Hi all, I am hoping that some of the experts can help troubleshoot an issue I’ve been having with two colonies browning up and deteriorating.
I’ll preface by say that all except two of my SPS colonies are doing well, and this is just an isolated problem with two specific colonies. Not sure if it is water quality issues, pests, flow, or some other factor. But here is the story and looking forward to any feedback you may have.
System info - a redsea reefer 250, 65 gallon, running for 2 years. Lights - 3 x radio xr15 gen 3, average par is between 250 to 350. Flow: vectra m1 + 2 x vortech mp10s - turn over rate is about 50X. I dose 2 part and kalk, but admiralty - as you see from my water chemistry graphs, I’ve had issues with keeping staple parameters. I also keep a slightly dirty tank with detectable nitrates and phosphates. But tank and most sps have been looking really good - here is a vid from a couple of weeks ago.
Ok, now the problem.
Starting in march/april, two corals starting deteriorating in color. My beloved electric myiagi tort, and a lovely bright green acro (shockholic or habanero, sorry, don’t know the exact name). Have a look at the progression pics below. Both color lost a lot of colours, but also, their tissue looks pretty slimy and degraded (=white, blotch near base). But please note that both colonies are actually still growing… note new growth of tips and more branches. So they are not dying or STN’ing… But I do note that they seem to be extra brittle - branches of the tort seem to break off easy
March
April
May
June
July
April
May
June
July
But why ?
1) pests - > this is my number one concern; I actually took a few big chunks off the tort, and looked it under a dissecting scope; I found no signs of red bugs or AEFW… but have a look at the pics… is there something else that I could be missing ? Also, both corals are near other sps colonies that are doing fine. Its something specific to these two colonies
2) water chemistry; yes alk has been all over the place, but again, only two colonies affected ? Seems unlikely
3) flow - the tort is in the corner of the tank and perhaps it is not getting enough water flow now that I is bigger than usual, shocholic is also a bit sheltered - sandwitcheced between two big boulder that likely break up the flow… but would flow cause these symptoms ?
4) light - I did increase the intensity of the rations very modestly over this time period, by about 3% but it was very gradual, 1% a week.. seems unlikely.
5) trace elements ? I do weekly water changes (5L on 250L total volume), but again, why would trace element depletion only affect two colonies that have slightly different colors
Thats all of my hypothesis… I am at a loss for explanations. I would appreciated your feedback. On the one hand, most of the tank is looking good, so perhaps I shouldn’t worry. On the other hand, I am concerned that this may eventually spread to other colonies, so would like to figure out a plan of action. Thanks for your help!
I’ll preface by say that all except two of my SPS colonies are doing well, and this is just an isolated problem with two specific colonies. Not sure if it is water quality issues, pests, flow, or some other factor. But here is the story and looking forward to any feedback you may have.
System info - a redsea reefer 250, 65 gallon, running for 2 years. Lights - 3 x radio xr15 gen 3, average par is between 250 to 350. Flow: vectra m1 + 2 x vortech mp10s - turn over rate is about 50X. I dose 2 part and kalk, but admiralty - as you see from my water chemistry graphs, I’ve had issues with keeping staple parameters. I also keep a slightly dirty tank with detectable nitrates and phosphates. But tank and most sps have been looking really good - here is a vid from a couple of weeks ago.
Ok, now the problem.
Starting in march/april, two corals starting deteriorating in color. My beloved electric myiagi tort, and a lovely bright green acro (shockholic or habanero, sorry, don’t know the exact name). Have a look at the progression pics below. Both color lost a lot of colours, but also, their tissue looks pretty slimy and degraded (=white, blotch near base). But please note that both colonies are actually still growing… note new growth of tips and more branches. So they are not dying or STN’ing… But I do note that they seem to be extra brittle - branches of the tort seem to break off easy
March
April
May
June
July
April
May
June
July
But why ?
1) pests - > this is my number one concern; I actually took a few big chunks off the tort, and looked it under a dissecting scope; I found no signs of red bugs or AEFW… but have a look at the pics… is there something else that I could be missing ? Also, both corals are near other sps colonies that are doing fine. Its something specific to these two colonies
2) water chemistry; yes alk has been all over the place, but again, only two colonies affected ? Seems unlikely
3) flow - the tort is in the corner of the tank and perhaps it is not getting enough water flow now that I is bigger than usual, shocholic is also a bit sheltered - sandwitcheced between two big boulder that likely break up the flow… but would flow cause these symptoms ?
4) light - I did increase the intensity of the rations very modestly over this time period, by about 3% but it was very gradual, 1% a week.. seems unlikely.
5) trace elements ? I do weekly water changes (5L on 250L total volume), but again, why would trace element depletion only affect two colonies that have slightly different colors
Thats all of my hypothesis… I am at a loss for explanations. I would appreciated your feedback. On the one hand, most of the tank is looking good, so perhaps I shouldn’t worry. On the other hand, I am concerned that this may eventually spread to other colonies, so would like to figure out a plan of action. Thanks for your help!
