RunStopRestore
New Member
SPS tissue degradation and loss, whether its slow (STN) or fast (RTN) or associated with a brown gelatinous mass (BJS) are probably one of the more or even most frequently discussed topics here. A particular emphasis is given on the „help“ requests describing the fast peeling and patchy loss of coral tissue, which can sometimes be linked to an apparent cause (e.g. stress event such as sudden/threshold changes in salinity, alkalinity and nutrients, or the use of new equipment and supplements) or happening completely out of nowhere with no apparent reason.
One thing I came across, while having similar issues with my Acropora valida and Acropora enchinada colony, was that most of the things I read here and on other platforms were ending with either the death or with no final statement concerning a solution to the problem (if this was the case). In some instances, even spreading of the disease within colonies of the same coral species and sometimes even among different species was reported. Another interesting thing that I encountered while skimming through research literature and other articles I found on the web was that the degradation process co-occurs with an outbreak of certain bacterial strains (e.g. Vibrio harveyi for RTN) or protozoa (e.g. Helicostoma notatum for BJS) in/on the coral tissue when the conditions are favourable and/or the coral is an already weakened state for whatever reason.
So I would assume by simply bringing back the tank into a „coral-friendly’ state in terms of important parameters, one can just indirectly or maybe even not all tackle the proximate cause for its demise, and therefore witnesses the ongoing decline. I’m not doubting here the vital importance of stability in terms of coral health and recovery, but it seems its sometimes not enough. Also thinking of this problem as a „moving“ thing, it somehow makes sense that in some cases a vigorous fragmentation or over glueing of affected areas provides some help by simply putting a barrier to stop the progression.
But is there also something else that can be done, are affected areas just doomed? Yesterday I found an interesting statement from a german Vet, saying that a treatment (dip) with antibiotics (Chloramphenicol, Metronidazole or Dimetridazole) dissolved in seawater could help. The latter, Dimetridazole, is an antibiotic that is commonly used for pigeons. However, the application of this substance is not straight forward, since it cannot be applied in the tank and one also has to think about its disposal (e.g. inactivation with bleach). Simultaneously, I saw other „pricy“ products appearing on the market, such as RTNx/STNx.
Generally, I’m not a friend of drastic modifications of the chemical and biological environment and I also think it entails a very high risk to kill off other things, but I like to hear your thoughts or experience on this? Did anyone use these things so far, or managed or get ongoing tissue sloughing to a hold?
One thing I came across, while having similar issues with my Acropora valida and Acropora enchinada colony, was that most of the things I read here and on other platforms were ending with either the death or with no final statement concerning a solution to the problem (if this was the case). In some instances, even spreading of the disease within colonies of the same coral species and sometimes even among different species was reported. Another interesting thing that I encountered while skimming through research literature and other articles I found on the web was that the degradation process co-occurs with an outbreak of certain bacterial strains (e.g. Vibrio harveyi for RTN) or protozoa (e.g. Helicostoma notatum for BJS) in/on the coral tissue when the conditions are favourable and/or the coral is an already weakened state for whatever reason.
So I would assume by simply bringing back the tank into a „coral-friendly’ state in terms of important parameters, one can just indirectly or maybe even not all tackle the proximate cause for its demise, and therefore witnesses the ongoing decline. I’m not doubting here the vital importance of stability in terms of coral health and recovery, but it seems its sometimes not enough. Also thinking of this problem as a „moving“ thing, it somehow makes sense that in some cases a vigorous fragmentation or over glueing of affected areas provides some help by simply putting a barrier to stop the progression.
But is there also something else that can be done, are affected areas just doomed? Yesterday I found an interesting statement from a german Vet, saying that a treatment (dip) with antibiotics (Chloramphenicol, Metronidazole or Dimetridazole) dissolved in seawater could help. The latter, Dimetridazole, is an antibiotic that is commonly used for pigeons. However, the application of this substance is not straight forward, since it cannot be applied in the tank and one also has to think about its disposal (e.g. inactivation with bleach). Simultaneously, I saw other „pricy“ products appearing on the market, such as RTNx/STNx.
Generally, I’m not a friend of drastic modifications of the chemical and biological environment and I also think it entails a very high risk to kill off other things, but I like to hear your thoughts or experience on this? Did anyone use these things so far, or managed or get ongoing tissue sloughing to a hold?
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