spec ops: operation monti rescue

[saltn00b]

should you choose to accept this mission....

ok my brother isistius is having some problems keeping SPS in his tank. all of his levels are in check and the rest , but it seems almost every sps loses color / browns out and dies. the why and how is a different thread, yet to be posted.
this thread is just to document what is barely left of a miscolored, faded, diminished pair of Montiporas. one Sunset Montipora and one Superman Montipora.
here they are two days after the emergency transplant

sorry for the pic quality but the location / lighting / size factors made them tough photos to take. i should be able to get better ones down the line.
as you can see, the polyps retain their colors, but the connecting structure and flesh loses color and recedes. the middle of the sunset is pretty rough, but the sides already look pretty happy after 2-3 days. as for the superman, i count 7 remaining polyps and no real visible structure / flesh behind it.
the end result should be a beatiful orange/ peach structure for the sunset, and a superman-blue one for the superman monti. more pics to come, cross your fingers!

 

[coraljunky]

Where has Jeff been??? Were these from his 54g?

 

[saltn00b]

yeap from his corner 54. he has been busy during busy season at his shop. he says he hasnt been on the site for a few weeks, but he is still taking care of the tank. we both cant figure out why he has SPS problems, and he his pretty frustrated with it. only things that are doing ok is a pink stylo , and something else i cant remember. he has a a couple of chunks of idaho grape that are ok, but very light in color.

 

[coraljunky]

Whats the tank temp? Is he using the Aquatinics fixture? Does he dose vitamins or any supplements?

 

[saltn00b]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
http:///forum/post/2488748
the why and how is a different thread, yet to be posted.
this thread is just to document what is barely left of a miscolored, faded, diminished pair of Montiporas. one Sunset Montipora and one Superman Montipora.

as far as i know, he does not dose vitamins are any untestables, and yes he is using the aquactinics with bulbs that were on his frag tank , set up for growth.

 

[saltn00b]

 

[isistius]

the superman was in my frag tank for 5 months before transferring to my 54, and the sunset was in there for almost 2 months. all of the browning out in the sunset occurred before the transfer, and the superman was about a 1/2 piece, that slowly disintiegrated into nothing but 7 or 8 polyps, and remained that way for months now. the tank temp sits about 79-80. i dose diy 2part daily.

 

[groupergenius]

I had my favorite monti totally destroyed by monti eating nudibranchs a few weeks ago. But they ate flesh and all. Left it white not brown.
Maybe a chemical battle with something else in the tank. Softies?

 

[isistius]

there are softies in the tank now, but they do not touch. all of these problems occurred before the tank transfer.
here's the other funny thing - i received 2 pieces of the same monti, one from saltnoob, and one from ifirefight. saltnoob's is doing spectacular, ifirefight's rtned a few months back. my 2 pieces are alive, BUT they are completely white except for the polyps which are orange. why do they bleach out (if that is what's going on) over weeks or months?

 

[saltn00b]

seems the superman now may have connective base tissue between 2-3 polyps

 

[saltn00b]

major success!
the superman monty has a healthy blue connective tissue between a large number of polyps! the polyps have covered the face of the original frag and spread onto the connected rock.

the sunset monty has colored up and spread like a beast! ill let the pic do the talking...

another 2 coral rescue ops from the about 2 months later:
red monti cap:
this frag looked like a plain rock. there was a small patch of light orange/white coloration on it. now it is thick and shelving off the rock!

unknown SPS.
perhaps someone can help with an ID.
this coral was a stubby acro-LIKE pillar in my brother's tank. it was covered in a mossy carpet of greenish polyp extension. when i got it, the whole stalk was bare, so i snapped it off. the base looked like it had no life either , and was flat on the rock. within one day the mossy polyps were extending from the base, and now it is erupting in slow motion with massive bulges from the base!

 

[isistius]

i've told you. it's a pink-tip green pocillipora.
and boy to my corals look good in YOUR tank. i can't wait to ge them back.

 

[saltn00b]

you will have to wait

 

[gatorwpb]

good job guys!! now grow that sunset so I can trade you a bunch of frags for a frag of it...

 

[saltn00b]

working on it! as you can that things is growing at a real brisk pace, especially for something that is supposed to be rare or slow growing...

 

[tizzo]

No offense isis, but if your gonna put them back into your tank, I'd put in one and see how it does after 1 month... I certainly wouldn't put them all back at once!
Beautiful rescues noob!!