Help: Monties dying

[Laird]

I've been having a problem over the last month or two with all my monti caps dying. NOTHING else in the tank is having a problem at all but all my montis are slowing dying. I have had about 8 colonies go. I had 4 big pieces coming off my overflow, all over 7 inches in diameter. I had them all over the tank, high light, high flow, low light, low flow, and everywhere in between but no mater where they are they are dying.

So whats killing them? They are already passed saving, I just want to know whats wrong before I get replacements.

Salinity .25
Mag 1450
Cal 450
alk 10
nits 0
I dose a lot of vitamin c

All of I left to really show is the skeletons that are still on the overflow, the rest were tossed. And those ones were just frags off the colonies that I got off before they died with the rest of it.

As you can see everything else is happy, and I have about every major variety of coral and nothing else is being affected. Just took these camera phone pics

 

[subielover]

Maybe monti eating nudibranchs.

 

[Laird]

Can you see them on there usually? I've never seen anything on them.

 

[KLR]

They are tiny but get a magnifing glass and look,or if you see what appears to be waste or powder on your montis..it may a small colony of nudis..

 

[lars]

Look at night with a flashlight under the rim. There white and kinda frilly.

 

[Laird]

What can I do about them? I think I seen them, and just thought it was a little sand....

 

[Captain Nemo]

Look for the nudi branches. They are tiny an more than likely the problem. Your parameters look spot on. Just my opinion.

 

[Dave3112]

It's just the caps right? I had a problem like this last year and I still can't explain it. ALL my other corals were and still are fine including my encrusting montis! My caps recovered and have re-grown. There were NO monti nudis the parameters were all spot on. The caps were the only ones affected and they just RTNed for a few weeks then quit. I hope you find an answer.

 

[Laird]

My encrusting montis are fine too. Will the nudies eat those? Will the nudies die when they don't have any more caps to eat?

 

[Dave3112]

I didn't have the nudis. From what I know the nudis will eat ANY monti be it caps or encrusting...Sorry I can't help you. I still don't know what caused my problem.

 

[gar732]

This is what the adults look like. I have found that you see the effects before you see the adults. In my tank, it took them a while to get to other monti's. if you have all your caps in one area thats probably why they got infected first. I dipped and lightly brushed them with a soft bristle toothbrush. In the end I chucked a cap and a spongodes colony, It was just the easiest way after fighting with them for a while.

 

[gar732]

Also, if its nudi's, they should start to get better after dipping them. I would definitely dip them either way.

 

[skinz78]

Just curious but how old are your lights? Have you changed anything recently?

 

[Kbra]

Monti eating nudis prefer plating montis. They like to eat them from underneath and thats where you will find them an their eggs. Sounds 99% like nudis. Sorry buddy

 

[Kbra]

Also, if its nudi's, they should start to get better after dipping them. I would definitely dip them either way.

What dip? I know someone that had them and dipped them in almost everything. Still nothing.

 

[skinz78]

I have dipped them with success in Melafix on a Spongenodes frag I got.

 

[Kbra]

I have dipped them with success in Melafix on a Spongenodes frag I got.

I take it there were no eggs to start with.

 

[skinz78]

Ahh I should add that when I dipped I scrubbed with a toothbrush while in the dip, I can't remember if I saw eggs or not.

 

[jonzee2006]

could all of the vitamin c be the problem? I know that vitamin c can be good to an extent and I would just dip all of the colonies just to be safe.

 

[kev2me]

Potassium permanganate may help.