Boret May 18, 2009 Share May 18, 2009 One of my SPS is suffering loss of tissue. At first I thought it might be the conditions such as light, water movement, water parameters etc... But it seems that everything is OK. Every other SPS is doing great. I decided then to dip the coral. I used Brightwell Aquatics MediCoral coral dip. I followed the instructions and dipped the coral in 1 gallon of established aquarium water with 18 drops of the product (recommended dosage ~20) for 8 mins. (Recommended time 7-10 mins). I then rinsed the coral in a different bucket with established water from the main tank. I have placed the coral back in the aquarium. I then found 2 worms in the water with the medicine. I took one out, placed it in a white dish and took several macro pics. This is the best I could come up with: It is about 1/4 of an inch in length. Any ideas? Can two of these do that much dmg? I will try to get a good picture of the affected coral. Should I cut some branches of the coral and placed them in different locations? Is there anything that I can add to the water in the main tank to erradicate this problem before it becomes a huge problem? Thanks for all the help!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 18, 2009 Author Share May 18, 2009 A couple more pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 18, 2009 Share May 18, 2009 looks like algae to me. green with segments- maybe hair algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 18, 2009 Author Share May 18, 2009 Really? Can hair algae produce the tissue damage? What else could be the cause? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 18, 2009 Share May 18, 2009 many sps do not grow in or around hair algae, but until you know what the green thing is and if it actually caused the tissue damage, it's pure speculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 19, 2009 Author Share May 19, 2009 Thanks Zygote2k. Any other ideas guys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschflier May 19, 2009 Share May 19, 2009 Before I saw Zyoteks response that is what I thought it was. Do you have any macro in your main system or even in your sump. I would compare a pice to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 19, 2009 Author Share May 19, 2009 I have a little bit of macro... can the macro affect the coral?? I have already cut 4 pieces from the colony and placed them in different locations in the tank. Hopefully one or more will survive. I really hope that it is a matter of water flow, or somehow lighting, so I have put pieces in different areas and at different heights. If it is a disease I am afraid for the other corals. Nothing else in the tank looks stressed though (crossing fingers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 20, 2009 Author Share May 20, 2009 Bump! Any one else that might have an idea about the little worm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 20, 2009 Share May 20, 2009 Definitely looks like algae according to "Algae" by Julian Sprung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 20, 2009 Author Share May 20, 2009 hmmm... then the tissue loss could be due to location in the tank? Too much flow, too little, light, etc...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 20, 2009 Share May 20, 2009 hmmm... then the tissue loss could be due to location in the tank? Too much flow, too little, light, etc...? RTN? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Camaron May 20, 2009 Share May 20, 2009 (edited) i have seen those before and actually had a few in my tank, it seems to be a form of algae that is reef safe i would asume. http://www.melevsreef.com/id/annulata.html http://www.melevsreef.com/id/algae.html Edited May 20, 2009 by El Camaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 20, 2009 Share May 20, 2009 Only you can make an accurate guess as to what caused the tissue damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mich May 20, 2009 Share May 20, 2009 Neomeris annulata; I had one growing on one of my trochus snail's shells once. I thought it was a worm too. It looks a lot like the leuchloridium sporocyst that forms on land snails. No idea about the tissue loss though, it cold have been anything. Sometimes a more fragile sps will get damaged in just the right way and all the other polyps in the colony go through reactive apoptosis and die. I read a lot of people throwing out the term "Random Tissue Necrosis" as a vague description of rapid causless die off. Best thing to do is keep the Neomeris away from the affected colony and wait too see if the dead tissue continues to spread. If it does and no parasitic or pathogenic culprit can be identified you may have to pull out that colony, maybe see if you can frag off and save the healthy bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore May 20, 2009 Share May 20, 2009 Looks like a piece of Chaetomorpha to me. Neomeris is usually fatter and with a rounded growth tip. The tissue loss could have been from the piece rubbing or otherwise irritating that spot on the coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 20, 2009 Author Share May 20, 2009 Thanks for all the info. I divided the colony in 2 big pieces and I also took two smaller/healthy frags and placed them in different locations. I will keep an eye on the coral and hopefully all or most of it will survive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 20, 2009 Share May 20, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Mich Edited May 20, 2009 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman May 21, 2009 Share May 21, 2009 Yes, RTN - "Rapid tissue necrosis" in the marine world is a sign just like it is in our medical world it's not the cause. My understranding, and I may be worng, is that there can be many reasons for RTN. When there is random and rapid die off or rapid apoptosis, again I may be wrong, the term usewd for the die off is rapid tissue necrosis= RTN. Stress seems to be a big contributor, at least that's what I've read. I also read that super glue applied to the affected area can at times stop the spread of RTN, if it's RTN. From my experience with RTN - you don't have time to apply super glue I had a 6" monti cap start RTN from one side, and within 24 hours, I was able to salvage one small frag from the far side before it all melted. I had a HUGE (maybe 10") colony of blue-tip staghorn that started STN'ing, and even though I cut several inches away from the infection, it just kept going. I barely salvaged a 3" frag from the whole thing. Fortunately, it was only half of a MASSIVE colony that I had cut months before. The other half was in a different tank, and unaffected. Most recent RTN was a 3" frag of montipora that literally turned to jelly overnight. I KNOW it was stressed. I don't think the loss of tissue in this instance is related to the pieces of macro-algae; just coincidence. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 21, 2009 Author Share May 21, 2009 I guess it just happens!!! But man... it sucks!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mich May 21, 2009 Share May 21, 2009 The theory which makes sense to me is that many sps corals, particularly many table forming acropora are genetically pre-programmed to self destruct. They grow to excess until they receive the right form of environmental cue, then they die off and become substrate for other organisms to grow on. What these cues are specifically are probably varied. I would imagine in the wild that a colony that becomes so dense and massive that sufficient current or light can't penetrate it's interior, then it might reailze that it's served it's purpose, and shutdown. In aquariums, inadequte flow and lighting likely trigger a similar response in much smaller younger colonies. In my experience when spontaneous die off occurs in aquaria where lighting and current are ideal, it often involves a small peice of rock or substrate geting lodged within a colony and smothering the polyps directly underneath it, or algae or jelly is growing on the exposed skeleton where damage has occured or a frag was recently taken. I've also seen a couple weird cases of algae or vermetid snails taking up residence in spaces where coral barnacles had died, also apparently triggering an irreversible chain reaction. I think a lot of sps just don't tolerate prolonged contact with foreign material. What ever the worm algae is; if it was wedged in there somewhere for a long time and nothing blew it away it might have aggrevated adjacent tissue enough that their cells blew the apoptosis horn, but hopefully not. Is the dead spot still spreading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret May 22, 2009 Author Share May 22, 2009 It looks like it stop spreading but I might be looking at it too often to be able to tell. I am going to take pictures to see if I can detect any more tissue dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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