Help. Lobo is dying.

The_Skrimp · Mar 27, 2021

Hey folks. I could use some help.
My lobo's skeleton is starting to poke through the flesh and all of its mouths have been wide open for a couple of days now.
Almost two weeks ago I picked up this lobophyllia from my LFS. For the first week it was doing great. It was eating, extending tentacles, puffing up etc. After a crab knocked the lobo off of the rock that I set it on, I moved it. The first time I moved it, I set it closer to the light and I don't know if that started to stress the coral but it wasn't looking happy at all so I moved it again. Now it's looking even worse and I'm thinking that my messing with it is what's killing it. I've tried to feed reef roids but even that also seems to make the coral get worse. I want to leave it alone but I also don't want this guy to die. Is there any suggestions as to what might be going on or how to help it? Should I do anything or is this one of those situations where I should just leave it be?

Alk - 10
Calcium - 460
Nitrate - 2.5
PH - 7.8
Phos - 0.08
Salinity - 1.025
Temp - 78

Thanks!

Fish Think Pink · Mar 27, 2021

The_Skrimp said:
Hey folks. I could use some help.
My lobo's skeleton is starting to poke through the flesh and all of its mouths have been wide open for a couple of days now.
Almost two weeks ago I picked up this lobophyllia from my LFS. For the first week it was doing great. It was eating, extending tentacles, puffing up etc. After a crab knocked the lobo off of the rock that I set it on, I moved it. The first time I moved it, I set it closer to the light and I don't know if that started to stress the coral but it wasn't looking happy at all so I moved it again. Now it's looking even worse and I'm thinking that my messing with it is what's killing it. I've tried to feed reef roids but even that also seems to make the coral get worse. I want to leave it alone but I also don't want this guy to die. Is there any suggestions as to what might be going on or how to help it? Should I do anything or is this one of those situations where I should just leave it be?

Alk - 10
Calcium - 460
Nitrate - 2.5
PH - 7.8
Phos - 0.08
Salinity - 1.025
Temp - 78

Thanks!

vote low pH - suggested range is: pH should be 8.1-8.4 but you report lower 7.8 Lobos also prefer mid to low light range.

Raising Alkalinity: How to bake baking soda | Melev's Reef

Raising Alkalinity requires you to dose Sodium Carbonate. The best value is to use Baking Soda, the same stuff you use to bake cookies, or remove bad odors from the fridge. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda is inexpensive, available at the supermarket and simple to prepare. Right of the box, it is...

www.melevsreef.com

I was just looking at above thread and plan to bake some baking soda and then add 1/4 teaspoon per day until I have mine where I want. Keep feeding your lobo. I give mine bits of thawed shrimp and sometimes pellets - mine is usually wanting food an hour after lights out, though daylight savings time has messed up everyone's feeding schedules... Reef roids would be fine but lobos need volume of food so if its not THICK paste ball, perhaps hasn't been getting enough food

mdb_talon · Mar 28, 2021

Fish Think Pink said:
vote low pH - suggested range is: pH should be 8.1-8.4 but you report lower 7.8 Lobos also prefer mid to low light range.

Raising Alkalinity: How to bake baking soda | Melev's Reef

Raising Alkalinity requires you to dose Sodium Carbonate. The best value is to use Baking Soda, the same stuff you use to bake cookies, or remove bad odors from the fridge. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda is inexpensive, available at the supermarket and simple to prepare. Right of the box, it is...

www.melevsreef.com

I was just looking at above thread and plan to bake some baking soda and then add 1/4 teaspoon per day until I have mine where I want. Keep feeding your lobo. I give mine bits of thawed shrimp and sometimes pellets - mine is usually wanting food an hour after lights out, though daylight savings time has messed up everyone's feeding schedules... Reef roids would be fine but lobos need volume of food so if its not THICK paste ball, perhaps hasn't been getting enough food

His alk is at 10. Dosing alkalinity to get a ph higher than 7.8 is probably not the best solution unless it is being done because you really want higher than 10 alk. However even then if the goal is really higher PH then there are better options for alk dosing than baking soda.

I would be doubtful it is a PH issue, but to even go down that road need to know what your PH range is. 7.8 may be a point in time value, but it almost certainly fluctuates. If 7.8 is near the lowest it probably not a big issue even if not "ideal". If it is ranging between 7.4 and 7.8 though then i would be more concerned. That is unlikely though with 10 alkalinity and even decent aeration.

mdb_talon · Mar 28, 2021

Your paramers look fine to me. I would definetely keep it in lower light area and try to keep feeding itm

The_Skrimp · Mar 28, 2021

Thanks so much for the responses. I have some Boost PH+ that I’m currently using. It’s supposed to raise ph without raising alkalinity. I think using vibrant and having a bunch of algae die off in my tank lowered the ph recently. I was able to keep it over 8 until that happened. Hopefully I can get it back before this lobo goes to far south.

I would be doubtful it is a PH issue, but to even go down that road need to know what your PH range is. 7.8 may be a point in time value, but it almost certainly fluctuates

I always test first thing in the morning so it most likely goes up throughout the day.

Aside from that, I was also considering treating my tank with erythromycin in case there’s an infection. Has anyone ever used erythromycin as a dip?

try to keep feeding it

Would you guys suggest I keep trying with the reef roids or would frozen meaty foods be more likely to get him to eat?

Thanks so much for all the help!

The_Skrimp · Apr 7, 2021

So at this point the lobo is completely white... i think it’s unfortunately dead. but now i have an acan echinata frag that was next to the lobo doing the same thing. Mouths open, skin peeling off the skeleton.

could this be a disease introduced into my tank by the lobo? Has anyone ever seen a coral disease that does this?

At this point i can’t think of anything else that might be causing this. The only other thing I suspect is possibly an emerald crab or my pistol shrimp eating the corals at night. I’ve tried looking a few times in the middle of the night but still haven’t seen anything mess with it.

Fish Think Pink · Apr 7, 2021

The_Skrimp said:
So at this point the lobo is completely white... i think it’s unfortunately dead. but now i have an acan echinata frag that was next to the lobo doing the same thing. Mouths open, skin peeling off the skeleton.

could this be a disease introduced into my tank by the lobo? Has anyone ever seen a coral disease that does this?

At this point i can’t think of anything else that might be causing this. The only other thing I suspect is possibly an emerald crab or my pistol shrimp eating the corals at night. I’ve tried looking a few times in the middle of the night but still haven’t seen anything mess with it.

your first post said reef roids makes him look worse. My BF likes to feed our lobo pellets, but I think its better to feed thawed frozen meaty food (I use LRS Reef Frenzy, but likely any) ... our biggest challenge is leaving the food on top long enough for it to absorb/envelope/eat food because our shrimp love to steal food. (we have plastic cups we can put over corals when shrimp too aggressive about stealing.

White doesn't yet mean he is dead. He maybe can come back from bleached, so try food.

NeonRabbit221B · Apr 7, 2021

Mine looked just like yours for a few days after moving him. I agree that covering him with a weighted cup with some meaty food can make him bounce back. Low light and low to medium flow (low to no flow when feeding).

The_Skrimp · Apr 8, 2021

You guys... I finally caught him! Im now 90% sure that my problem was an emerald crab this whole time. I had a feeling after the acan started going south because I know there’s an emerald that hangs out in that area. I moved the new frag that was dying to a frag rack this morning. I looked in my tank just now (it’s 2am) and caught him going for my other acans. What a nightmare. This guy is going to live in the sump. Thanks for the help everyone! I’m not holding out hope for the lobo bouncing back but I’ll try some of these suggestions. Thanks again!

jeffchapok · Apr 18, 2021

I have a sailfin tang that steals anything I try to feed my lobo, and a filefish that picks at his flesh. Today I noticed receding flesh and skeleton poking thru, so this is my solution for now. I just fed him a pellet, so that's what you see in his mouth - not guts protruding.

BTW, you can just see the sailfin lurking behind it. She's ticked that there's a morsel of food in the tank that she can't get at.

Treefer32 · May 17, 2021

I don't feed my lobos and got two new mouths in the last 2 years. Just whatever fish poop or drop on the lobo as it's at the bottom of my tank.. Do you need to feed them to keep them healthy or is broadcast feeding reef roids and frozen food enough that it picks up some here and there without any issues? Just curious if they really need to be target fed?