SPS is dying what should I do

[Reefer AJ]

as you can see this coral has some dead spots. I have been monitoring it over the last week and it has slowly grown larger, not by much but enough to make me concerned that it will take over the whole coral. It originally started from a piece of food that gathered on it and it wasn’t able to eat in time causing light distribution which made this happen (I know looking back I should have turkey basted the food off). Should I use a surgeon scalpel to cut it in half and remove the dying part? Or leave it be? I don’t want the dying part to spread.. anyone have any experience?

 

[Lavey29]

Lot of variables can cause SPS to RTN or STN so we would need a lot more info to comment. Full tank parameters, light par, age of the tank, any alk wings, etc... the part in the middle looks like a fish or crab nibble.

 

[Cheezle]

What is that? It looks a lot like a really upset leptastrea. Mine looked that way when it was getting too much light. I moved it into some low par area and it healed up just fine.. til my pistol shrimp found it anyways.

 

[Reefer AJ]

My tank parameters are dKH 8.5-9.0 calcium 380-400 nitrates 8-10 phosphates 0.05-0.26. Working on fixing nitrates and phosphates. This specific SPS has been In this location for over 2 months and has been growing up until about a week ago. I don’t have a par meter but I feel the light consumption is not the issue.

 

[Reefer AJ]

It happened after a large piece of food landed on it. I thought the coral would consume it but it did not causing it to have decay.

 

[ptrahan]

Obviously you need to fire that clown for NOT stealing the food off the coral.

Sometimes the flesh regrows and fills back in.

 

[Reefer AJ]

Obviously you need to fire that clown for NOT stealing the food off the coral.

Sometimes the flesh regrows and fills back in.

That’s what I was hoping would happen. But since it hasn’t I am more of asking what to do next. If need to cauterize the wound how should I go about this process? Anyone with actual experience that can help?

 

[Lavey29]

It happened after a large piece of food landed on it. I thought the coral would consume it but it did not causing it to have decay.

I've had corals similar life lepastria and cyphastrea and my coral beauty would take some nips out of them. Do you have any angels?

 

[Dburr1014]

as you can see this coral has some dead spots. I have been monitoring it over the last week and it has slowly grown larger, not by much but enough to make me concerned that it will take over the whole coral. It originally started from a piece of food that gathered on it and it wasn’t able to eat in time causing light distribution which made this happen (I know looking back I should have turkey basted the food off). Should I use a surgeon scalpel to cut it in half and remove the dying part? Or leave it be? I don’t want the dying part to spread.. anyone have any experience?

Food that settled on it is the first indication that you don't have enough flow in the tank.

 

[Lavey29]

Food that settled on it is the first indication that you don't have enough flow in the tank.

Oh I don't know sometimes there is big chunks of shrimp in Rods that sinks like a rock to the happy crab bottom dwellers.

 

[Dburr1014]

Oh I don't know sometimes there is big chunks of shrimp in Rods that sinks like a rock to the happy crab bottom dwellers.

Yes, that too.
But food generally doesn't settle on my coral. If it does, it's blown away pretty quickly. I do have sediment that settles on my plating monti. That's more of a bowl shape and is fairly large so no place to really go. It's not food though.

Maybe I should have added 'or enough random flow' to my statement.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I don't think a piece of food landing on a coral can do that.

The dying part won't affect the living part, and if the coral is healthy, it will even regrow over the dead part, so no need to cut it off.

Really need more info, how old is the tank, how long you had this coral, how are other corals doing, what king of lighting do you have, what kind of flow in the tank? I am suspecting something with lighting or flow...

 

[Dburr1014]

I don't think a piece of food landing on a coral can do that.

The dying part won't affect the living part, and if the coral is healthy, it will even regrow over the dead part, so no need to cut it off.

Really need more info, how old is the tank, how long you had this coral, how are other corals doing, what king of lighting do you have, what kind of flow in the tank? I am suspecting something with lighting or flow...

My point, flow.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

as you can see this coral has some dead spots. I have been monitoring it over the last week and it has slowly grown larger, not by much but enough to make me concerned that it will take over the whole coral. It originally started from a piece of food that gathered on it and it wasn’t able to eat in time causing light distribution which made this happen (I know looking back I should have turkey basted the food off). Should I use a surgeon scalpel to cut it in half and remove the dying part? Or leave it be? I don’t want the dying part to spread.. anyone have any experience?

Is that a goniopora? Or leptastrea? If leptastrea, check your phosphate, leptastrea are extremely sensitive to high po4, if goniopora, I have no clue, they're a hard coral and can just be shocked from a change in aquaria environment

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

If that is a leptastrea, mine did the same thing, it was phosphates, yours look alittle high, try to keep it around 0.01 stable, but don't lower it to quickly or you could shock your system, once parameters are stable, don't try to frag it, it Will eventually re-colonise the dead skeleton

 

[Reefer AJ]

It’s a 25 gallon with an AI prime light. I keep UV and everything but the whites at 65%. I have 3 other SPS that all seem to be doing fine and mix of other coral as well 3 lps some softies and a few carpet flower anemones and mushrooms. All others seem to be doing fine. I have a fan that sits under my return nozzle set to 30% power and on random distribution because any more strength for this small system and it blows my softies to much that they don’t like it. There really is a good amount of flow in the tank but it mostly circulates the out perimeters of the tank and this particular coral is in the dead center of the tank so maybe that is why. The tank is almost a year old now and this coral has been there for about 3 months. It was growing fine and even spread to the rock that it’s on which is why I don’t think it is lighting necessarily but maybe I’m wrong

 

[Reefer AJ]

If that is a leptastrea, mine did the same thing, it was phosphates, yours look alittle high, try to keep it around 0.01 stable, but don't lower it to quickly or you could shock your system, once parameters are stable, don't try to frag it, it Will eventually re-colonise the dead skeleton

Thanks my phosphates have been high as well as nitrates. Probably my fault, I like to watch my fish eat lol. I am currently working on a refugium to help this so hopefully when I get them under control it will fix the issue

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Thanks my phosphates have been high as well as nitrates. Probably my fault, I like to watch my fish eat lol. I am currently working on a refugium to help this so hopefully when I get them under control it will fix the issue

Refeugium works great, GFO would be a good temporary solution until you cab get that set up. Good luck!

 

[Reefer AJ]

Thanks everyone for the input and help, I will try and tackle phosphates and nitrates and see if that fixes the issue

 

[Lavey29]

Thanks my phosphates have been high as well as nitrates. Probably my fault, I like to watch my fish eat lol. I am currently working on a refugium to help this so hopefully when I get them under control it will fix the issue

Fuge won't do anything noticeable for phosphate.