What ate my Birdsnest?

[FloridaBoy]

So I've been running my 24g nanocube for about 4 months now and have gradually added Mushrooms, Palys, Zoas, LPS (2 Hammers, Favia, Acan,and a Galaxea), Blue Sympodium, and some Xenias. On a whim, I added an Acro, and a few weeks later I added a frag of Birdsnest. Two days later, I checked the tank before going to work in the morning and was stunned to see that half of the birdsnest was stripped down to the (polished smooth) skeleton. The next morning, the rest of the poor thing was stripped completely bare. (RIP little coral )

None of my other corals have been accosted by this heinous murdering beast before or after the night(s) of the crime.

The most depressing part - I suspect a member of my CUC. The patern/size of the damage and the fact it occured at night lends me to believe it might have been my Turbo snails. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Any suggestions on what else it might have been? If it is the Turbo snail, anything else it might eat?

Current CUC:

Snails - 6 ceriths, 2 Nassaurius, 2 Turbos

Crabs - 1 Emerald, 8 dwarf blue leg hermits

Shrimp - 2 peppermint

Fish:

2 small common Coral Fish

2 White Mollys

[victoly]

That sounds like RTN to me. Birdsnests have a reputation for being picky beasts and can lose all their tissue in pretty short order if they're unhappy.

[Planeden]

That sounds like RTN to me. Birdsnests have a reputation for being picky beasts and can lose all their tissue in pretty short order if they're unhappy.

that is so strange to me. so many places list birdsnest as coral for dummies, but others swear it is hard to grow. maybe there are different varieties? well, i stumbled onto some a few weeks ago, so we'll see how it works for me.

note: i'm not arguing with you, i just find the vast difference in information very confusing.

[Bogdan]

I lost my birdnests overnight after growing it for a year. No apparent reason whatsoever.

[Juiceman]

So just to be clear. You had Rapid Tissue Necrosis or RTN. It can be caused by fluctuations in parameters, temperature, or high levels if nitrate and phosphate. It happens many times unexpectedly.

If a snail, crab, or fish was messing with it, it would take longer and you would see signs of it.

[jestep]

Birdsnest have always been horrible for me. Doesn't matter the color or lineage. ORA ones have been no more hardy than wild ones for me.

I've had entire colonies RTN overnight that had been in the tank for more than a year. They're supposedly less demanding than acros, but they are very poor at adapting. There was a study on seriatopora's and they take longer than any other SPS to adapt to new conditions. Once they start to go, it's difficult to catch it fast enough to save anything.

I do have some that are still growing but it seems to me that it's important to match the lighting and flow parameters almost exactly when moving them to a new tank for best chances of survival. The 1+ year RTN'ing is really aggravating though. It's happened to a softball size pink colony and I also had it happen to a baseball size ORA bird of paradise and half of an ORA ponape which I was able to save part of.

[Planeden]

Birdsnest have always been horrible for me. Doesn't matter the color or lineage. ORA ones have been no more hardy than wild ones for me.

I've had entire colonies RTN overnight that had been in the tank for more than a year. They're supposedly less demanding than acros, but they are very poor at adapting. There was a study on seriatopora's and they take longer than any other SPS to adapt to new conditions. Once they start to go, it's difficult to catch it fast enough to save anything.

I do have some that are still growing but it seems to me that it's important to match the lighting and flow parameters almost exactly when moving them to a new tank for best chances of survival. The 1+ year RTN'ing is really aggravating though. It's happened to a softball size pink colony and I also had it happen to a baseball size ORA bird of paradise and half of an ORA ponape which I was able to save part of.

i've read that birdsnest is something that grows specifically for its favorite light and flow conditions. it was suggested to get as small of a frag as possible so that it can find its happy place. do you think that can be the root of some of the evils? any small change in position, change of flow can be detrimental. one thing i don't hear talked about too much in the emulating nature is flow. i wonder if birdsnest, and perhaps all branching corals, live in places with consistent flow. over the lifetime of a coral, does the flow pattern always stay in the same direction (long term, not storms and whatnot changing short term). maybe this component is as important as water quality, lighting, and flow strength.

floridaboy: let me know if you think i am hijacking your thread. if so i apologize.

[Jpowell490]

You guys are scaring me.........

I have a Reef Gen Birdsnest that I purchased just about 3 months ago as a small frag. It has quadrupled in size and is doing great.

[Bpb]

Never understood why birds nests are labeled as easy sps. I've not ever killed any but they're the slowest growing easiest to bleach spa I've tried to this point. I'm with the others. Sounds like a water parameter fluctuated rapidly and the birdsnest was the first to notify you.