Stunner chalice turning pure white

NickNiz · Jun 11, 2017

Ive had this chalice for a month, and in the last 2 days it's gone from looking healthy to being almost white... I think it's chipping away or something, but am not sure what's causing it...

Here is last night.

Here is right now...

Southpawzzz · Jun 11, 2017

It looks like it's bleaching, any changes you have made to the tank lately? Btw I am not a chalice expert all.

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 11, 2017

Possible infection eating its way from the center. Looks like total tissue loss rather than bleaching. Had this happen to my Hollywood once and had to frag all the good tissue away and toss the rest. Grew like a weed after each frag though. It will spread all the way till nothing is left in my experience. I kept a piece with tissue loss on it and within a day it was gone.

BoomCorals · Jun 11, 2017

Frag any good parts you can to try to save something. That's tissue necrosis not bleaching.

RussiReef · Jun 12, 2017

looks like an infection . Recommend frag it and deeped it .

kennedpa · Jun 12, 2017

Do you have shrimp by chance?

kennedpa · Jun 12, 2017

It's rare that you will get an infection unless you broke the skin mechanically doing something but not entirely impossible. My stunner is bomb proof and a weed (hopefully yours is too). I only ask because I've seen some shrimp I used to have eat at my chalices as well as some brain corals.

mtraylor · Jun 12, 2017

I would check alkalinity and place the chalice in the sand.

NickNiz · Jun 12, 2017

Thanks for the info! I have moved the chalice into the sand...

I went to the LFS earlier and one of the employees said it was black band disease but there wasn't any sort of black band on the edge of the white spot...
Another employee said that it could have been stung by a coral or that the alkalinity was off, similar to what was said here.

Either way, I am keeping it as far away from the frogspawn it was next to (~3.5" away originally) as I can in my 12 gallon tank... Also did a 4-gallon WC using red sea coral pro... Going to bring a water sample to the LFS tomorrow for testing (they do full-range salifert testing for $2.50...) and they also said they'd frag the chalice for free..

If it wasn't water quality, could it have been another animal? I added 4 scarlet-legged hermits a week ago and have seen them on top of the plate picking away... not sure if at the dead or healthy tissue. I didn't think that they were coral eaters.

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 12, 2017

They weren't eating what was good. Just picking off what was dead or dying already. Here's some pics of mine I recently got rid of. The top is when tissue necrosis began after I picked it up from someone and damaged it in transport. Second is what I had to frag it down to. And finally the monster that it grew into after a while. That's after several large fragging sessions with it. Grew like a weed!

NickNiz · Jun 12, 2017

Beautiful chalice! how much time had passed between the second and third photos? Also is there a certain distance away from the necrosis that I should cut when fragging? The whole chalice is about 3" long so I don't have much room to work with...

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 12, 2017

Thanks! 7 months and a few days growth. Just frag far enough away to get healthy tissue on the whole frag. Any necrosis and it may continue to spread.

ReeferMaddness843 · Jun 12, 2017

Sorry, 8 months and some days.

kennedpa · Jun 13, 2017

They grow like crazy when settled. Mine got stung but is still fine. It grows back.

Not to contradict. But I've had shrimp and I don't know why I didn't even think of crabs picking at it. Not saying they were eating it. But it could've been enough to break the skin and cause it to peel and die.

You can go from one eye to 3" if it's settled and the tanks stable in 6 months easy. Last pic is small 1/4" max chip that's a few months old. Just chip a few pieces off the edges.

Be careful too. They're aggressive and have long tentacles that will sting other corals just like frogspawns. The middle pic you should be able to make out their white tips on the tentacles. I added another that may be easier to see.