What’s going on with this wilsoni?

[khoff]

Posting this up here for some insight! So I have this green wilsoni, it’s been probably 4-6 weeks in my system. This brown stuff in the pic started out as small specks a couple weeks ago. It’s slowly spreading outward from the original site. It’s only affecting the 2-3 polyps shown, and there doesn’t seem to be any tissue recession (yet). What do you guys think this is? Bacterial? Some sort of parasite? Thanks!

 

[andrewkw]

This one looks really rough. I would guess the brown stuff is the last of the zooxanthellae.

See https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/australophyllia-symphyllia-wilsoni-care.345184/

What is your water temp? I am having similar problems and mine seems to be doing slightly better since dropping the temp to 75.
Given the state of yours I would completely remove it from light and feed the heck out of it. If there is no tissue loss and it's still extending feeding tentacles food will help it. At this state the light is not going to do anything for it.

These guys come from a different area of the ocean and are a lot more challenging to keep them most other LPS despite having a similar appearance to many of our favorites. I am no expert but I also suspect they would prefer water on the dirtier side. Mine is looking a little bitter then the pictures in the thread I linked, but I suspect a long recovery of months if not longer should it or yours survive and return to former glory.

 

[khoff]

Water is fairly dirty, feed often, it’s got a fair amount of light on the sand bed, medium flow, temp is around 78. It looks bleached in the ambient lights-off pic I posted, but it’s the color it came in from aquaSD. it’s actually probably the brightest blue-green thing in the tank with the lights on...

I’ll try target feeding it more. Right now it’s just a weekly broadcast of benepets/reef roids in addition to the 2x daily fish feeding

 

[andrewkw]

Water is fairly dirty, feed often, it’s got a fair amount of light on the sand bed, medium flow, temp is around 78. It looks bleached in the ambient lights-off pic I posted, but it’s the color it came in from aquaSD. it’s actually probably the brightest blue-green thing in the tank with the lights on...

I’ll try target feeding it more. Right now it’s just a weekly broadcast of benepets/reef roids in addition to the 2x daily fish feeding

Unless your cameras white balance is way way way way off, looking bleached in ambient lights is bleached. I don't really see how this can be blue green under tank lights. Can you post a picture. For reference this was mine under sunlight when I first got it : A coral should not look that white under any light. It sounds like yours was already in trouble when you got it.

 

[shred5]

That is very bleached.

Agreed the specs are most likely zooxanthellae that are coming back.

 

[khoff]

Heh white balance wasn’t off, lights were. But now that I’m checking it out tonight with the blues on, those spots are just a darker green. If that’s the case, zooxanthellae recovering makes sense

It took the benepets target feed tonight, and feeders are still out so... I’ll keep working with it and move it to a shadier spot and see how she does.