Is this torch gone?

[Mrcote1]

My tank has been going through an insane hair algae bloom overtaking the whole tank. I am waiting on ICP results but alk is 8.2 DKH
22 ppm nitrates
.14 ppm phosphates
550 ppm calcium
1430 ppm magnesium

What I am really interested in though is if this torch is a goner? No clue why its receding and dying because my other torches are doing great. My goniopora are not fully extended either.

Is this something i should throw the whole torch out? Or try and frag the one head off? I tried dipping in iodone already.

 

[bluemon]

Yea that is BJD happening on the left there.

I would take it out and do some antibacterial or some sort of anti-infection dip right away.

Or toss it or frag off half its head as a drastic measure in the hopes it can recover.

 

[mcarroll]

2nd head may survive. Tissue necrosis on the other one...nothing you can do about that IMO. Anything is going to stress the remaining polyp more than it's worth....just keep improving the tank conditions and the remaining head will pull through. (Look at what low nutrients, in particular low P, does to corals.)

Get that algae out of the tank though – pluck, pluck! You don't want that growing up the skeletons of those corals or it will be bye-bye for sure.

I noticed they were bottoming out a few months back or whatever....how have your nutrient issues been in the last month or two? Is pest algae overall a problem or not bad?

How is this tank set up and filtered that nutrients have been (or were) so low?

 

[Mrcote1]

Yea that is BJD happening on the left there.

I would take it out and do some antibacterial or some sort of anti-infection dip right away.

Or toss it or frag off half its head as a drastic measure in the hopes it can recover.

Is the head on the right no good too? If its still good, ill just cut the head on the left off, soak the good head in iodine for 10 minutes and put it back in the tank

 

[BonnieB]

Here’s Manta Systems recommendations dive you’ve already tried the iodine dip.

Manta Systems

Expert saltwater aquarium tips, coral care guides, and fish health advice. Learn feeding, maintenance, and reef-keeping techniques to keep your tank thriving.

www.mantasystems.net

 

[bluemon]

Is the head on the right no good too? If its still good, ill just cut the head on the left off, soak the good head in iodine for 10 minutes and put it back in the tank

Did not realize these were two heads.

Makes it even easier! I thought it was one giant head. Just clip off the left head and do a dip and closely monitor.

 

[Mrcote1]

2nd head may survive. Tissue necrosis on the other one...nothing you can do about that IMO. Anything is going to stress the remaining polyp more than it's worth....just keep improving the tank conditions and the remaining head will pull through. (Look at what low nutrients, in particular low P, does to corals.)

Get that algae out of the tank though – pluck, pluck! You don't want that growing up the skeletons of those corals or it will be bye-bye for sure.

I noticed they were bottoming out a few months back or whatever....how have your nutrient issues been in the last month or two? Is pest algae overall a problem or not bad?

How is this tank set up and filtered that nutrients have been (or were) so low?

ive been plucking the hair algae as i can (most of it is anchored to the rock so good I cant get it off). So i bought a bunch of large turbos, astreas, a sea hare and i have a tuxedo urchin but still no good.

My nutrients have been at about 20ppm for nitrates for about 5 months now

 

[mcarroll]

ive been plucking the hair algae as i can (most of it is anchored to the rock so good I cant get it off). So i bought a bunch of large turbos, astreas, a sea hare and i have a tuxedo urchin but still no good.

It's too long for them to eat by the time you can get your fingers on it. Urchins bulldoze it off the rock, but it might be more than he can get around to before it regrows/spreads.

Use tweezers OR grab smaller hunks of algae....you'l get it loose. Don't give up, cuz it's gonna take more ground little by little and definitely won't give up. ;)

If it's too big a job to get all in one sitting, break it down into 20 min algae-plucking sessions and work in SMALL spots so you can get it 99% clear of algae before you move on. Hit one at least every day. When you get a spot cleaned, gently place one of your snails in the spot so they know about it and start cleaning it.

 

[mcarroll]

I can only recommend fragging it if you're well-equipped (eg band saw) and expert level on chopping up Euphyllia....you're likely to damage the remaining polyp otherwise.

 

[Mrcote1]

I can only recommend fragging it if you're well-equipped (eg band saw) and expert level on chopping up Euphyllia....you're likely to damage the remaining polyp otherwise.

At this rate though i think id rather risk cutting it with bone cutters otherwise its probably dead regardless it sounds like. I do have a dremel tool i could use instead

 

[bluemon]

At this rate though i think id rather risk cutting it with bone cutters otherwise its probably dead regardless it sounds like. I do have a dremel tool i could use instead

If you have a dremel you can use that.

Bone cutters that close to another head with no doubt shatter the whole skeleton

 

[BristleWormHater]

@VintageReefer

 

[VintageReefer]

It’s almost two head but it’s actually a incomplete split. The heads are still connected and share a common wall; which would be obliterated during fragging, leaving the “good head” with no side wall, and it will die.

I would dip in hydrogen peroxide and sw dip, 250ml hydrogen peroxide : 1 liter sw

8 min

Use a baster in the first few min and blast out all the necrosis’s and dead tissue. Then let it sit in the dip for 5-7 min

Then if the left head is good and clean,fill that head with superglue gel and seal it off. Put back in tank. All algae will be killed. And the glue should keep bacteria out and prevent infection of the remaining head

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Hoping the best for you, I lost my glorious Torch during a dino then cyano battle. I posted videos of it with my friends at #smorgs when the battle started, but have not told them. The rock was delegated to my sump, its now helping recycle my invert tank.

 

[Mrcote1]

It’s almost two head but it’s actually a incomplete split. The heads are still connected and share a common wall; which would be obliterated during fragging, leaving the “good head” with no side wall, and it will die.

I would dip in hydrogen peroxide and sw dip, 250ml hydrogen peroxide : 1 liter sw

8 min

Use a baster in the first few min and blast out all the necrosis’s and dead tissue. Then let it sit in the dip for 5-7 min

Then if the left head is good and clean,fill that head with superglue gel and seal it off. Put back in tank. All algae will be killed. And the glue should keep bacteria out and prevent infection of the remaining head

Wish I read this before I started cutting, once i had the infected head cut off, the whole side of the good head was exposed. There goes a $150 torch. Is it worth dipping and adding back to the tank just in case?

 

[VintageReefer]

Wish I read this before I started cutting, one the i had the infected head cut off, the whole side of the good head is exposed. There goes a $150 torch. Is it worth dipping and adding back to the tank just in case?

Send pic asap in white light

 

[Mrcote1]

 

[Mrcote1]

 

[Mrcote1]

Send pic asap in white light

Alright just added the photos above

 

[vetteguy53081]

My tank has been going through an insane hair algae bloom overtaking the whole tank. I am waiting on ICP results but alk is 8.2 DKH
22 ppm nitrates
.14 ppm phosphates
550 ppm calcium
1430 ppm magnesium

What I am really interested in though is if this torch is a goner? No clue why its receding and dying because my other torches are doing great. My goniopora are not fully extended either.

Is this something i should throw the whole torch out? Or try and frag the one head off? I tried dipping in iodone already.

Take a pipette and create suction and remove the substance. Like most large polyp stony corals, torch coral benefits from moderate water flow. They are best placed at upper half of tank where they can receive proper light and water flow. Too little or too much flow will cause this. Torch require typical parameters which you have IF accurate including:
Temperature around 78 degrees
Specific gravity of about 1.025
Ph of about 8.2
Calcium level of about 400 ppm
Mag 1300-1380

The polyps will shrink if the flow is too fast because the polyps will tear off in higher currents. Also torches are photosynthetic having a relationship with its inner zooxanthellae which lives inside its tissues that converts the light into energy which feeds the coral. While it does not require direct feeding, feeding is beneficial and I feed mine Mysis shrimp. The best location for a torch coral is where it gets moderate to medium water flow and medium-intensity lighting.
Torches are aggressive corals that protect themselves by wielding their sweeper tentacles maliciously so space them apart from other coral