Will it heal?

jd371 · Aug 10, 2016

I was feeding my tank the other day and a piece of shrimp fell on my Acan. The piece was a little bigger than what I usually feed it, but it started to feed on it so I left it. The next morning I noticed that where the piece of shrimp rested on the Acan the skeleton was exposed, besides that one spot the rest of it looks healthy. It looked the same this morning, but the lights weren't on yet so I'll have to get a better look later when I get home. Sorry for the lousy picture the lights were ramping down at the time. I'm hoping it will heal.

WetWhistle · Aug 10, 2016

If given the proper conditions it can heal. I would stick to finer foods like detritus to supplement the feeding. Smaller is better as it is easier to digest and process. I myself feed exclusively fine foods like detritus for my corals (SPS, Soft and LPS) and they grow like mad. Small foods allow for increased feeding up time as the polyps don't need to close. So you increase the amount of energy the coral gets from active feeding. This goes a long way to repairing tissue damage and for growth.

twilliard · Aug 10, 2016

WetWhistle said:
If given the proper conditions it can heal. I would stick to finer foods like detritus to supplement the feeding. Smaller is better as it is easier to digest and process. I myself feed exclusively fine foods like detritus for my corals (SPS, Soft and LPS) and they grow like mad. Small foods allow for increased feeding up time as the polyps don't need to close. So you increase the amount of energy the coral gets from active feeding. This goes a long way to repairing tissue damage and for growth.

Detritus?
This is interesting as a food source

jd371 · Aug 10, 2016

I spot feed Rotifers and Cyclops mixed with some small pieces of clam or shrimp to some of my corals including the Acan. The rest are fed through the water column with Phyto, Marine Snow or Coral Frenzy.

WetWhistle · Aug 10, 2016

twilliard said:
Detritus?
This is interesting as a food source

It is often overlooked because to much in the tank and it can cause nutrient issues so most people consider it as a nuisance. Not this guy. As a food source it is considered a bacterioplankton size food so most things will eat it because of the small size and it is extremely nutrient dense so it is a great food source and supports great color in corals. All I do is take a turkey baster and blast a little between the rocks on the substrate where the rock touch the substrate. I do it till my tank is a little cloudy and everything in the tank will extend its polyps and feast. I do it almost daily. You don't need to go all crazy so you can't see into the tank just a little bit. Even hard to feed corals will start to extend polyps to feed. I get better growth rates doing this then I do with products like reef roids as everything you add into your tank or died\uneated pretty much gets turned into Detritus. The bacteria and protazoa that are on the surface of the Detritus trying to break it down provide a nutritious live food source for your corals as well. I don't have to manually feed anything for my corals including LPS using this way, I haven't in years since I started doing it. Plus it is already in the tank so you don't need to add anything else to your load so you don't need worry about to much input into your tank.
Plus side I have filter floss or filter socks running that remove it so it cleans your tank while feeding and it is free!

If you want a good read on it try and find a book by Eric Borneman called Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History. In the book it has a section on who eats what for corals. It will open your eyes to coral feeding mechanisms and the different pathways of coral feeding.

jeremy.gosnell · Aug 10, 2016

Do you have a better picture? My guess is that this spot has been there for some time, but wasn't noticeable when the coral was fully inflated. I find it unlikely that a piece of shrimp damaged acan flesh.

jd371 · Aug 10, 2016

jeremy.gosnell said:
Do you have a better picture? My guess is that this spot has been there for some time, but wasn't noticeable when the coral was fully inflated. I find it unlikely that a piece of shrimp damaged acan flesh.

I'll try and get a better picture when I get home. I'm positive it was fine before the shrimp. Is it possible if the shrimp was on there for some time one of the fish or CUC could have begun to start picking at it taking some of the Acan flesh with it?

WetWhistle · Aug 11, 2016

It is very rare but it can happen. I have seen this once or twice before. If something stole the food from it that could cause damage tissue as well.

Eckolancer · Aug 11, 2016

This acan was almost gone when I got it from a friend. It's doing better every week. Just watch your levels and make sure they are stable. I don't feed corals figure my food and fish poop feed them.

jd371 · Aug 11, 2016

As of this morning it looks the same. The rest of it is healthy and doing well, it's just that one head that the shrimp was on that this is happening to.
My parameters:
Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - 0
Ca - 445
Alk - 9.0
Mag - 1395
Sg - 1.024
Ph - 8.0
Temp - 78-79

jeremy.gosnell · Aug 11, 2016

What's odd is that acans can actually fall off the rocks and sit face-down in the sand-bed and still not have any tissue damage. I agree that if a fish went to pick the shrimp off, it could have damaged the flesh, but even that is a long-shot in my book. To be safe, you can dip it in Revive by Two Little Fishies and closely observe what comes off.