Bubbling SPS disease

[Troylee]

Well I might have an explanation as to why this bubbling growth started again. Thanks to @Sabellafella at pieces of the ocean we discovered that my salinity was low! I have a cheaper refractometer that I calibrate before each use with 2 different bottle of 35ppt solution. This wasn't enough. It's still off. My salinity according to Pieces of the Ocean was 1.022. I got my ICP test result back from Fauna Marine and it said It was even lower 1.020.

Amazing to me the tank is still doing well. Colors are very good, however, there are more stunted pieces than I am used to having, and obviously the blistering started. If this tissue disease is from a type of stress, correcting salinity should help. I'll report back. FYI I used the same refractometer last year when I had the bubbling issue back then.

After almost 30 years in the hobby there is always something to learn. I put all of my faith in one cheap device. Could have lost the tank for an easy correction. I will now be checking salinity with a few devices to ensure accuracy. Will be using a VeeGee STX-3 refractometer, Hanna salinity checker, and tropic marin hydrometer each time. If you have this bubbling problem on your sps, double check your measure with another device, a shop, or a fellow reefer. BTW because of this I discovered that my friends tank was low too lol @delv2323

Couldn’t tell ya on my tank… I’ve always used my cheap instant ocean plastic hydrometer and it’s never failed me lol… my Apex be smoking something it says it’s 50.5 haha!

 

[jackson6745]

Couldn’t tell ya on my tank… I’ve always used my cheap instant ocean plastic hydrometer and it’s never failed me lol… my Apex be smoking something it says it’s 50.5 haha!

If you get a chance, verify your salinity somehow. I would love to know if you’re in the right zone. It took me the equivalent of a 40g water change worth of salt to get salinity in the right zone! On a 200g system, that’s a lot! Always something.

 

[Troylee]

If you get a chance, verify your salinity somehow. I would love to know if you’re in the right zone. It took me the equivalent of a 40g water change worth of salt to get salinity in the right zone! On a 200g system, that’s a lot! Always something.

I think I have a brand new refracto in a box some where lol… no idea if it has Calibration fluid I’ll search for it and see… I’m sure my old plastic hydrometer is close because my tank is growing extremely well at the moment.. I run my tank at 36ppt according to my hydrometer.

 

[dwhanc00]

I have verified mine with two ICP's and a refractometer and keep it at 1.025.

 

[jackson6745]

I have verified mine with two ICP's and a refractometer and keep it at 1.025.

Did the ICP provide the actual salinity? I know that the ICP analysis brand didn't but it would show low sodium and other traces. I calibrated my refractometer before each use and still ended up with a salinity of 1.022. Turns out that 2 separate bottle 35ppt calibration fluid were off. From now on I use my Tropic Marin Hydrometer which IMO is the most accurate failsafe tool out there, then compare with my veegee refractometer and hanna salinity pen lol. Maybe a bit much but I don't want to make such a stupid mistake again.

 

[jackson6745]

FWIW the blisters are going away in only a few weeks. Seeing major improvements since bringing up salinity to the 1.026. I highly suggest getting a Tropic Marin hydrometer and checking against your refractometer or digital reader etc.

 

[anthonymckay]

Any more updates on this? I've been dealing with this very same issue for quite some time in my tank, and finally stumbled across this thread. A buddy and I thought maybe it was a pest issue initially, as we DID find a white bug on one acro. I did a 3 week interceptor treatment in my tank... and nothing changed in the weeks after unfortunately. Found this thread and saw the photos and realized this was exactly what is going on with mine. I read through all the pages, and a few people mentioned the bacteria theory. Has anyone does any antibiotic treatment to test this theory yet? Though the few people who mentioned moving some frags into new tanks and seeing immediate improvement makes em think this is some kind of environmental thing going on.

 

[dwhanc00]

Nothing here. Some of mine recovered and are growing, one still bubbles. Other acros in the tank are on steroids… Don’t know the answer, just stopped worrying about it. Nothing has died. I did spray one down with peroxide… . No more bubbles but bleached it a little. I will report back if it fully recovers and starts growing.

 

[jackson6745]

Any more updates on this? I've been dealing with this very same issue for quite some time in my tank, and finally stumbled across this thread. A buddy and I thought maybe it was a pest issue initially, as we DID find a white bug on one acro. I did a 3 week interceptor treatment in my tank... and nothing changed in the weeks after unfortunately. Found this thread and saw the photos and realized this was exactly what is going on with mine. I read through all the pages, and a few people mentioned the bacteria theory. Has anyone does any antibiotic treatment to test this theory yet? Though the few people who mentioned moving some frags into new tanks and seeing immediate improvement makes em think this is some kind of environmental thing going on.

Exactly. Something specific to the tank causing the issues as the frags recover right away in other thriving tanks. In my case the stressor was low salinity which I verified with and ICP. My calibrated refractometer showed me 1.025 but it was really closer to 1.021. Once it was corrected the tissue went to normal in 6 weeks.

Definitely start with an ICP test to rule out pollutants, and minor/major element issues.

 

[dwhanc00]

Guy from ACI thinks it is caused by LED lights. Know of a few that moved acros under LED to T5 or halogen and the bubbles went away…. Who knows!

 

[jackson6745]

Guy from ACI thinks it is caused by LED lights. Know of a few that moved acros under LED to T5 or halogen and the bubbles went away…. Who knows!

I had it under halides and I know several others did as well, but if led was the stress on the coral, t5 and halide is easier on them IME.

 

[Garf]

Don't know if I posted this on here before, but mine was almost definitely using vinegar in kalk. Had the weird bulbous growth and the bubblyness. Stopped the vinegar, it went away in a few weeks, not returned.

 

[Troylee]

Guy from ACI thinks it is caused by LED lights. Know of a few that moved acros under LED to T5 or halogen and the bubbles went away…. Who knows!

Mine were under halides also…

 

[dwhanc00]

Guess that negates his theory... lol

 

[dwhanc00]

I do dose Vinegar but just ran out. I am going to stop dosing it for a few weeks and see what happens. I will obviously watch my nutrient levels...

 

[JAcropora]

The issue here doesn’t appear to be related to vinegar or halides; rather, it seems to be a bacterial infection that occurs as a stress response to environmental factors. In my case, elevated heavy metals in the water were the cause. After consulting with several biologists, including disease specialists, they concluded that it is likely a bacterial infection. They suspect it involves a facultative pathogen—bacteria that can survive both on a host and in the environment. When the host is transferred to a new, more suitable system, the bacteria may leave, causing symptoms to disappear.

I haven’t tried treating this myself, but I’ve heard others have successfully used a combination of Ciprofloxacin, Erythromycin, Oxymycin, and an Iodine bath.

Please keep in mind, however, that this information is anecdotal. If you’re in the U.S., the most valuable step you can take for both the hobby and broader research is to send the coral or coral tissue samples to a university for analysis. This can help researchers better understand and address this type of infection.

 

[vitaliyphoto]

The issue here doesn’t appear to be related to vinegar or halides; rather, it seems to be a bacterial infection that occurs as a stress response to environmental factors. In my case, elevated heavy metals in the water were the cause. After consulting with several biologists, including disease specialists, they concluded that it is likely a bacterial infection. They suspect it involves a facultative pathogen—bacteria that can survive both on a host and in the environment. When the host is transferred to a new, more suitable system, the bacteria may leave, causing symptoms to disappear.

I haven’t tried treating this myself, but I’ve heard others have successfully used a combination of Ciprofloxacin, Erythromycin, Oxymycin, and an Iodine bath.

Please keep in mind, however, that this information is anecdotal. If you’re in the U.S., the most valuable step you can take for both the hobby and broader research is to send the coral or coral tissue samples to a university for analysis. This can help researchers better understand and address this type of infection.

Just got my system infected with this a year ago and been losing stuff continuously. Because of my super heavy water change schedule I narrowed down things to just four items I add to the tank all the time: 1. All-For-Reef since day one, 2. Dry flake foods including probiotic NLS pellets, 3. Hikari Mysis. 4. Carbon dosing I changed all four out for alternatives (Bionic, PE Mysis, SA pellets, stopped carbon dosing) and doing more massive water changes. Of note: AFR always has mucus/film formation in the liquid, no matter how sterile I get the container to be- suspecting bacterial. Wish me luck!

 

[justy]

Well had enough, took out another 4 infected corals, it was a tuff decision. The tank had improved significantly after swapping from A4R back to 2 part. As all corals lost their blisters, but still had weird growth, tulip polyp shape. I have been battling this for almost 2 years, seriously considering a tank reset, but not sure at this stage what that looks like.

 

[Troylee]

Mine went away with time.. it did stall out a few corals for about a year but they’re growing normal now and look great! FWIW I haven’t changed anything in my tank I just kept adding sticks and it went away lol.. maybe it’s the more diverse bacteria population