I think my trachyphyllia brain coral is dying. Please help!!!

[lauren_ash]

Hi everyone,
I've had this brain coral for about two months now and never had an issue with it. This morning I noticed that the top right corner is beginning to die but I'm not sure why? All my other corals in the tank are very happy so this was quite a shock. Water quality is within safe measurements and I try to do water changes once a week as long as I don't have any spikes. The only thing I can think would upset the corals is the reef flux I treated the tank with about a week ago to take care of some hair algae. Can I stop this from spreading or does it look like the little guy will die? I really appreciate any help!!

 

[jassermd]

As with any issues, need to know parameters, how long you've had the tank, and have you changed location/flow/lighting?
You have the trach leaning on it's tissue in the sand... that's not good. Was it leaning on the other side and you flipped it? If so, that may explain the tissue damage.
Are there any corals near by that could have irritated or stung it? Can't see in pic, but may be an issue if you moved it.
From my experience, they do well in low-mod light, low-mod flow. If you place on sand bed, best to put them on a rock to avoid sand irritation to the tissue. You shouldn't lay it on the tissue or the sides of the skeleton... it won't be able to open.
Here's a pic of some of my smaller ones that are similar for comparison and placement. All 3 are on small rocks that are buried in the sand...

 

[lauren_ash]

As with any issues, need to know parameters, how long you've had the tank, and have you changed location/flow/lighting?
You have the trach leaning on it's tissue in the sand... that's not good. Was it leaning on the other side and you flipped it? If so, that may explain the tissue damage.
Are there any corals near by that could have irritated or stung it? Can't see in pic, but may be an issue if you moved it.
From my experience, they do well in low-mod light, low-mod flow. If you place on sand bed, best to put them on a rock to avoid sand irritation to the tissue. You shouldn't lay it on the tissue or the sides of the skeleton... it won't be able to open.
Here's a pic of some of my smaller ones that are similar for comparison and placement. All 3 are on small rocks that are buried in the sand...

Okay so I just retested water to be safe this is what I've got:
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0-0.2ppm
Calcium: (a little low) 360mg/L
KH: (also a bit low) 125.3ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm

This coral has been in my tank for roughly two months in this same position (I haven't flipped it at all). It always expanded and deflated on and off and eats when I feed other corals and fish. The coral isn't touching any rocks, glass, or any other corals. The corals nearby have really short sweeper tentacles so I doubt they would've caused that.
I've put it in the sand in low light and low flow, and the other trach. next to it is thriving. I can try to move some more sand up front so I can lay it a bit flatter, but I'm not sure if this issue will continue to get worse or if there's a chance to save it.

 

[jassermd]

Nitrates and Phos are low and can lead to coral starvation. Alk and Ca are quite low and are likely contributing to the issues. Alk/Ca swings recently will only make things that much more challenging.

Trachs, IME, prefer a little more nutrients in the water.

If it's been in the same spot without any change, then it's likely a swing or something irritating it.

Any signs of critters or do you have any "reef safe with caution" fish? The last trachy I lost was do to the foxface eating it...

One final note, I see an overhang in the pic, is that shading that area more so than the rest of the trachy?

 

[lauren_ash]

Nitrates and Phos are low and can lead to coral starvation. Alk and Ca are quite low and are likely contributing to the issues. Alk/Ca swings recently will only make things that much more challenging.

Trachs, IME, prefer a little more nutrients in the water.

If it's been in the same spot without any change, then it's likely a swing or something irritating it.

Any signs of critters or do you have any "reef safe with caution" fish? The last trachy I lost was do to the foxface eating it...

One final note, I see an overhang in the pic, is that shading that area more so than the rest of the trachy?

I'll slowly raise those values to add more nutrients to the tank.

I've got two clowns, a cardinalfish, and a green chromis in the tank but I've never seen any of them mess with any of the corals. I think it's a nutrient issue like you said.

I've got a massive arch/rock behind the trachy but it doesn't create any shadow of the coral.

Do you recommend any small dosing pumps for a smaller tank? It's nano, 15gallon tank. I've had issues with keeping nutrient levels in the tank stable, but I'm not sure what the best plan of action is.

 

[jassermd]

In general, keeping things stable in a nano tank is difficult. The best way to get your nitrates and phosphates up is to feed and if you’re runnning a skimmer and/or refugium to tweak on time.
I’d start there given your fish load.
The fish you listed are not ones I’d be concerned about...
I’d start with getting your parameters stable and slowly feed a bit more to get your nutrients up a bit.
There is a nano thread you can dig into regarding dosing and such.
Most often ca/alk and mg can be managed with water changes in a nano tank...
Hope that helps.