What's Wrong W/ This Coral?

[euphoria]

I bought this orange plate coral about 10 days ago, and it was all orange, and all the tentacles were on it.
Right now, as you can see in the pic, there's white spots where the orange tentacles used to be.
What caused this? Did my fish eat it or is it something else? Is it dying or will it be fine?
I've seen my coral beauty angel go near it and make contact w/ it w/ it's mouth, BUT it doesn't eat it, just makes contact.
:help:
Thanks

 

[zanemoseley]

It looks like bleaching. It may have gotten too much light too soon, what kind of lighting do you have and do you know what lighting it came from. It may be bleaching due to stress from being pestered by fish.

 

[euphoria]

When I look closely, it doesn't look like the orange part lost color. It looks more like the tentacles are missing in those areas.
I have 260W PC lighting (2 are daylight bulbs and 2 are actinics) and this is on a 60 gallon tank. In the LFS it was under MH lights I believe. I know for sure it was under stronger lights than in my tank, plus it was sitting closer to the lightbulbs in the LFS tank, than it is in my tank.
The first 5 days or so it looked very good and was all puffed up and swollen, but the last few days it's been like this. I do have high nitrates (20ppm) in the past few days and I"m working on bringing it down. Could high nitrates have done this?

 

[zanemoseley]

20ppm nitrates is definatley high but I'm not sure if it would cause this. Did you drip acclimate the coral or just put it in. Is the white area quickly spreading or remaining constant. I don't think lighting is your problem.

 

[euphoria]

I acclimated it for about an hour. I could have done a better job at acclimation, maybe for 2 hours or so, but I really doubt it's the acclimation that did it. It was doing great before.
I haven't really paid attn. to see if it's spreading or not. I've been working all day and by the time I get home lights are off.
Can hermit crabs eat its tentacles? Cuz i got lots of small crabs and they sometimes are around the plate coral.

 

[euphoria]

By the way, the polyps in your avatar are beautiful. I've never seen them in green.
:jumping:

 

[spsfreak100]

It's tissue loss, not zooxanthellae loss; with that said, I can assure you that you did not stun the coral by shocking it with too much light.
It appears that something has been eating at the coral -- possibly the angelfish? Was there any tissue loss when you recieved it?
Graham

 

[euphoria]

There was no tissue loss. IT was all orange and covered.
I was told that coral beauty angels are reef safe though.
Anyways, if it is fish eating it, what should I do? Will moving it around help?

 

[gregvabch]

i had a flame angel that ate feather dusters as well as star polyps. IMO dwarf angels are not reef safe. what's your CA/ALK at??

 

[spsfreak100]

Originally posted by EUPHORIA
I was told that coral beauty angels are reef safe though.
Some dwarf Angelfish will develope the taste for corals over time.
Anyways, if it is fish eating it, what should I do? Will moving it around help?
If the fish is indeed eating it, then one or the other will have to go, unless you can isolate the coral from the fish.
Graham

 

[euphoria]

Originally posted by gregvabch
i had a flame angel that ate feather dusters as well as star polyps. IMO dwarf angels are not reef safe. what's your CA/ALK at??
Right now Calcium is 460 and Alk is 8-9 dkH.
My Calcium dropped to 380 last week, cuz I forgot to put the seablocks in there, but I quickly found out and put 2 seablocks and it jumped back to 460. I think it was at 380 for about a few days only. I doubt that would have done this.

 

[greatfullreefer]

Originally posted by EUPHORIA
My Calcium dropped to 380 last week, cuz I forgot to put the seablocks in there, but I quickly found out and put 2 seablocks and it jumped back to 460. .

Did it jump 380 - 460 immediately?

 

[euphoria]

It jumped within 2 days. I used the seablocks so they dissolved slowly.
By the way, in a case like this, is it better to use the seablocks or add b-ionic calcium solution?

 

[gregvabch]

i have no experience with either. i drip kalk and supplement as needed with seachem products.
what kind of current is it getting? it could be possible that the drastic change in lighting is affecting it. if they had it under metal halides and closer to the surface, and you have it under pc's and on the substrate, that's a big change in lighting. i second the vote for tissue loss as opposed to bleaching.
or it could be your angel. the easiest way to figure that out is to set aside some time to sit and observe your tank. that's how i figured out a flame angel that i eventually got rid of enjoyed grazing on star polyps.

 

[euphoria]

I have spent time looking at the angel. It does come and use it's mouth on the coral, but I can tell that it doesn't grab and pull stuff off of it. All it does is make contact w/ the coral with its mouth, just a gentle touch, and leave. I have never seen it actually grab and pull or take away part of the coral.

 

[brooklyn johnny]

Originally posted by EUPHORIA
I have spent time looking at the angel. It does come and use it's mouth on the coral, but I can tell that it doesn't grab and pull stuff off of it. All it does is make contact w/ the coral with its mouth, just a gentle touch, and leave. I have never seen it actually grab and pull or take away part of the coral.
I second everything that Graham has said and would bet it is your coral beauty. The very fact that the angel is picking at it will stress it, and I'd bet money he's eating it with every little bite. I've kept (and keep) fungia and cycloseris and they are a coral that will wane and die over a period of time if not happy... your rapid decline to the point of having dead exposed skeleton leads me even more to believe it's the angel...
Isolate one or the other and the coral will come back at the point it's at in the picture... in good conditions those guys do very well and can take a licking, but a few more days and your angel will finish it off...
Incidentally, "reef safe" is not an all or nothing designation... and dwarf angels in particlular are individuals when it comes to eating habits... there are many large angels I'd keep in my reef before many dwarfs, including the regal I have in my reef (with fungia and cycloseris) in my avatar...
Hope that helps...

 

[wrassefan]

I would get it up high near the lights. I don't think the pc's are enough...esp if it came from a MH tank. Increase lights, increase flow...try feeding it some phyto...couldn't hurt.

 

[euphoria]

I"ll put it higher in the tank, but can I place it on a flat piece of rock? Cuz the base of the coral is flat itself.
if it comes down to choosing the angel or the coral, I prefer to keep the fish.

 

[wrassefan]

If the tissue is deteriorating from the lighting change, then that might be what the angel is picking on, I would put it high up on the rocks. You might want to put a few pieces around it to keep it from accidently falling. If the cause is the angel picking at the coral, then the decision is yours on which to remove. Most angels are not reef safe. Good luck!!

 

[euphoria]

I just moved it high up in the tank w/ good water flow. It's only a few inches from my lights. I'll keep close eye on it and see if it improves.
Thanks for all the help