whats going on ???????

foxhuntr · Feb 25, 2015

what is eating my acro ? it is eating the skeleton and all.......don't think it is AEFW.....I noticed it on my tierra del fuego...so I took it out and dipped it and got some kind of bug off of it......took a couple pics...can anybody tell me what this thing is ?

Bongo Shrimp · Feb 25, 2015

That is a chiton and it is certainly not eating your SPS. Something else is causing the SPS STN and the chiton is probably just eating the already dead or dying flesh.

foxhuntr · Feb 25, 2015

will emerald crabs be doing it ?

Bongo Shrimp · Feb 25, 2015

No emerald crabs might pick at the dead tissue but it's highly unlikely that they are directly causing the STN. What are your parameters?

foxhuntr · Feb 25, 2015

My parameters are good....
calcium- 425ppm
alk- 8dkh
mag- 1400ppm
nitrate- 0
ammonia- 0
temp- 78
phosephate- .05ppm

foxhuntr · Feb 25, 2015

the TDF just started coloring up very nicely too......it is the only one doing it and it was on the backside mostly

Bongo Shrimp · Feb 25, 2015

Hmm maybe it wants different flow?

foxhuntr · Feb 25, 2015

You think flow is the cause ?

Bongo Shrimp · Feb 25, 2015

Well it's possible but now that I look more closely, I see that the parts which are dying seem to be those that are shaded. It looks like this piece was mounted at a different angle that it was originally grown since the branches are pointing horizontally. Therefore I'd say those parts are just not getting the right light.

therman · Feb 25, 2015

Emerald crabs will eat Acropora, for what it's worth. After I found them crunching off growth tips I vowed to never again put them in a reef.

I don't know what is going on with your coral though. Can you get a better photo of the affected areas?

foxhuntr · Feb 26, 2015

I will try and get better pics after my lights come on today

Bongo Shrimp · Feb 26, 2015

therman said:
Emerald crabs will eat Acropora, for what it's worth. After I found them crunching off growth tips I vowed to never again put them in a reef.

I don't know what is going on with your coral though. Can you get a better photo of the affected areas?

As long as you're feeding your tank emerald crabs shouldn't eat any corals. They may turn to corals as a last resort, however they most likely were picking at dead or dying parts of the coral. As scavengers they will consume dying corals.

therman · Feb 26, 2015

Bongo Shrimp said:
As long as you're feeding your tank emerald crabs shouldn't eat any corals. They may turn to corals as a last resort, however they most likely were picking at dead or dying parts of the coral. As scavengers they will consume dying corals.

Well, this one didn't follow the guidelines for behavior, so I wouldn't rule it out completely

Mine was eating the apical corallites off of healthy thriving colonies in a well fed tank with no shortage of macroalgae.

pirate2876 · Feb 26, 2015

therman said:
Emerald crabs will eat Acropora, for what it's worth. After I found them crunching off growth tips I vowed to never again put them in a reef.

I don't know what is going on with your coral though. Can you get a better photo of the affected areas?

+1 I have had this issue with Emerald Crags before.

esteadma · Mar 1, 2015

I had never heard of emerald crabs eating sps, but I guess you always runs the risk of rogue cleaning crew under various circumstances. I would make sure you have adequate flow. They like it random.

Reef Pets · Mar 1, 2015

That looks like the work of a gorilla crab to me. Many people will mistake a gorilla crab for a small emerald. Is there a small crab living in the acro? If so remove it.