Colt suddenly wasting away

[dcox88]

About 2 weeks ago, my colt which has been doing very well for several years, started to go downhill. It is shriveling, but still extends polyps to feed. It is turning a pale color and shrinking. Water is OK - phosphates were high, but came down with water changes and phosguard. I have had some red slime and hair algae on the same rock, but don't think that should be a problem. Everything else is fine, just the colt is affected.
Any ideas? Nothing is close enough to sting.

 

[nm reef]

Curious what recent water tests show....rsults for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate.
You mentioned red slime and hair algae on the same LR...may indicate a lack of current and elevated phosphates.
When were your lights last changed...and what do you run for lights?
Has ph been stab;e with no serious fluctuations? Same for salinity and temp...no sudden swings?
The more detailed info you provide the easier it may be to locate a source of the problem.

 

[michaeltx]

colts go through phases where they will close up and look really bad for a some time and then come back. just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesnt start to literally melt away.( its unmistakeable) if it starts this frag as much as you can and fast discard the rest I dont know what causes it but sometimes it just happens. mine was kicked off by a dieing gorg and it was huge all the frags are fine but I would have lost the entire coral if I didnt frag it.
HTH
Mike

 

[dcox88]

This is a 54 gal reef ready tank that has been established for 4 years. Lighting is 2x96 watt pc's that are 4 months old. They run for 12 hours per day. I have 3 powerheads -- 2 up high and 1 near the bottom. I went on vacation and then had to leave on a family emergency for a few weeks. When I returned my phosphates were up, but nitrates were not. I did a water change and put some phosguard in my sump which has significantly reduced my phosphate level. Nitrates are still under 5. It was about 3 weeks after this that the colt started having trouble. Nothing else in the tank is having problems. My pulsing xenia is doing just fine. Has anyone had any success with Iodine dip? My LFS suggested trying some Ken't Iodine dip - they said it might be a long shot, but sometimes helps softies.
Eveything else has been stable - pH at 8.3, salinity (SG) 1.023 to 1.024, temp 76 - 78. I will test amonia and nitrite this afternoon. I didn't suspect that as a problem as everything else seems healthy. I thought the xenia would be affected than the colt - my colt has always seemed so hearty.

 

[michaeltx]

I have used iodine dip but sometimes colts just deminish in health for no apparent reason. I dont have any other ideas though but this gets you back up.
Mike

 

[nm reef]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you...works been a bear this week.
Conditions sound good and it does seem like everythings been stable. Any idea what caused the phosphates to elevate?
Fortunately I've seldom had corals rapidly go downhill like your colt is but it does happen....and can be extremely frustrating.
I have used a iodine dip for a sickly hammer that was showing signs of RTN...I used a diluted mix of Seachems Iodine and tank water . Placed the coral in the solution for under 5 min and returned it to the display....repeated the procedure once a week over about a month...eventually the coral was seriously fragged and in time I was able to save about one third of the origional. If you dip the colt I'd suggest a diluted mixture because the iodine itself can be toxic enough to cause even more damage....hope everything works out and the coral is saved....