What causes brown jelly disease?

[mar.deezy]

Anyone know what causes brown jelly disease? I just lost 4 torchs to it. A aussie 24k gold, an indo knicks, an indo ultra and a cali kid “mystery torch”. Major blow. Is there any prevention tips? Thanks in advance.

 

[mar.deezy]

Bump

 

[Pkunk35]

Oh I just was looking at this thread about someone who put a microscope to some bjd and found some kind of protozoan, I haven’t read it all tho:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brown-jelly-disease-under-the-microscope.294341/

 

[vetteguy53081]

it is almost always caused by a physical injury to the coral or it’s tissue. The choice to quarantine is up to you, but jelly disease is not usually contagious unless you have other injured coral in the tank. If your other corals are healthy, they will likely resist infection even in the presence of an infected coral with BJD

 

[kichimark]

Were all torches close together? BJD as I recall is caused by opportunistic organisms that are in our tanks. If some stressor such as damage occurs, infection takes place and moves quick.

 

[AquaBiomics]

Personally I am pretty convinced that bacterial infection plays a role

Experimenting with in-tank antibiotic treatments for Brown Jelly Disease

Brown Jelly Disease (BJD) is an issue many reefers have run into. Like most coral diseases, the pathogen causing BJD has not been conclusively determined. Here I will share some observations and test results supporting the idea that its caused by a bacterial pathogen, and so may be treatable...

www.reef2reef.com

I do agree that physical damage plays a role, opening an opportunity for infection. But I've sadly seen plenty of BJD without known or visible injuries. Followed by spreading of the contagion within the tank. Which makes me think a pathogen also plays a role. Based on my 16S sequencing there evidence that at least suggests a bacterial pathogen.

 

[kichimark]

Personally I am pretty convinced that bacterial infection plays a role

Experimenting with in-tank antibiotic treatments for Brown Jelly Disease

Brown Jelly Disease (BJD) is an issue many reefers have run into. Like most coral diseases, the pathogen causing BJD has not been conclusively determined. Here I will share some observations and test results supporting the idea that its caused by a bacterial pathogen, and so may be treatable...

www.reef2reef.com

I do agree that physical damage plays a role, opening an opportunity for infection. But I've sadly seen plenty of BJD without known or visible injuries. Followed by spreading of the contagion within the tank. Which makes me think a pathogen also plays a role. Based on my 16S sequencing there evidence that at least suggests a bacterial pathogen.

Very interesting and thank you for the article. Going to head over there for some questions so I do not derail this particular thread.

 

[ZiBiReef]

I found a part of this video interesting() @13:20. Chris from ACI Aquaculture says BJD, in his experience, is due to alkalinity problems. Its possible some torches could be more sensitive than others and a prior stress could have added to the BJD? Just a thought

 

[mar.deezy]

Thanks for the responses guys! The mystery torch came injured and the knicks got bumped and touched an acan, the 24k was on its way out when it it got the disease and the ultra was totally healthy but was placed close to the knicks. They were all within a foot of eachother except the mystery torch was on the other side of the tank

 

[Sharkbait19]

It’s like ich, unless completely eradicated, it always stays on the organisms until something in the water lowers the immune system. Then, it spreads like wildfire.

 

[Pntbll687]

it is almost always caused by a physical injury to the coral or it’s tissue. The choice to quarantine is up to you, but jelly disease is not usually contagious unless you have other injured coral in the tank. If your other corals are healthy, they will likely resist infection even in the presence of an infected coral with BJD

From my experience I'm going to disagree.

I've fragged hammers and duncans and split heads down the center by accident and never had issues. I had to literally rip a hammer in half because the skeleton split length wise when I went to break it off with bone cutters. I could feel the tissue rip apart on the skeleton. Same with duncans, had the heads split down the middle. But I have yet to encounter brown jelly disease.

I'm leaning more toward a bacteria of some type causing these issues. Like dinos, it pops up out of nowhere and can do allot of damage

 

[Drendo]

I would love to learn more, as there seems to be surprisingly little consensus on this. Just lost 2 torches and a hammer that were in close proximity. Alkalinity has been steady, due to Trident automated dosing.

I recently changed my 4 T5s out, one at a time over the course of a week. Wondering if anyone else has experience with changing T5s too fast.

 

[vetteguy53081]

From my experience I'm going to disagree.

I've fragged hammers and duncans and split heads down the center by accident and never had issues. I had to literally rip a hammer in half because the skeleton split length wise when I went to break it off with bone cutters. I could feel the tissue rip apart on the skeleton. Same with duncans, had the heads split down the middle. But I have yet to encounter brown jelly disease.

I'm leaning more toward a bacteria of some type causing these issues. Like dinos, it pops up out of nowhere and can do allot of damage

From your experience, I can see that. In over three decades, I have seen injury or object fall on coral especially euphyllia and BJD occured shortly after. Poor water quality is another. There are a few reasons.

 

[RDH]

Interesting to hear the physical injury theory. I'm having my first slow battle with BJD.... had a dragon soul torch that developed it seemingly out of nowhere, but I handled it roughly and could believe that played a part in it. It spread to an ORA purple torch (ripped me up- I loved that torch!!) And now I'm currently trying to save an infected Duncan. I believe the ORA torch caught the disease by proximity to the dragon soul, and poor water conditions caused it to pop up on the Duncan (I had a big temp swing and nitrate spike while gone on Christmas vaca). I've been dipping the Duncan daily and the BJD seems to be receding but its definitely taken at least 3 or 4 heads already. Each occurrence has popped up about 6-8 weeks apart.

 

[hart24601]

it is almost always caused by a physical injury to the coral or it’s tissue. The choice to quarantine is up to you, but jelly disease is not usually contagious unless you have other injured coral in the tank. If your other corals are healthy, they will likely resist infection even in the presence of an infected coral with BJD

I agree 100% over the years I have noticed the exact same. Now this doesn’t mean every injury will have jelly, but my experiences have matched yours. If I accidentally bump a lps I cringe as sometimes they are ok sometimes jelly.

I have found fish to be the biggest cause, particularly clowns. Again some are just fine hosting hammers and torches, but some are aggressive and unlike nems with no skeleton rubbing on torch corals can cut them. I had a system years ago, couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t keep torches, finally set up time lapse on the tank and saw the clown “love” them. Jelly on each on the next day. Removed the clown and it was fine. Again it varies how aggressive the clown is and how resistant the coral is, frogspawn seemed to handle this clown ok.


I would imagine it varies tank to tank how susceptible cuts are to BJD, no idea if it would be possible to have a tank that couldn’t get it. Once a coral has it I have never been able to say it unless it’s a branching type with independent polyps as it doesn’t seem to spread. Peroxide and iodine dips slowed it down in a goni I had once but still died.

I try now to be very careful with lps that have sharp skeleton edges with even working in the tank.