Coral Ripped Apart

[Adriifu]

Hello. I was cleaning the sides of the tank with a sponge when I saw that my Kenya Tree, which was getting huge, was literally cut from the stem and the rest of the coral is nowhere to be seen. It almost looks as if it was eaten by something. I can’t believe it. This was my favorite coral in the tank out of the bird’s nest, leptastrea, and mushrooms, all of which are doing wonderful. What could possibly have done this?? I have a clownfish, goby/pistol shrimp pair, and two trochus snails. I have noticed that there have been tiny starfish in the tank. I believe they are asterinas, but I can’t tell. Please help.. The photo of my coral shows it several months ago and it was much bigger than that.
EDIT: It was the starfish, wasn’t it? Ugh. I removed about five or six immediately. There are a few polyps left on the stem that I’m hoping will survive.

 

[Flippers4pups]

No not the star. Kenya trees are known for “dropping” babies. Don’t know if that’s the cause here.

 

[Adriifu]

No not the star. Kenya trees are known for “dropping” babies. Don’t know if that’s the cause here.

What do you mean by dropping babies? The whole thing is basically gone..

 

[Flippers4pups]

What do you mean by dropping babies? The whole thing is basically gone..

They can and do let go of branches to form other separate Kenya tree corals.

“Babies”

 

[Adriifu]

They can and do let go of branches to form other separate Kenya tree corals.

“Babies”

I’m aware of that, but this wasn’t just a branch. It was the entire tree and none of it is anywhere to be seen in the tank. There’s only one or two polyps left on the stem. It was at least three inches before the entire thing just disappeared. I thought they only dropped branches, not the entire coral.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I’m aware of that, but this wasn’t just a branch. It was the entire tree and none of it is anywhere to be seen in the tank. There’s only one or two polyps left on the stem. It was at least three inches before the entire thing just disappeared. I thought they only dropped branches, not the entire coral.

They can drop whole stems with branches.

Let’s come at this a different way. The top has to be somewhere. Back of rock structures? The only other factor could be predatory pest. Eunice worm?

 

[Adriifu]

They can drop whole stems with branches.

Let’s come at this a different way. The top has to be somewhere. Back of rock structures? The only other factor could be predatory pest. Eunice worm?

I'll keep looking.. The only pest I currently have in the tank are the starfish. I used to have aiptasia, but I got rid of them with peppermint shrimp. I'm sorry if I seem doubtful of you. I'm just really upset and it's hard to believe that the coral would drop more than three fourths of itself.

EDIT: I forgot to mention this little creature I found in the tank long ago. I made a thread about it and nobody could figure out what it was because of how young it is. It disappeared for a few months and I found it again this week, slightly bigger. It's barely even a centimeter long, though, so I doubt it could do much damage. Here's the link to the thread I made about him: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/pretty-pink-spider-thingy.489882/page-2

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'll keep looking.. The only pest I currently have in the tank are the starfish. I used to have aiptasia, but I got rid of them with peppermint shrimp. I'm sorry if I seem doubtful of you. I'm just really upset and it's hard to believe that the coral would drop more than three fourths of itself.

I’ve had them do that to me when I kept them when I started out reef keeping. Same way.

 

[Adriifu]

I’ve had them do that to me when I kept them when I started out reef keeping. Same way.

I seriously can't find the top anywhere :( There are quite a few cave systems in the tank because of my pistol shrimp. Perhaps it ended up there? Also, I edited my previous comment about one more pest.

 

[rkpetersen]

The asterinas definitely didn't eat your softie. For the most part they feed on coralline algae although some have been reported to eat zoanthid polyps.

I doubt that the crab ate it either. Although it's true, never trust a crab, especially the hairy ones. :)

Sometimes a softie will die and just disintegrate into mush, but that usually happens slowly enough that you'll see what's going on.

 

[Adriifu]

The asterinas definitely didn't eat your softie. For the most part they feed on coralline algae although some have been reported to eat zoanthid polyps.

I doubt that the crab ate it either. Although it's true, never trust a crab, especially the hairy ones. :)

Thank you :( I guess we can cancel out pests, then. If the tree really did drop itself, then I have no idea where it went. The flow is very high in the tank and it could have flown anywhere.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Hope you find a answer to where it went. Chances are it will show you where it went as it grows another.

Happy Reefing!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Kenyis' strip/reproduce frequently just like umbrella mushrooms and multiply regularly which appears to be what you are seeing. Currently I have 22 small kenyi shoots in my tank.

 

[Adriifu]

Kenyis' strip/reproduce frequently just like umbrella mushrooms and multiply regularly which appears to be what you are seeing. Currently I have 22 small kenyi shoots in my tank.

Thanks! I still haven’t found the top of the tree, but the two little polyps on the left over stem seem to be doing all right.

 

[vetteguy53081]

They'll grow fast enough