Help!

[undrtkr_00]

I am coral-sitting a really nice, large green cat's paw (pocillopora, I think?) for ciao while he gets his tank set up. Sometime over the last 24 hrs, it took a major nosedive and I am wondering how to save it.

Could be a coincidence of timing, but a few days ago, a small chalice frag dropped on to the top-rear part of it. When I saw it, I pulled it off, and there was a very small dead spot right where they were touching, but the rest of it looked fine. Of course, the chalice is fine. Anyway, there was that small dead spot (only a few polyps), but it looked OK otherwise for a few days. Full PE, etc.

Now when I came home tonight, about 50% of the polyps are completely gone (bare skeleton), and both of my tangs are picking at it! I don't know if the chalice clash timing is coincidence, and I don't know why the tangs are picking at it. I have stylophora, bird's nest, and others that they don't pick at (as well as various other SPS and LPS).

Any advice in trying to save it? I'm going to make some kind of cover to keep the tangs of temorarily, but I don't know what else I can do. I don't have another tank that can hold this large coral, and I'm afraid that of stressing the coral by moving it. AACK!

Recent parameters:
PH = 8.0
Calc = 430
Alk = 7.5
Nitrates = 0.1

No recent phosphate test, but I have more acros, montis, etc that are showing no distress at all. My phoslock was changed out a couple of weeks ago - should be fine.

I'll run a couple more parameter tests tonight, but I suspect it is other problems.

[andy]

If it is RTNing, you may have no other choice than to frag it and save what you can :(

[undrtkr_00]

Ever seen tangs pick at a coral that wasn't dying? I'm afraid I will break it up and then they'll just pick at the frags. I put a clear glass bowl over most of it to keep them away.

[CCR]

Never had my tangs picking on cOrals except zooos on the sand. How long have you had it in the tank? Hours? Glass boul, be careful you don't cause it to burn. Magnifying effect

[stylaster]

i would take off the glass bowl you will suffocate the coral by not allowing any water flow over it. Best you can do is frag off the pieces that still have polyps, it could have very well done a polyp bail out also, if so you might discover little colonies of it all over your tank in about a month

[Saltfinsax]

I know my sailfin bleenie will start going after a coral win is starts to go bad and I have to move it to the fag tank. My yellow tang will pick at the dead spots that are starting to grow algae and might get to close to the fleash and just make things worse.

I think your doing best to make something to protect them.

[coralreefer]

will it fit in sump? if it was "poisoned" by chalice, it could still come back...i've had similar incidents where "fried" coral parts look dead, only to come back in a couple weeks...throw a net over it?

DrMerle

[stylaster]

fish net would work fine, make sure you get some good water flow pointed toward it

[undrtkr_00]

I don't have a net nearly big enough to cover it. I'll look around for something else that might work.

The tang is still trying to go after the little parts that are sticking out, but the parts that are covered have not lost any more polyps in the last couple of hours. I'll continue to monitor that.

I have had the coral in my tank for a few months. It has been happy up until now.

[undrtkr_00]

Dsoz got some eggcrate to me and I made a sort of cage around it. It will do for now. No more flesh recession in the last couple of hours. We'll see what the morning brings...

[ciao]

Dsoz got some eggcrate to me and I made a sort of cage around it. It will do for now. No more flesh recession in the last couple of hours. We'll see what the morning brings...

Thanks for all the hard work trying to save my coral! You (rock2)

[finch6013]

my tank being packed with sps, its not uncommon for there to be battles and death. Once an sps is stung it usually continues to die back for a few days. Is the death concentrated or is the whole colony going?

[undrtkr_00]

Well, pretty much all of it was all going south. Wierd thing is, it did not change much for a couple of days after being stung. Then like 50% of it was gone within 24 hrs, starting pretty much from the base of each "branch" and moving up.

It is difficult to tell with the lights out, but it does not seem like it has lost any flesh since I got the "cage" set up and the fish away from it. Not sure if that is really the case, or if keeping the fish away is just allowing the dying flesh to stay attached. Should have a much better idea when I get home from work today.

[reefboy]

any updates on this?

[undrtkr_00]

Unfortunately, I lost the whole thing. (sad) I did make a number of frags, but none of them made it. The fact that it went a few days before the dead spot really started to spread makes me wonder if some kind of secondary infection was the ultimate cause of death.

[vanz]

My poc always rtn's, usually when it get's stung by a floating frogspawn tentacle. The way I stopped it was to frag away from the receding parts or just use gel glue and circle the branch a little below/above the rtn.