A loss on the reef...

[nm reef]

My wellsophyllia has rapidly declined and is reduced to half its former size....a major portion has skeleton showing. I have no idea what has caused this deterioation in what was a excellant speciman....it has been in my system for close to 18 months and never a sign of trouble. There does not appear to be any sign of predators and nothing has changed within the system...all other corals are healthy...just the wellsophyllia is in serious trouble. Here are pics of it prior to its current struggles....

I'll try to get a pic of its current status ... but its not good. The only possibilities are the recent addition of a sally lightfoot(not a likely cause) and maybe my coral beauty has decided to taste things forbiden....I'll be watching the coral beauty real close for a while now....man I just hate it when a favorite coral takes a turn for the worse...especially when there is little to nothing you can do to reverse the damage!

 

[wrassecal]

WOW if you can't figure out what happened, I sure don't have anything to offer except my sympathy. It was beautiful

 

[chinnyr]

Sorry to hear about your coral.I don't know much about them,but is that an amenone in the background?Maybe he is stinging it and stressing it.Hope you find the prob.

 

[j21kickster]

He is an experienced reefer- im sure that isnt the problem- Sorry to hear- what does thr tissue recession look like-texture, color? Possibly a bacterial infection- if you honestly think it wont make it-you can try a dip in lughols solution
sorry to hear it man

 

[nm reef]

Nope the anomone is not the problem....that is a old pic and the anomone has since been removed. The tissue recession is not like anything I've seen before....best description is simply a gradual recession starting at the edges...about 1/3 of the total tissue is gone and skeleton is showing. Initially I did attempt a dip in SeaChem Iodine solution but it hasn't helped. I removed it last night after the post...sadly I fear it has deterioated past the point of no return.

 

[quazi]

I believe I read that this is a type of "reproduction" cycle. The wellsophyllia will shrink, and rebound with several small wellsophyllia in its place. Monitor the wellsophyllia and if it just shrinks, it is going through this repro cycle.
Obviously, if it just disintegrates, then get it out of your tank.
I will post the link to an article/posting if I rememeber where I read it!

 

[computerbud]

You'd almost trade a body part for these things to get heathy again wouldn't ya? Sorry your having trouble. Nothing at all has changed? Chemistry is perfect? Through the years I have had a few die too for no seemingly good reason. I have simply just decided that all creatures do die sooner or later. The chemists and bio guys I have become friends with at Seaworld tell me they are perplexed about 3-4 times a year too. It helps me feel a little better... but not much. They usually grill me about the chemistry over and over though. Do you check it very often and log it to watch the subtle changes? This has helped me a lot through the years that I have kept and bred fish.