Montipora is dying off..

[mr. tuna]

This is my monti cap that ive had for about a year already, and there has been some decressing. And its turning like into stone..
Is it monti bugs?

 

[dburr]

I doubt it.
I have not heard of red bugs killing a coral yet. Most likely canidates are water quality(SG, ALK, CAL, ECT...), old light, temp swings.
Can you post more info on your tank?

 

[mr. tuna]

Absolutly no-
ammonia
nitrate
nitrite
PH- 8.3
salinity- 1.024
Cal- 440
not sure about the alk.

 

[razoreqx]

Originally Posted by MR. Tuna
Absolutly no-
ammonia
nitrate
nitrite
PH- 8.3
salinity- 1.024
Cal- 440
not sure about the alk.
I would get a PO4 reading and an ALK. How long have you had the coral?

 

[murph145]

there are montipora eating nudibranchs

 

[viper_930]

Could be montipora-eating nudibranchs. They're about 2-3 mm and live on the underside of the coral. Check for those, then I'll fill you in on the details if you've got them.

 

[tony detroit]

Look at the 2nd pic.
He's got nudi's.

 

[murph145]

where do u see them at ??
or are u just going off of the die off and the pattern its happening in??

 

[viper_930]

The discolored area where the tissue has died looks like nudis have been having a feast.

 

[murph145]

yeah i mean i can see the discolored area but corals can also just die off starting in a section and moving outward but i do agree nudis are a big problem with montiporas and are hard to find at times

 

[yetti]

What do you do about them?

 

[viper_930]

There are a few methods to completely rid the tank of these nudis.
What I did was to dilute some lugol's iodide in tank water and dip each infected piece for 3 minutes, then repeat once more in 2 days. However, the iodine dips do stress out the already weak SPS and is more risky.
A less damaging method is to scout the tank every night for a couple weeks and use airline tubing to siphon out any nudis you find.
Six-line, four-line, and yellow-coris wrasse are also reported to eat these pesky nudis, but don't count on them completely destroying the entire nudi population.