Euphyllia Issue in Biocube 32

[docscorals]

I shared a while back that I set up a soft coral and Euphyllia tank for my mom in a Biocube 32. Things were going great until about 6 weeks ago when her hammer corals started dying off. Not BJD. The flesh band begins to recede and the polyps just drop off. I have seen this happen every now and then in my tanks in the past, but not as systemic as this.

Everything else in the tank is doing well. She has a torch that is blossoming and one hammer coral that is doing great. Her leather corals, mushrooms, and Zoas are all looking really healthy. So are her two blastos.

The tank has good flow, and I upgraded the filtration from day 1 with an intank tower.

Numbers:
Alkalinity - 11
Calcium - 450
Magnesium - 1450
Ph - 7.85-7.9
Nitrates ~ 30
Phosphates 0.15

Stock list:
Aiptasia eating filefish
Clown wrasse
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Purple Firefish
Six Line
Springer Damsel
Lawnmower Blenny
2 Clowns

I just had an ICP and the numbers were not too bad. Slightly elevated aluminum and zinc, but not drastic. Everything else is being corrected with moonshiners (per typical for this tank).

I have checked a couple of the hammers for flatworms and not seen any evidence. I have ruled out everything I can think of and would love some suggestions. My mom loves this tank and hates seeing the die off . She had 7 hammers and is down to 3. The weird things is, the hammer still going strong is separated from the rest. The healthy one is on the left side of the tank and the others are in the back right. The torch is on the front right and is doing well. It like that one corner. I can’t figure it out.

 

[mcarroll]

I shared a while back that I set up a soft coral and Euphyllia tank for my mom in a Biocube 32. Things were going great until about 6 weeks ago when her hammer corals started dying off. Not BJD. The flesh band begins to recede and the polyps just drop off. I have seen this happen every now and then in my tanks in the past, but not as systemic as this.

My guess is contaminant...I've had this issue before where seemingly random LPS (maybe always Eyphilia) would have issues, including the ultimate weirdo problem, poly bailout – but while the rest of the corals seem happy.

Are you making your own RODI water? What is your setup like?

The tank has good flow, and I upgraded the filtration from day 1 with an intank tower.

What do you have for cleaning and filtering the tank?

(Yank any aluminum based "bio blocks" as they are not needed in a reef AND causing the alunimum issue you mention below.)

Numbers:
Alkalinity - 11
Calcium - 450
Magnesium - 1450
Ph - 7.85-7.9
Nitrates ~ 30
Phosphates 0.15

What is the salinity/s.g. and tank temperature?

Stock list:
Aiptasia eating filefish
Clown wrasse
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Purple Firefish
Six Line
Springer Damsel
Lawnmower Blenny
2 Clowns

Sounds like a ton of fish in a tiny tank....not my first guess, but any chance somebody (or multiple somebodies) were picking on it?

I have checked a couple of the hammers for flatworms and not seen any evidence. I have ruled out everything I can think of and would love some suggestions. My mom loves this tank and hates seeing the die off . She had 7 hammers and is down to 3. The weird things is, the hammer still going strong is separated from the rest. The healthy one is on the left side of the tank and the others are in the back right. The torch is on the front right and is doing well. It like that one corner. I can’t figure it out.

Some intensive nighttime viewing could reveal something.

 

[13rodo]

I shared a while back that I set up a soft coral and Euphyllia tank for my mom in a Biocube 32. Things were going great until about 6 weeks ago when her hammer corals started dying off. Not BJD. The flesh band begins to recede and the polyps just drop off. I have seen this happen every now and then in my tanks in the past, but not as systemic as this.

Everything else in the tank is doing well. She has a torch that is blossoming and one hammer coral that is doing great. Her leather corals, mushrooms, and Zoas are all looking really healthy. So are her two blastos.

The tank has good flow, and I upgraded the filtration from day 1 with an intank tower.

Numbers:
Alkalinity - 11
Calcium - 450
Magnesium - 1450
Ph - 7.85-7.9
Nitrates ~ 30
Phosphates 0.15

Stock list:
Aiptasia eating filefish
Clown wrasse
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Purple Firefish
Six Line
Springer Damsel
Lawnmower Blenny
2 Clowns

I just had an ICP and the numbers were not too bad. Slightly elevated aluminum and zinc, but not drastic. Everything else is being corrected with moonshiners (per typical for this tank).

I have checked a couple of the hammers for flatworms and not seen any evidence. I have ruled out everything I can think of and would love some suggestions. My mom loves this tank and hates seeing the die off . She had 7 hammers and is down to 3. The weird things is, the hammer still going strong is separated from the rest. The healthy one is on the left side of the tank and the others are in the back right. The torch is on the front right and is doing well. It like that one corner. I can’t figure it out.

Any chance the flow changed (accidentally bumping the return/powerhead)? The only time I had a torch bailout was when I stuck a powerhead right on it.

 

[kevgib67]

Your parameters look good and no pests, that only leaves light and or flow in the area your hammers were in. You want moderate par and random flow, just enough for jigging. My torch garden gets much more flow but here is an example of the flow on my hammers and frogspawn. I had a Biocube for over 4 years, solid tank, good luck!

 

[docscorals]

Your parameters look good and no pests, that only leaves light and or flow in the area your hammers were in. You want moderate par and random flow, just enough for jigging. My torch garden gets much more flow but here is an example of the flow on my hammers and frogspawn. I had a Biocube for over 4 years, solid tank, good luck!

Both are solid. They are getting similar par and flow to the hammers in my tank. That is why I’m struggling to understand what is happening.

 

[docscorals]

I shared a while back that I set up a soft coral and Euphyllia tank for my mom in a Biocube 32. Things were going great until about 6 weeks ago when her hammer corals started dying off. Not BJD. The flesh band begins to recede and the polyps just drop off. I have seen this happen every now and then in my tanks in the past, but not as systemic as this.

Everything else in the tank is doing well. She has a torch that is blossoming and one hammer coral that is doing great. Her leather corals, mushrooms, and Zoas are all looking really healthy. So are her two blastos.

The tank has good flow, and I upgraded the filtration from day 1 with an intank tower.

Numbers:
Alkalinity - 11
Calcium - 450
Magnesium - 1450
Ph - 7.85-7.9
Nitrates ~ 30
Phosphates 0.15

Stock list:
Aiptasia eating filefish
Clown wrasse
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Purple Firefish
Six Line
Springer Damsel
Lawnmower Blenny
2 Clowns

I just had an ICP and the numbers were not too bad. Slightly elevated aluminum and zinc, but not drastic. Everything else is being corrected with moonshiners (per typical for this tank).

I have checked a couple of the hammers for flatworms and not seen any evidence. I have ruled out everything I can think of and would love some suggestions. My mom loves this tank and hates seeing the die off . She had 7 hammers and is down to 3. The weird things is, the hammer still going strong is separated from the rest. The healthy one is on the left side of the tank and the others are in the back right. The torch is on the front right and is doing well. It like that one corner. I can’t figure it out.

Any chance the flow changed (accidentally bumping the return/powerhead)? The only time I had a torch bailout was when I stuck a powerhead right on it.

Nope. One of the first things I checked.

 

[docscorals]

I shared a while back that I set up a soft coral and Euphyllia tank for my mom in a Biocube 32. Things were going great until about 6 weeks ago when her hammer corals started dying off. Not BJD. The flesh band begins to recede and the polyps just drop off. I have seen this happen every now and then in my tanks in the past, but not as systemic as this.

My guess is contaminant...I've had this issue before where seemingly random LPS (maybe always Eyphilia) would have issues, including the ultimate weirdo problem, poly bailout – but while the rest of the corals seem happy.

Are you making your own RODI water? What is your setup like?

The tank has good flow, and I upgraded the filtration from day 1 with an intank tower.

What do you have for cleaning and filtering the tank?

(Yank any aluminum based "bio blocks" as they are not needed in a reef AND causing the alunimum issue you mention below.)

Numbers:
Alkalinity - 11
Calcium - 450
Magnesium - 1450
Ph - 7.85-7.9
Nitrates ~ 30
Phosphates 0.15

What is the salinity/s.g. and tank temperature?

Stock list:
Aiptasia eating filefish
Clown wrasse
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Purple Firefish
Six Line
Springer Damsel
Lawnmower Blenny
2 Clowns

Sounds like a ton of fish in a tiny tank....not my first guess, but any chance somebody (or multiple somebodies) were picking on it?

I have checked a couple of the hammers for flatworms and not seen any evidence. I have ruled out everything I can think of and would love some suggestions. My mom loves this tank and hates seeing the die off . She had 7 hammers and is down to 3. The weird things is, the hammer still going strong is separated from the rest. The healthy one is on the left side of the tank and the others are in the back right. The torch is on the front right and is doing well. It like that one corner. I can’t figure it out.

Some intensive nighttime viewing could reveal something.

It could be the slightly elevated aluminum or zinc. From my experience it isn’t high enough that it should cause this, but corals can have their own mind. I don’t have anything in the tank that I have found that could be giving this off. I have been using Fritz salt, maybe elevated aluminum in this batch?

Yes, I make my own RODI and saltwater. I have a 7 stage BRS filter. One sediment, 2 carbon, reverse osmosis, and three stage deionization (anion, cation, and mixed bed). Has been coming out at 0 TDS.

Tank stays around 77.5. I have a controller set up so she doesn’t need to mess with it.

Salinity is at 1.026/35 PPT. I checked that the other day when I saw another hammer have polyp bailout.

I never thought about fish. They were all really small when I set it up. Most still are fairly small (other than the clowns and wrasse). I did take her to the LFS to pick out a larger tank I’m going to set up for her in a few weeks, so that won’t be as much of an issue. You know, I did have a filefish pick at some soft corals in one of my tanks last year. I wonder if this one is picking at the LPS. I may need to watch it for a while this weekend.

 

[docscorals]

Your parameters look good and no pests, that only leaves light and or flow in the area your hammers were in. You want moderate par and random flow, just enough for jigging. My torch garden gets much more flow but here is an example of the flow on my hammers and frogspawn. I had a Biocube for over 4 years, solid tank, good luck!

I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to double check par. I’ll do that tomorrow just to make sure.

 

[docscorals]

So after watching it already this morning, I am 90% sure it is the filefish. I saw him licking at the Duncan coral that were all closed up this morning.

 

[docscorals]

And apparently the clown fish. In all my time with reef tanks, never had a clownfish nip at corals.

 

[docscorals]

I’m moving the hammer corals because she doesn’t want to lose her clown fish. I told her I’d replace them with more soft corals like Zoas and leather. She’s cool with that, as long as her clown fish stay .

 

[docscorals]

And apparently the clown fish. In all my time with reef tanks, never had a clownfish nip at corals.

Quick search and this can happen if there is nothing for them to host. I guess the hammers were the only thing large enough for them to try and host, and as we know nipping at hammers isn’t exactly a good thing.

I’ve never had them do that in my reef tanks, even with Euphyllia, but I always had large zoa gardens that they could host in.

Maybe I should pick her up an anemone? Thoughts? If that is the behavior would it go after her torch coral once I take the hammers out?