Cynarina Dead Tissue

[trexodore]

I bought a cynarina from RAP last weekend at a great deal due to a section of dead/irritated tissue on him. The booth I bought it from said they had a tang that they think nipped it about 2 months prior and that's why it looked like that. I dipped it in ReVive for ~10 minutes when I got him and he's been in the tank for about 6 days now and looks the same. I was thinking about doing an iodine dip with BWA's Lugol's in a few days if it doesn't look any better but is that too soon? Is a cynarina OK for an iodine dip? other thoughts?

**don't mind the dinos those are currently being treated

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is sand getting on it and irritating tissue?
Assure phosphate is not elevated and proper ph and salinity

 

[trexodore]

Is sand getting on it and irritating tissue?
Assure phosphate is not elevated and proper ph and salinity

No sand has gotten on it that I have seen.

pH: 8.2
PO4: .13
NO3: 10.6
dKH: 8.5
Ca: 425
Mg: 1350
Sal: 1.026
Temp: 77.5

 

[Shirak]

These guys are difficult to ship without damaging around the top of the coral. Perhaps got damaged at some point and once algae starts to grow on the exposed skeleton it can be difficult for the coral to heal over. If it was indeed a tang or other fish that nipped it, same concept. The exposed skeleton gets covered in some algae and the coral has a hard time growing over it. Have you looked closely to see if this is the case? You might be able to clean the area and give the coral a chance to regrow over the damaged part.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Phosphate slightly elevated but I doubt the cause. Any tube type worm noticeable?

 

[trexodore]

These guys are difficult to ship without damaging around the top of the coral. Perhaps got damaged at some point and once algae starts to grow on the exposed skeleton it can be difficult for the coral to heal over. If it was indeed a tang or other fish that nipped it, same concept. The exposed skeleton gets covered in some algae and the coral has a hard time growing over it. Have you looked closely to see if this is the case? You might be able to clean the area and give the coral a chance to regrow over the damaged part.

Hmm good point. I could put the top half of him under the shade so algae doesn't grow on that spot. That actually makes a lot of sense. How would you recommend removing the dead tissue from that area? I would imagine a soft brush is a bad idea, I have thin metal tongs I could use to pull that part out but would that damage it even worse? also, should I do an iodine dip before/after removing it?

 

[trexodore]

Phosphate slightly elevated but I doubt the cause. Any tube type worm noticeable?

nah I don't see any type of worm on there. it does actually look like there's algae growing on the wound

 

[Shirak]

I would get it to scrunch up and then remove from the tank. If there is some algae on some exposed skeleton a soft tooth brush or some tweezers might be able to remove it. After cleaning I would wipe dry the exposed skeleton with a dry paper towel and let it air dry a few minutes. You may have to repeat if stuff regrows on the skeleton. That may be enough to give the coral a leg up and regrow. I have also done things like snip off the bulk of the exposed skeleton so when the coral expands again it will cover the remaining bit and heal together. You could also try a little peroxide on a q-tip after cleaning to kill any algae stuck on the skeleton.

 

[trexodore]

I would get it to scrunch up and then remove from the tank. If there is some algae on some exposed skeleton a soft tooth brush or some tweezers might be able to remove it. After cleaning I would wipe dry the exposed skeleton with a dry paper towel and let it air dry a few minutes. You may have to repeat if stuff regrows on the skeleton. That may be enough to give the coral a leg up and regrow. I have also done things like snip off the bulk of the exposed skeleton so when the coral expands again it will cover the remaining bit and heal together. You could also try a little peroxide on a q-tip after cleaning to kill any algae stuck on the skeleton.

I'm going to do that tonight, I did pick him up yesterday and move his top half into the shade and rubbed off a little bit of the algae. I picked up a soft toothbrush I'll use on him and update how it goes

 

[trexodore]

I was able to get essentially all of the algae off of his wound by tweezers and a soft toothbrush. I put the top half of him in the shade so it will be harder for more algae to grow on top of it. I'm going to leave him for a week like that and see if the wound is looking good/better or if he needs an iodine dip

 

[LPS Bum]

I bought a cynarina from RAP last weekend at a great deal due to a section of dead/irritated tissue on him. The booth I bought it from said they had a tang that they think nipped it about 2 months prior and that's why it looked like that. I dipped it in ReVive for ~10 minutes when I got him and he's been in the tank for about 6 days now and looks the same. I was thinking about doing an iodine dip with BWA's Lugol's in a few days if it doesn't look any better but is that too soon? Is a cynarina OK for an iodine dip? other thoughts?

**don't mind the dinos those are currently being treated

Im big into fleshy LPS corals, and they’ve all done well with iodine dips. That includes my Cynarinas. I use Seachem ReefDip and it’s worked well. You can give these LPS corals a stronger dose than SPS will take. My dip solution is quite dark (almost opaque) and I go for 15 min.

That’ll kill any bacterial infections, and in time the flesh will regrow. Just keep the algae off the exposed skeleton, because it won’t regrow over that.

 

[trexodore]

Im big into fleshy LPS corals, and they’ve all done well with iodine dips. That includes my Cynarinas. I use Seachem ReefDip and it’s worked well. You can give these LPS corals a stronger dose than SPS will take. My dip solution is quite dark (almost opaque) and I go for 15 min.

That’ll kill any bacterial infections, and in time the flesh will regrow. Just keep the algae off the exposed skeleton, because it won’t regrow over that.

so you think I should just take him out and do an iodine dip on him anyways to help him heal?

 

[Shirak]

so you think I should just take him out and do an iodine dip on him anyways to help him heal?

Did the tissue look good where it was still attached? The iodine would be for infection primarily. If the tissue looks healthy it probably isn't necessary. If it's sending feeders out at night I would make sure it's getting enough food. That will help it build new tissue and puff up and hopefully cover up the exposed bit of skeleton the algae was growing on.

 

[trexodore]

Did the tissue look good where it was still attached? The iodine would be for infection primarily. If the tissue looks healthy it probably isn't necessary. If it's sending feeders out at night I would make sure it's getting enough food. That will help it build new tissue and puff up and hopefully cover up the exposed bit of skeleton the algae was growing on.

eh, I mean it's still black but it could have a tiny bit of leftover algae on it because I didn't use any chemicals like hydrogen peroxide to try and kill the last bit of algae on it. I figured it would die out in the shade. it definitely still sends out feeders at night, I've been feeding 2-3 times a week I can increase that though

 

[Shirak]

2-3x a week sounds fine. Just trying to give the flesh a chance to cover the skeleton and smother the algae and regrow

 

[LPS Bum]

so you think I should just take him out and do an iodine dip on him anyways to help him heal?

Yes, it should be fine. I'd first make sure your water parameters are good to go (akin to natural seawater) and that the coral is settled and reasonably happy (meaning expanded during the day and extending feeding tentacles at night).

If you just got it and recently dipped it in Revive (which I think I read earlier) then you might want to wait another few days for the Cynarina to settle in. Iodine dips are generally very well tolerated by LPS corals, so I wouldn't worry too terribly much about it. 10-15 min with a good strong dose should work well.

 

[trexodore]

Yes, it should be fine. I'd first make sure your water parameters are good to go (akin to natural seawater) and that the coral is settled and reasonably happy (meaning expanded during the day and extending feeding tentacles at night).

If you just got it and recently dipped it in Revive (which I think I read earlier) then you might want to wait another few days for the Cynarina to settle in. Iodine dips are generally very well tolerated by LPS corals, so I wouldn't worry too terribly much about it. 10-15 min with a good strong dose should work well.

it was about 11 days ago that I dipped it in Revive. I'm leaving for vacation on Friday morning though and won't be back until next week. I have someone watching the tank but they're not well versed enough to do a coral dip for me without having a heart attack lol.

 

[LPS Bum]

it was about 11 days ago that I dipped it in Revive. I'm leaving for vacation on Friday morning though and won't be back until next week. I have someone watching the tank but they're not well versed enough to do a coral dip for me without having a heart attack lol.

You should be good to move forward with the iodine dip. So long as your coral is settled and behaving normally, the iodine should have no deleterious effects. After a few min in the dip, I like to take a small turkey baster and GENTLY blow the iodine dip/tank water mixture across the surface and underside of the coral. I generally do this a few times during the course of the 15 min procedure.

The Cynarina won't look overly happy for 24-48 hours afterwards, but it will come around nicely a day or two later. Good luck!

 

[trexodore]

You should be good to move forward with the iodine dip. So long as your coral is settled and behaving normally, the iodine should have no deleterious effects. After a few min in the dip, I like to take a small turkey baster and GENTLY blow the iodine dip/tank water mixture across the surface and underside of the coral. I generally do this a few times during the course of the 15 min procedure.

The Cynarina won't look overly happy for 24-48 hours afterwards, but it will come around nicely a day or two later. Good luck!

I'm seeing online that people are dipping iodine concentration of 40 drops of lugol's per 1 gallon of water, is that what you are doing?