nitrite 0, ammounia 0, Alk 9.1, ca 500, mg 1350 and po4 is .02. I did have an alk spike a little more than a week ago from a faulty doser.

Ron Reefman · Jul 21, 2020

If that much damage happened overnight, I'd be very concerned.

Have you moved the coral or any of the corals around it recently?

bacc2bacc · Jul 21, 2020

Did the coral right next to it extend sweepers? That would be my guess. What did you alk spike up to?

Greg Depo · Jul 21, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
If that much damage happened overnight, I'd be very concerned.

Have you moved the coral or any of the corals around it recently?

Nothing has moved... like I mentioned above I did have an alk spike to 13 last week. I’ve also noticed some bristle worms suddenly that I’ve never seen before.

Bosreef · Jul 21, 2020

High alk swing recently killed off a big birdsnest colony i had...

I would moniter closely... if getting worse I would frag.

Ron Reefman · Jul 21, 2020

Greg Depo · Jul 21, 2020

bacc2bacc said:
Did the coral right next to it extend sweepers? That would be my guess. What did you alk spike up to?

13 and the guy next to it is this guy. A brain coral.

Greg Depo · Jul 21, 2020

Bosreef said:
High alk swing recently killed off a big birdsnest colony i had...

I would moniter closely... if getting worse I would frag.

Forgive my ignorance but when you say Frag you mean split it up to save the rest?

Bosreef · Jul 21, 2020

Greg Depo said:
13 and the guy next to it is this guy. A brain coral.

Looks like you moved the chalice from orognial orientation? That Lobo could definitely of done it

Bosreef · Jul 21, 2020

Greg Depo said:
Forgive my ignorance but when you say Frag you mean split it up to save the rest?

Yeah cut of like within 1/4 inch of the dead coral.. algae is going to take over that Skelton soon enough

Pyrosteve · Jul 21, 2020

Greg Depo · Jul 21, 2020

Bosreef said:
Looks like you moved the chalice from orognial orientation? That Lobo could definitely of done it

Yeah I moved it and removed the dead coral and zooxanthellae that was on it. Do you guys think I should cut that part off now?

Greg Depo · Jul 21, 2020

Bosreef said:
Yeah cut of like within 1/4 inch of the dead coral.. algae is going to take over that Skelton soon enough

So I cut that part off and while doing that I did find a large bristle worms at the base of the plug. Any chance he had anything to do with it?

Ron Reefman · Jul 22, 2020

Greg Depo said:
So I cut that part off and while doing that I did find a large bristle worms at the base of the plug. Any chance he had anything to do with it?

Extremely unlikely, IMHO.

canadianeh · Jul 22, 2020

I read that with angelfish they are like a time bomb. They can change and develop taste for corals. Are you sure he was not nipping when you were not looking especially at night?