Help my acan please!!

[princesuhaib]

I have a very nice rainbow eyed acan that is loosing it colors and you can see the underlying skeleton, i dont want to loose it because it is very expensive.
Maybe a stupid question but is it dying/dead? Should I wait to see if it comes back?

Tank Info:
Aquarium Volume: 75AGA RR DT + 40g L Sump
Aquarium Material: Glass - Regular
Aquarium Lighting: Nova Pro Extreme T5 6 Bulb
Aquarium Lighting Bulbs: Whatever came with Nova Pro Extreme T5 6 Bulb
Sump Information: 3 Chamber, 40G Long, Phosban 150 GFO, Phosban 150 Carbon
Protein Skimmer: ASM G-2
Powerheads/Wavemakers: Koralia 4, Koralia 3, Koralia 1
Refugium Information: 12 Inches Long, 4inch Sand bed, live rock , 2 sticks of mangrove, chaeto algae, snails, hermit crabs

Here are my specs,

I also have it on the bottom of the tank now since it looks like it is bleaching out.
The out side ring of each "mouth" is skeletal... could he recover? The area directly around the mouth is fine and it tact..
Nitrate and Nitrite also at 0

WHAT SHOULD I DO? PLEASE HELP

 

[wicked demon]

pics!! acans are tough, but need a pic and to know if the skeleton is pink? also where did you place it on the reef when you got it? how long ago?

 

[princesuhaib]

I have had it for 4 months, and just recently it started doing it.. No I am not really directly feeding i did direct feed it 2 times since I got it. Some silver sides and it looked like it enjoyed it.

 

[Corigan]

I've had heads that have gotten eaten/zapped that end up being half skeletons and growing back. Like stated I think acan's are really tough. Good luck.

 

[inactive]

What kind of fish/inverts do you keep?

 

[princesuhaib]

Live Stock:
* spoted mandarin goby
* white/black scotter blenny
* black/orange bi color blenny
* lawnmower blenny
* Orange Spoted Goby
* yellow clown goby
* 2 black saddle back clown paired
* 2 bangaii cardinal paired
* red stripe goby
* green/blue spoted goby
* long nose hawkfish
* red/white spoted hawkfish
* six line wrasse
* yellow cleaner wrasse
* Yellow Tang
* blue hippo Tang

Inverts:
* Dresser crab
* White Bubble Tip Anemone
* brown Long Tentacle Anemone w/ purple tips
* marble shrimp
* Pistol Shrimp
* 2 sally light foot
* 2 cleaner shrimp
* 2 camel/humpback Shrimp
* 2 orange starfish
* 2 Clams

 

[inactive]

Man, there are too many culprits to tell really.

 

[princesuhaib]

Man, there are too many culprits to tell really.

What you mean?
What should I do about it? How do i get it back and save it and heal back ?

 

[inactive]

You are going to have to remove a lot of potential threats.

The camel shrimp you have are not reef safe. A lot of times they are sold as peppermint shrimp when they are not. Although some peppermint shrimp are reported as coral munchers, a camel shrimp is much worse.

The starfish may be eating the coral as well, I'm not 100% sure what starfish you have, but I wouldn't rule it out either.

Saron Shrimp are not good with corals.

Sometimes tangs can be known to nip/eat acan polyps. There are many reasons that add to this, but if you feed your acans the tangs get used to the easy food... sometimes they strike when there is no food!

Bicolor blennies have a history of nipping corals also.

You have a large amount of fish for a 75g tank... What are your basic parameters?(Nitrate/Ammo/Pho etc)

 

[princesuhaib]

You are going to have to remove a lot of potential threats.

The camel shrimp you have are not reef safe. A lot of times they are sold as peppermint shrimp when they are not. Although some peppermint shrimp are reported as coral munchers, a camel shrimp is much worse.

The starfish may be eating the coral as well, I'm not 100% sure what starfish you have, but I wouldn't rule it out either.

Saron Shrimp are not good with corals.

Sometimes tangs can be known to nip/eat acan polyps. There are many reasons that add to this, but if you feed your acans the tangs get used to the easy food... sometimes they strike when there is no food!

Bicolor blennies have a history of nipping corals also.

You have a large amount of fish for a 75g tank... What are your basic parameters?(Nitrate/Ammo/Pho etc)

I have not seen any tang even get close to them to be honest, or any other of the fish or inverts! I have no idea what is going on with the Acan, my same one but other frag of 15 heads is doing just fine. No Idea what is going on. My Nitrate's, Ammonia, phosphates, Nitrite are at Zero. I test every 2 or so days and do 10g water changes 2 times a week. Also I dose using bulk reef supply 2 part kit recipe 1.

 

[inactive]

I have no idea then!

 

[ilovereef]

the camel shrimp difinity shouldn't be in a reef tank, a lot of people don't realize that alot of Aussie corals do not, repeat, DO NOT require too much light, in most situation 2 T5 will be enough, a lot of the corals will tend to lose its colors due to bright lights, by feeding it or adding vitamins will help the problem, but like I mentioned before, if the lights are too strong, try reducing the lights.

 

[Alpha Aquaculture]

I have over forty acans and am becoming experienced with time. I feed all of them every other nite. When one seems to not be doing so well I make sure I feed that one a lil more and it will start to puff more. I think feeding them is absolutely necessary. Most of my acans are growing extremely well, like one polyp to 12+ in only a few months. On the other hand I have a few select individuals that I cannot make happy. Two in particular are not as hardy as the others. I believe that certain individuals are more susceptible to bacterial diseases than others. Dip in iodine dips for the bacterial diseases, every night for three or more nights. Also I am starting to think that different individuals have different requirements for light. This is more of a trial and error thing. I recently moved an acan to lower light and I lost it. I run acans at 130 par so if anything I would give them more light. There is the phantom acan 'aussie' bug that people have been talking about. Interceptor is the treatment for that and people have shown success using it. Pictures would be great.

Feed them! Silversides may be too big imo, try smaller bits so they can completely digest them... and maybe diversify the diet. If feeding doesn't work then problem shoot other options.

 

[inactive]

Acans love pellets also!

 

[Alpha Aquaculture]

ilovereef: Could you please explain your reasoning to why acans do not require too much light? I would think that 2 t5's would not be enough. Do you have a par quantum meter? I think many time lighting discussions are a waste of time because there are so many factors to consider. Measuring par is foolproof.

 

[inactive]

I measure light with my hand. hahahah...

 

[kenjung]

My saifin tang nip at my expensive Acan. If your Acan is little on the green side. I would watch the fish.