Robb in Austin Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm going to frag off the remaining good heads of the hammer in a last ditch effort to save it. Should I frag the good heads off the skeleton and take the rest out or should I frag the bad ones off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Robb, I think you might have hit it with the water being too clean for LPS. I have had troubles with LPS (except duncans/candy canes for some reason) in my 75 with a fuge attached. In my 24g (without a fuge) I had real good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I don't mean to hijack the thread but what do yall mean by having a "dirty" tank, but not a toxic one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Excess nutrients. Mostly nitrates and phos but I'm sure there are others involved as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 +1, I am curious about this concept as well. I've been guessing it has to do with nitrates but from what I've read over the years is any animal with zooanthellea will pull ammonia and nitrates out of the water to feed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Okay, so it's the nitrates and phos, not like just having detritus in there, which is what I pictured as dirty. Although that probably would contribute to the nitrates, etc. Also, the reference to having a dirty but not toxic tank, would that be toxic as in ammonia and nitrites, too much copper or things like that? Just tryin to learn because I love my lps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Rob, I think the same as Kim. I run a high nutriant system. I can assure you it is not dirty. Corals live off of nutriants in the water. Form follows function. The tenacles on the LPS are for feeding purposes. I know of no coral that is 100% photosynthic. They all most feed. I have several large systems that can baby sit what you have. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Yes, by dirty I mean high nutrient. Less nutrients due to my fuge and media reactor, to me at least, suggests my water is not LPS approved anymore. Aside from that, I'm stumped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I would not think that they would die quickly because of starvation. It should be a gradual wasting away due to starvation. I think that you should look somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Ahh, got it. Sorry you're losing corals. That's always a bummer. Hope you get it figured out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 I think that you should look somewhere else. Ideas? 'Cause I'm out of 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I think that you should look somewhere else. Ideas? 'Cause I'm out of 'em. I have no real ideas on the problem. I would recommend that you move your expensive corals to a safe haven. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 it sounds like all your params are in order from what Ive read. With that eliminated I'd have to lean towards a disease or parasite. Can you post some pics, close ups preferably? Also have you tried dipping some of the damaged pieces and inspecting the water/container for parasites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 it sounds like all your params are in order from what Ive read. With that eliminated I'd have to lean towards a disease or parasite. Can you post some pics, close ups preferably? Also have you tried dipping some of the damaged pieces and inspecting the water/container for parasites? I second the dip. I would talk with Shawn at Fishey Business. He has many years of experience. You have to decide if you are dipping for a parasite or a disease. I suspect disease. Live aquaria has a troubleshooting section on marine invetebrae. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 I'll try to get some pics but there isn't much to discern from visual inspection. The only thing I can dip in tonight is freshwater. I did discuss with Shane. His initial thought was an alk problem. When it measured out at 10, that idea went away. He didn't sound very positive about the 'too clean water' theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 Here is a pic of my misery. All of those dead heads weren't a week ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Not that you need another opinion, but I think it's time to make some frags... pass at least one or two out to folks to hold for you just in case. Have you tried any other forums? I find the guys at DFWMAS to be pretty knowledgeable and helpful. Bigger pool of knowledge and all that... We have some CoralRx you're welcome to borrow/use if you like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Here is a pic of my misery. All of those dead heads weren't a week ago. nice hammer! man what a bummer..... I wish the cause was a little clearer, but I think its best to start focusing on a solution quickly. I had a similiar situation happen a couple months ago and dispite everything I did it wiped out my frogspawn. if you have iodine i would start dipping the entire piece and using a turkey baster to blow off the dead and dying tissue then place in a low light low flow area of your tank. It might be a good idea to cut off the dead branches also. I would repeat this every 2-3 days. you can also add vitamin C to your tank. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 Well, today, so far, all the remaining heads look ok. Keeping fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 What's your salinity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 I haven't checked it today but it 1.026 on Monday. Edit; forgot to mention, I started a thread on RC in the LPS subforum. No real insight there either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Interesting. I just noticed some new baby heads popping up below the newly dead ones. I wonder if this die off I've seen is some type of self propagation method. Polyp bail out to move the mother colony DNA around and new ones grow up to take the place of the former mother ones. Maybe I'll shoot an email to the Wet Web Media folks to see what they have to say. Edit: A few minutes of WWM research suggests allelopathy with zoos as a possible cause. Seems plausible, due to an overall increase in zoa stocking since moving to the 75, but somewhat improbable given running GFO/GAC at the same rate and media change as before. Think I'll just watch it for now. And indeed, polyp bail out as a means of propagation does occur. Usually as a last ditch effort in response to a environmental stressor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 I'm now 99% sure it is due to warfare from the zoos, and perhaps my toadstool as well, coupled with less than ideal water parameters after reading on WWM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Interesting!! Links? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 carbon should handle this I would think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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