Urgent help needed leather coral

butcherman

butcherman

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got a new pinchusion over the weekend from a fellow reefer. when i picked it up it looked healthy. got it home aclimatised it and it was not extended.

looks like it was molding but now id almost say there are bits falling off.
the actual coral has a funny smell but im told thats how they smell.

10082010557.jpg


water parameters are as follows
nh3 = 0
no2 = 0
no3 = 5
ca = 460
mg = 1380
sg 1.025
temp = 25.5
po4 = 0.01
alk = 7
ph = 8.4

i do 10% wc a month.

Any ideas on what i need to do?
 
Bummer dude, as far as i know, no coral has a particular 'smell', if they stink, they are dying. I lost a leather coral suddenly a couple months ago, tried dipping it, quarinting it, completely fragging it but nothing helped.
 
deadmeat2016 said:
Bummer dude, as far as i know, no coral has a particular 'smell', if they stink, they are dying. I lost a leather coral suddenly a couple months ago, tried dipping it, quarinting it, completely fragging it but nothing helped.
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LOL So if one biffs one is ready for the box. :whistling: :whistling::whistling: get into bed with the wife after handling a healthy coral and see if you are allowed to remain there.:nono:;)

Seriously. Three things to consider.

1) Predation by a pest.
2) bacterial infection
3) Warfare.

Before we take action we need some more info for consideration.

like how long has/is the deterioration taking? how long has the coral been in it position? what corals are close by? water flow around the coral etc. What other corals are thriving in the tank. what other soft corals do you have?
 
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Nemos Janitor said:
LOL So if one biffs one is ready for the box. :whistling: :whistling::whistling: get into bed with the wife after handling a healthy coral and see if you are allowed to remain there.:nono:;)

Seriously. Three things to consider.

1) Predation by a pest. (there was a little orange work hitchhiker but i toke it out as soon as i saw it, otherwise there a percula, 2xflagtail lawnmow blenny, red starfish, blue legged hemits and a few snails.)
2) bacterial infection (i was thinking this)
3) Warfare. only mushrooms the tinyest patch of xenia and a bit of red marco algea and some zoaz

Before we take action we need some more info for consideration.

like how long has/is the deterioration taking 3 days? how long has the coral been in it position in tank from friday night? what corals are close by zoas? water flow around the coral etc medium flow. What other corals are thriving in the tank. what other soft corals do you have mushrooms and xenia and zoas?
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hope this helps us out
 
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The first thing to do is gently wave the coral in the water. If a powder substance starts to come off the coral it is to far gone and removal is the best else it will pollute your tank. If the skin of the coral is still firm then i recomend a dip in an iodine solution or tropic Marines "pro coral cure". After the dip i would cut the infected part off the coral. Do not be stingy when cutting. Cut at least 2-3mm into the good part of the coral. This will ensure that bacteria and possible small predators are removed. Then dip again and replace in the tank. If you have a QT tank it would be better to place the coral there for observation. Hope this helps and keep us updated.
 
Nemos Janitor said:
The first thing to do is gently wave the coral in the water. If a powder substance starts to come off the coral it is to far gone and removal is the best else it will pollute your tank. If the skin of the coral is still firm then i recomend a dip in an iodine solution or tropic Marines "pro coral cure". After the dip i would cut the infected part off the coral. Do not be stingy when cutting. Cut at least 2-3mm into the good part of the coral. This will ensure that bacteria and possible small predators are removed. Then dip again and replace in the tank. If you have a QT tank it would be better to place the coral there for observation. Hope this helps and keep us updated.
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What happens if it starts producing powder? what about the other life stock in the tank? BIG wc?
i have been waving water over the corals every now and then to check but it seems like skin. water dose seem hazy white.
The coral is firm but it looks like the bacteria is ating at certain tips and sections. How would be the best way to cut the coral?
I have iodine soloution it recomends a 2ml per i liter and soak for an hour, should i follow this?
After cutting all this off do i leave it on the rock its on?
Should i quarintine it?

sorry for all these questions
 
butcherman said:
What happens if it starts producing powder? what about the other life stock in the tank? BIG wc? Do not wave it heavily. It needs to come out anyway. So just shake a little to see if there is a powdery substance coming off. If you are worried then do it in a small container.
i have been waving water over the corals every now and then to check but it seems like skin. water dose seem hazy white. If this is the case then it may be to late to to save. so be careful when removing the coral.
The coral is firm but it looks like the bacteria is ating at certain tips and sections. How would be the best way to cut the coral? Sharp pair of scissors. sterilize with iodine first.
I have iodine soloution it recomends a 2ml per i liter and soak for an hour, should i follow this? yes But just dip it for a minute or so after cutting.
After cutting all this off do i leave it on the rock its on? YES
Should i quarintine it? Best to

sorry for all these questions
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No worries. The more you ask the better.
 
Sorry to hear dude! This isn't the other one from Adee right?

*edit* Ignore my comments. For some reason I read pincushion and not leather. I need to get caffeine
 
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Is this not a classic case of a leather coral sulking after a move?
The smell, is it a rotting bait type smell or just that typical "bitter" coral smell?
 
AfricaOffroad said:
Is this not a classic case of a leather coral sulking after a move?
The smell, is it a rotting bait type smell or just that typical "bitter" coral smell?
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bitter not rotting smell. if you look at the tips of the coral in the pic its like its rotting though
 
Eish, I dont know enough about these things to offer any good advice !
My common sense tells me if it still smells okay, there is still hope of a recovery. Maybe time to trim off some of the tips that look like they are decaying????

Need some more educated opinions on this matter.
 
I've also noticed through a lot of different leather species, that sometimes ones that look like they are dying, rotting, do make it... it is hard to say keep it or turf it
coz sometimes a portion will heel, maybe even just a corner and then proceed to grow into a healthy large coral... I have had a few corals that people were going to throw out that recovered so nicely... definately keep it clean by holding it near a powerhead every day or so to clean off debris... even some of the small pieces that do come off live!... maybe do extra water changes over this time to stop unneeded pollution to the Tank
 
brentv said:
I've also noticed through a lot of different leather species, that sometimes ones that look like they are dying, rotting, do make it... it is hard to say keep it or turf it
coz sometimes a portion will heel, maybe even just a corner and then proceed to grow into a healthy large coral... I have had a few corals that people were going to throw out that recovered so nicely... definately keep it clean by holding it near a powerhead every day or so to clean off debris... even some of the small pieces that do come off live!... maybe do extra water changes over this time to stop unneeded pollution to the Tank
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i am cleaning it twice a day, should i not move it to a higher flow area?
 
Bud it is to far gone. Remove it and try and save some good frag able bits. Tomorrow it will be a mess. Keep any frags in the QT tank and do the iodine thing. Also dose one dose of iodine to your tank. Just to kill any possible bacteria that may be in your tank.
 
Bummer butcher dude, alot similar to my situation, good one for trying though. Thanks mr janitor for all advice here, i learned a thing or 2. Although butcher, when this happened to mine, i had a nennie and brain coral in the tank aswell and they wernt affected :) Good luck man
 
Nemos Janitor said:
Bud it is to far gone. Remove it and try and save some good frag able bits. Tomorrow it will be a mess. Keep any frags in the QT tank and do the iodine thing. Also dose one dose of iodine to your tank. Just to kill any possible bacteria that may be in your tank.
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so its a bacterial infection?
how do i know if i have cut off to much what makes a good fragable bit?
 
I have a pi cushion frag the size of your thumbnail and it is thriving... IMO, according to the photos posted, that very far left top piece still has some color and tissue with polyps showing.

My best bet would be to keep that as frag, even if just a small one.

Sorry for your loss, it is never nice to see any ocean creature in such a state...
 
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