Could RBTA have killed my torch?

[USMA36]

could my RBTA have done this? It happened over the course of 2 days that I wasn’t home. I am thinking maybe the anemone got a little close to the torch. I am not 100% sure since the bottom heads are still alive. It almost looks like something ate it. Not a single tentacle is left in Either if the top heads.

 

[Sea MunnKey]

Yes ... RBTA are able to hurt and kill most corals. Be cautious

 

[SPR1968]

I’ve lost about 3 torch corals in the last few weeks for no apparent reason and they went exactly like yours although I haven’t got an anemone at the moment.

The reason I haven’t got one is because the BTA I had became known as the coral killer because as it wandered around it stung/killed any coral it touched. It was then taken out.

So I would say it’s perfectly capable of killing your torch, but then it could be something else like mine.

 

[happyhourhero]

It is for sure possible. A BTA is the only thing I have found that beats hydnophora.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I’ve lost about 3 torch corals in the last few weeks for no apparent reason and they went exactly like yours although I haven’t got an anemone at the moment.

The reason I haven’t got one is because the BTA I had became known as the coral killer because as it wandered around it stung/killed any coral it touched. It was then taken out.

So I would say it’s perfectly capable of killing your torch, but then it could be something else like mine.

Did you notice anything odd with any of them before you lost them? Torches don't typically just up and die unless there's a bigger problem in the tank. Some possible causes are polyp bail-out, predation by a pest species like a bristle worm, or brown-jelly.

 

[SPR1968]

Did you notice anything odd with any of them before you lost them? Torches don't typically just up and die unless there's a bigger problem in the tank. Some possible causes are polyp bail-out, predation by a pest species like a bristle worm, or brown-jelly.

Not odd as such but I have added a very large torch coral, as in very large, in the same area and I wondered if that was doing some stinging at night or something because all 3 deaths are just out of reach as far as I can tell, but only just.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Seeing threads like this are one of the main reasons why I decided to steer clear of RBTAs. I'd hate to see one of these guys to to war with my corals.

Not odd as such but I have added a very large torch coral, as in very large, in the same area and I wondered if that was doing some stinging at night or something because all 3 deaths are just out of reach as far as I can tell, but only just.

That's very likely the cause of it. Certain varieties of torches do not play well with others, even with other euphyllia. I have one in particular, my toxic green torch absolutely hates the Indonesian blue torch. You could see the toxic retract anytime one of its tentacles came into contact with the Indo. So much so that the head closest to the Indo would only partially extend. I ended up having to separate them. Oddly however the Indo is mixed in with a pink hammer, and several zoa colonies and they are not bothered by it at all.