Candy Cane exposed skeleton/receded

[ReeferWarrant]

So I've had this green candy cane for 6 months, it used to have some pretty extreme polyp extension and now it just stays receded and no longer exposes its sweeper tentacles at night. I have another frag of a different kind of candy cane and it is getting massive compared to when I got it 3 months ago. So I had algae growth on the stalk of the green one and that was the start of it receding into itself. I took it out and put peroxide on the algae with a brush to limit the exposure to the coral itself completely removing the algae. Now I notice what I think is exposed skeleton in the middle of the flesh and I dont know what to do to get it back to the way it was. It periodically puffs up but not for long, and I'm worried something may grow on the exposed skeleton which will irritate the coral further. What should I do to help get it back to the way it was?

 

[old salt reefer]

Are you feeding it?

 

[WIReefer]

What are your parameters? Lighting? Little more info would help us get down to it.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

I was, I have a feeling I caused the tissue damage with tweezers and placing misis shrimp in it's mouth. Primarily put reef roids paste on it and it still eats.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Only parameters that are off right now are my Phosphate and Nitrates (.25 Phos and .20 Nitrate). I just got some chaeto and a refugium to lower those numbers.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Any suggestions?

Salinity:1.026
Ca: 420
Alk: 9.9
Mg: 1320
pH: 8.0
Temp 78

 

[andrewey]

Are you sure it's 0.20 nitrate and not 20 nitrate?

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Are you sure it's 0.20 nitrate and not 20 nitrate?

Typo, 20 ppm

 

[PTXReef]

I was, I have a feeling I caused the tissue damage with tweezers and placing misis shrimp in it's mouth. Primarily put reef roids paste on it and it still eats.

Hopefully it was just a bit mad from the tweezers touching it. My candy canes also like to recede sometimes in the day and sometimes at night but for the most part looks like this during the day after nightly sulking:

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Still having issues, the one in question has pretty much melted half way. The other one hasnt split from it and I'm worried what I should do to remedy it. About to go nuclear with peroxide and see if that helps, currently has algae growing in the receding areas. Photo to come, I moved it to a rack in the back of my tank. The lighting isnt too harsh right now, zoas are all thriving in the same area. Additionally I have another Candy Cane that is now splitting again and thriving.

Parameters:
Ca: 485
Alk: 8.3
Mg: 1245
Salinity: 1.026
pH: 8.0
Nitrate: 10
PO4: .05

 

[PTXReef]

Still having issues, the one in question has pretty much melted half way. The other one hasnt split from it and I'm worried what I should do to remedy it. About to go nuclear with peroxide and see if that helps, currently has algae growing in the receding areas. Photo to come, I moved it to a rack in the back of my tank. The lighting isnt too harsh right now, zoas are all thriving in the same area. Additionally I have another Candy Cane that is now splitting again and thriving.

Parameters:
Ca: 485
Alk: 8.3
Mg: 1245
Salinity: 1.026
pH: 8.0
Nitrate: 10
PO4: .05

Same parameters here except my mg is ~1700 ppm, still not sure if that kit is accurate though. Mine have been pretty fluffy as I’ve been doing daily 5% WC at the moment to lower my nitrates.

 

[Homebrewer]

What kind of flow do you have on it? Have you moved them, a powehead, or any rock at all that would have changed the flow between when they were looking good compared to now? If it was in high flow it could (may, might) explain the issue. Maybe see how it does now that you’ve moved it.

I don’t see anything in parameters that would outright explain it, and if you have another one in the same tank, I’m even further convinced it isn’t likely the water. Could be the exact placement as these don’t always like a ton of flow, but that’s just a guess.

 

[KrisReef]

Sometimes things just die.
If I’m reading this thread correctly the coral is target fed and might have been mechanically damaged during that process? It has recently been relocated to the (dimmer?) area on a frag rack as its further receded since the earlier posting in July.
I would leave it alone on the rack and give it some time to acclimate to that spot. It never appeared to be in any great distress in earlier photos. I know you are concerned about algae but I don’t see any algae threat that would make me risk Accidental peroxide Exposure during treatment.
Leave it alone and let it have 6 months of unmolested rack time so that it can adapt and thrive where it is at.
Target feeding No more than once or twice a month is probably ideal for a tank-bound lps. I have found that my lps will thrive by catching drift-caught fish food and other nutrition that comes along without special target feeding. This practice keeps my hands out of the tank and the lps corals (hammer, bubble, plate, Duncan’s acan ) grow well catching morsels on the tank current.
Hth.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

It’s looking rough now

 

[ReeferWarrant]

The other Candy Cane

 

[KrisReef]

Just keep the water parameters good and see what the coral does. The unhealthy head is probably not going to make it but I'd leave it alone and see if the healthy side won't pull through without the sick twin. They might both make it, but I would not cut them now as I think you are more than likely to finish them both vs. leaving both alone and likely having the healthy one thrive and later divide into two. Then you can remove the old skeleton if the 1/2 doesn't pull through. GL.