Help needed guys, don't know whats going on here.

[GaryM1966]

Hi all, my finger leather seems to be just melting away the last week. if I blow on it with the turkey baster it just falls away.
Any ideas what is going on here, thanks.
Its just in this area the rest looks fine.

 

[najer]

What are your water parameters, have you changed anything?
Could it have been stung?
Can you get a pic under white light please?

 

[GaryM1966]

What are your water parameters, have you changed anything?
Could it have been stung?
Can you get a pic under white light please?

Don't see how it would have been stung not much around it, parameters are ok, nothing else seems bothered see additional pic.

 

[GaryM1966]

 

[najer]

Is that an aip on the rock next to it?

 

[GaryM1966]

Is that an aip on the rock next to it?

I don't know whats a aip??

 

[jelazar]

It's normal for leather corals to reproduce by splitting a piece off their crown or their branches and dropping it free. The edges where the split occurs is usually white and smooth, and heals after a few weeks.

Your edge looks fuzzy. Is it only fuzzy in that one spot? If so, I would give it a week and see what happens. If the coral appears to be declining rapidly in that one spot, I would assume infection or something localized and cut off that section. Take sharp scissors and make a cut about an inch below the fuzzy area. Leathers are very tolerant to fragging this way.

Do you have fish like angels that might nip at soft corals? Even if you've had a fish in the tank for a long time, one day it might taste the leather and go mmm.

Does the coral ever have good polyp extension on it's other branches? If the whole coral is always retracted, something is irritating it. Too high of lighting, especially with LEDs, is always the first thing I check. Is the leather a new addition? If so, it's probably getting too much light and should be moved lower. Have you adjusted or changed your LEDs lately.

Is there a coral within 12" that has long night-time sweepers like galaxia, euphyllia, or pectinia? I doubt it would cause this sort of damage, but it's worth checking. Their nighttime sweeper tentacles are amazingly long.

Too much flow is the next thing I would check. Then, something major with your water quality like ammonia.

While there are parasitic nudibranchs that eat leather corals, IME they're not that common and I don't think that's the problem here. You'll find their egg masses out of sight on the coral's main branch, or underneath the crown if it has one. Look for a dime-sized spiral of eggs.

 

[SMSREEF]

What is this?

 

[GaryM1966]

It's normal for leather corals to reproduce by splitting a piece off their crown or their branches and dropping it free. The edges where the split occurs is usually white and smooth, and heals after a few weeks.

Your edge looks fuzzy. Is it only fuzzy in that one spot? If so, I would give it a week and see what happens. If the coral appears to be declining rapidly in that one spot, I would assume infection or something localized and cut off that section. Take sharp scissors and make a cut about an inch below the fuzzy area. Leathers are very tolerant to fragging this way.

Do you have fish like angels that might nip at soft corals? Even if you've had a fish in the tank for a long time, one day it might taste the leather and go mmm.

Does the coral ever have good polyp extension on it's other branches? If the whole coral is always retracted, something is irritating it. Too high of lighting, especially with LEDs, is always the first thing I check. Is the leather a new addition? If so, it's probably getting too much light and should be moved lower. Have you adjusted or changed your LEDs lately.

Is there a coral within 12" that has long night-time sweepers like galaxia, euphyllia, or pectinia? I doubt it would cause this sort of damage, but it's worth checking. Their nighttime sweeper tentacles are amazingly long.

Too much flow is the next thing I would check. Then, something major with your water quality like ammonia.

While there are parasitic nudibranchs that eat leather corals, IME they're not that common and I don't think that's the problem here. You'll find their egg masses out of sight on the coral's main branch, or underneath the crown if it has one. Look for a dime-sized spiral of eggs.

Could be too much flow, but its been in the same position for months and only this week I see this,
I will watch for the next week perhaps I will post again next week with an update and you may notice something else.

 

[najer]

I don't know whats a aip??

Sorry, aiptasia anemone.

 

[GaryM1966]

What is this?

Hair algae

 

[GaryM1966]

so it seems to be getting worse, is it possible to cut the effected branch away before it works its way into the main stem of the coral?
The effected area is a purpleish colour

 

[SMSREEF]

Looks bacterial now and it probably will just keep spreading. What about amputating that affected area (beyond what is disintegrating because bacteria is probably further down inside the leather) and dipping the leather in lugols Iodine solution.

if you have a quarantine tank you could treat with antibiotic if that doesn’t work.
I have seen @Humblefish suggest cipro in a quarantine tank, or if you must use something in tank currently in erythromycin is somewhat reef safe.