Space Invader with a Brown Eye?

[CMO]

Anyone seen a space invader get a brown eye like this? I've had this for about a year now grown from a small frag and a few months ago its two main eyes in the center turned brown. All the other eyes around the edges are still yellow and the entire colony still seems health otherwise. The brown eyes still put out sweepers and feed. Any ideas on how to get these eyes to yellow up?

Nutrient levels have always been the same in the range of 1-3ppm NO3 and .02 - .10 PO4. Flow is low to moderate where this coral is at. Lighting never changed and is low / moderate at about 150 par.

 

[Troy V]

Nice looking colony! I've had something similar happen to my colony on one of the center yellow eyes. Most of the time it ended up being an opportunistic fish picking at it. But, I have also seen an emerald crab pick at it, and sand sifters like dragon gobies or diamond gobies can drop sand on them causing irritations in the deeper crevaces. I've had mine for over 5 years, and it's one of the most resilient corals I have.

 

[CMO]

Nice looking colony! I've had something similar happen to my colony on one of the center yellow eyes. Most of the time it ended up being an opportunistic fish picking at it. But, I have also seen an emerald crab pick at it, and sand sifters like dragon gobies or diamond gobies can drop sand on them causing irritations in the deeper crevaces. I've had mine for over 5 years, and it's one of the most resilient corals I have.

Thanks! I've never seen anything pick at it but maybe it's happening after hours during the night. I have all sorts of creatures in my tank including emeralds so it is possible. Were you able to get you're to color back up over time or did it stay that way?

 

[Troy V]

Absolutely! It is a very hardy coral. I actually had a picture of mine with the same issue. However I can't find the picture right now. But I did find a picture of it pooping which many creatures enjoy eating, and they associate food and the yellow "eyes".

 

[CMO]

Absolutely! It is a very hardy coral. I actually had a picture of mine with the same issue. However I can't find the picture right now. But I did find a picture of it pooping which many creatures enjoy eating, and they associate food and the yellow "eyes".

haha okay cool, thanks. Man that thing is huge! Very cool!

 

[CMO]

@Troy V one more thing since it looks like you have a lot of experience with these guys. The space I have for mine is somewhat limited so I will need to start fragging it once it gets a bit larger. Are they pretty resilient to fragging in the tank or is there anything to watch out for there? Thanks

 

[Troy V]

They do require a lot of room. They will nuke any coral the sweepers touch. When it comes to fragging, I wait till I can get at least a 1" piece that I can break cleanly with some sharp bone cutters. The coral is very brittle so be careful. Glue the areas where the flesh has pulled back from the skeleton, almost like a bandaid. It will take some practice. I Iost my first couple of frags. For me the key is to make a clean cut and not handle it too much, you can easily damage the flesh.

 

[Troy V]

Here is a video I took of how long these sweepers can get. At least 6"-8"..

 

[CMO]

They do require a lot of room. They will nuke any coral the sweepers touch. When it comes to fragging, I wait till I can get at least a 1" piece that I can break cleanly with some sharp bone cutters. The coral is very brittle so be careful. Glue the areas where the flesh has pulled back from the skeleton, almost like a bandaid. It will take some practice. I Iost my first couple of frags. For me the key is to make a clean cut and not handle it too much, you can easily damage the flesh.

I'm mostly concerned with the health of the mother colony when fragging in DT since I can't remove it to dip etc. Are you saying to try and glue the area that was cut on the mother colony in DT or just on the frags? Thanks

 

[CMO]

Here is a video I took of how long these sweepers can get. At least 6"-8"..

Yeah My little guy has some crazy long sweepers just like that!

 

[Troy V]

I'm mostly concerned with the health of the mother colony when fragging in DT since I can't remove it to dip etc. Are you saying to try and glue the area that was cut on the mother colony in DT or just on the frags? Thanks

I've never found it necessary to glue the mother colony, as long as the cut is clean, and it is kept out of a strong direct water flow. Which will keep the flesh from healing, and allow algae to grow on the skeleton. Preventing the flesh from covering the wound. Other than that the coral will usually heal in a couple of weeks.

 

[Hemmdog]

Here is a video I took of how long these sweepers can get. At least 6"-8"..

That’s nuts!