what the he!!???

[Doc]

so, I noticed that one of my SPS corals, an orange digitada, is only half alive. the front of the coral looks like it has been shaved clean with a razor. the sides and back have full polyp extension, but the front is white and bare. um, huh? why? WTF?

I have an emerald crab that i guess could have done it, but that is the only thing that I can think of that would do that. No fish are "unsafe". the powerhead is behind the SPS and it does not get direct flow, and if that was it, the backside should be bare. the rest of the coral looks fine. WHY?!?!?!?!

-Doc

 

[Doc]

oh, and for those of you who are grumbling about not having a pic, keep your pants on, I am uploading them as we speak

-Doc

 

[yote]

Break out a magnifing glass and look at the coral extremely close.Its possible that you got redbugs.

 

[Doc]

red bugs? never heard of them. will they spread to my other corals and kill them all or are they just for SPS corals? here are those pics I promised.

-Doc

 

[Doc]

OK, lets assume it is a parasite. that means they ravaged this coral OVERNIGHT. it literally was fine three days ago and that is when it happened. I have been waiting to see if something changed, but it has stayed the same, no better, no worse. If it is contagous, I will yank this F&%ker now and toss it. I am not a fan of tiny parasites, as I have NEVER had them. ideas? No I don't own coral dip and I will freshwater dip it now if that will kill them.

I thought that it could have been pissed off from getting glued down, but that was weeks ago. I look at my tank 100 times a day for shit like this and it literally happened in one day. do things work that fast?

-Doc

 

[yote]

Red bugs will only prey on SPS corals.But it may not be the bugs.The only way to confirm if it is or not is look really close with a magnifing glass.They'll look like little red chiggers.Only there'll be a few hundred.

It could also be the light.I've had my SPS do that.Move them lower in the tank and they would come back.
Other than that,I have no idea.If worst come to worse,then just break off a healthy part of the coral and glue it some where,then pull the rest.

 

[reeffreak]

It looks like RTN(rapid tissue necrosis).Its a disease btw.
Nothing can be done with it from I heard.I'll check again on other forums.

 

[reeffreak]

Its not bleaching,bleaching starts from the top and works it way down.RTN works from the bottom up.Thats how you can tell if its bleaching or RTN.
Consider it the brown jelly of SPS.Not that its the same disease but it destroys the coral extremely fast.

 

[Doc]

:pooh:

provided it is RTN, can I break off what is healthy and save it? how did it happen? is there a vaccine for it? (just kidding). Hell. not a fan. worse...is it contagious to the SPS that are on the other side of the tank?

-Doc

 

[Doc]

hmmmm and grrrrr (manly irritation sounds)

the bottom of the coral are all dead and it looks like it is heading upward. I guess it will be dead by morning. should I try to save a bit of it or is the whole coral infected and just going to croak?

-Doc

 

[reeffreak]

I run across threads just like this from time to time.Still searching right now on Reef central for some possible treatments.At this point,I suppose cutting off the good part might help.I'm checking to see if an iodine dip would help.

So far is doesn't seem good.Most people chuck it because yes,its very contagious.Maybe there is something here.....Reefs.org: Where Reefkeeping Begins on the Internet - The Invertebrate Immune System Part 2 By Eric Borneman and Jonathan Lowrie Aquarium Net April 98

 

[yote]

I'd frag it off above the dead part.Its better to save what you can than to lose the whole colony.
And yeah,RTN can effect your other SPSs if their down stream.

I Hadnt even thought of that one Reef.

 

[Bifferwine]

Weird, my pink stylo with Sebastian the crab is having the exact same thing happen to it right now! I did have it on the bottom of my tank, so I moved it nearer to the top... But every branch is bleaching from the bottom up. MAKES ME MAD!!!

All of my other SPS are fine, even the ones that were only a couple inches away from the stylo.

 

[reeffreak]

The search function at RC is disabled.They really need to add more servers to handle the load there.

I've read two threads so far on RC,both aquarist lost all the colonies of acroporas.They had hundreds.Man,get it out now Doc,cut it and put the good part in a QT.Don't risk putting it back in the display.This stuff is sounding worst than brown jelly disease.

Did you have something fluctuate recently-pH,temp,phosphate ect.?
There's a consensus that stress the underlying factor.

 

[reeffreak]

Biff,you may have STN(slow tissue necrosis).A different disease or diseases that works slow,like duh right?

 

[Doc]

It is gone. I put it outside and I will add it to my collection in my wife's display case. A piece had broken off earlier and I hope that will carry on the life of the colony. I will keep an eye on my other colonies and if it spreads I may shit twice and die. I just hope it doesn'y effect my LPS colonies

-Doc