My Fraga Look Bad in QT - really bad

[MarsWulf5]

My frags look awful in QT. I keep it topped off, dosed, do water changes...

I keep getting cyano over my frags. Have new T5 bulbs...any more flow is too much for the LPS.

I had 5 frags come in 2 weeks ago. Losing color... Receding. I'm tired of losing coral in QT.

I had 5 more frags come in yeaterday... They are already not happy.

I saw a bunch of stuff come off them durong dipping... Some not good.

I dont know what to do. Some frags are dieing in QT.

I am worried about adding black bugs or something awful to my DT tank...

Should I dip these frags in Baeyer insect killer etc tomorrow and get them into the DT with good lights, 120G etc... Or is that flirting with disaster.

I have not had luck with things survivong in QT. I know why I have to do it... But where do I go from here.

I need good advice. Thanks.

 

[hds4216]

What are your parameters in the QT tank? What species are your frags?

 

[MarsWulf5]

Whats not doing well: Acans, Cyphaestra, Favia... All three lost color, tissue recession, Acan lost a complet polp of two and the one left is starting to recede.

I decreased the flow... Seemed to like that.

Whatever is wrong must be in the water... I keep changing it... I'm gonna do a water change now. Just gonna do a big water change. I wont test until tomorrow. Not gonna wast the time and reagents fussing with the checkers now if I'm changing water anyway. But you are right... I must be the water somehow.. Maybe toxins from the Galaxia??? Everything is spread apart. Haven't seen any mesenthelial filmenta etc...

 

[Hydrored]

Why were you last test parameters and the date of test? What lighting and flow? Fish in the qt?

 

[hds4216]

Have you used this QT for fish? Have you ever used copper-based medications in it?

 

[MarsWulf5]

Have you used this QT for fish? Have you ever used copper-based medications in it?

No. No copper ever in this tank. Just before my DT went up a few fish went in there that had already been quarantined. Once that batch of frags and fish went into thr DT. The quarantines were broken down and cleaned... Just water and vinegar. No meds or anything in silicone...

I'm wondering if there is chemical warfare going on... It must be the water somehow.

 

[MarsWulf5]

Why were you last test parameters and the date of test? What lighting and flow? Fish in the qt?

Salinity 1.025
pH 8.3-8.4
Alk. 8.0

Thats all I test for in this tank... Phosphates get high quick... Its only a 20g QT. I do water changes every few days... Usually 50% if not more. I dose the tank a little that day every time I do a water change... Just watch pH and alk. Phosphate gets high within a few days... Keep it stable with water change.

Gonna throw a bag of carbon in there... See if ot helps.

 

[Hydrored]

Salinity 1.025
pH 8.3-8.4
Alk. 8.0

Thats all I test for in this tank... Phosphates get high quick... Its only a 20g QT. I do water changes every few days... Usually 50% if not more. I dose the tank a little that day every time I do a water change... Just watch pH and alk. Phosphate gets high within a few days... Keep it stable with water change.

Gonna throw a bag of carbon in there... See if ot helps.

Honestly, not to sound harsh, that sounds like a horrible environment for coral. An ever changing environment full of peaks and valley‘s. I would get serious on setting it up and monitoring it setting a routine on maintenance .

 

[MarsWulf5]

It is an aweful environment for coral. I agree. The tanks are well maintained. Thats why I cant figure out whats wrong.

I change he water constantly. Its a quarantine... Not my DT.

But I'm cant jist throw these infested frags from WWC into my DT.

QTs not ideal environments - but I cant rush it. I do maintain it regularly... Like every single day. Thats why I'm at a loss.

Trust me - nothing is more harsh than watching a $350 coral die. I cant figure it out. I want to put them in my DT - but I cant with the pests that came in on them.

I have QT for coral and a QT for fish... And I cant go any bigger on the QTs.

I keep getting cyano like crazy - the QT process is just a big pain.

 

[tankstudy]

Are your frag tanks cycled?

 

[saltybees]

Are you using rodi water?

Maybe put a cheap hob and use some filtration instead of changing the water so often.

Why do you dose with every water change? If you’re changing that much water that often the salt mix should be keeping your parameters in check, no?

 

[MarsWulf5]

Are your frag tanks cycled?

Well, I had live rock in there that was a year old. Cyano got so bad, I pulled put the rock and left rubble. Its just a 20 G High with 2 filters (one for a 25G and one for a 40 g with a HOB area. I have new filter media in there. I basically handle the water chemistry with water changes - as with most QTs. This system has been up a year... Cycled as much as it could be - so yes in that respect. Live rock harbors pests and eggs if they show up - which means tossing the live rock too if they do. Otherwise everytning gets infected you put in there - and defeats the whole quarantine idea.

There is just something wrong... Other than water. Chemical warfare... Bacterial infection... Something.

I dipped the corals again yesterday. They look a little better... But this batch of quarantine is not doing well at all.

I'm about to just dip them in Baeyer... Give them one day in QT to cleannput their system - and put them in the DT. I'm losing too much with in QT - and its never happened so fast like this with water changes not helping at all.

It's frustrating.

 

[KrisReef]

IF your coral in qt is sick it might not make sense to add sick coral to your DT if you have healthy coral in there?

Sorry for the situation. Coral wasn't made for shipping.

 

[Engrene4]

i dont know at all if this is the case but this seems mysterious, i have always had weird problems with my tank anything i put in died fish, crustaceans, corals, even macro algae. i have also battled with cyano and only cyano for that entire year and nothing helped. turns out my salinity was 1.040 because i was using a faulty hydrometer. In short how reputable is your equipment that you use for your tank either testing equipment or just the overall tank and filtration ect.

 

[Reefahholic]

Might wanna test the Cal and Mag levels.

 

[WallyB]

My frags look awful in QT. I keep it topped off, dosed, do water changes...

I keep getting cyano over my frags. Have new T5 bulbs...any more flow is too much for the LPS.

I had 5 frags come in 2 weeks ago. Losing color... Receding. I'm tired of losing coral in QT.

I had 5 more frags come in yeaterday... They are already not happy.

I saw a bunch of stuff come off them durong dipping... Some not good.

I dont know what to do. Some frags are dieing in QT.

I am worried about adding black bugs or something awful to my DT tank...

Should I dip these frags in Baeyer insect killer etc tomorrow and get them into the DT with good lights, 120G etc... Or is that flirting with disaster.

I have not had luck with things survivong in QT. I know why I have to do it... But where do I go from here.

I need good advice. Thanks.

I don't know what's going on in you QT, but from my experience CYANO never grows on a Live part of a Coral.
It will only infest the dead skeleton, so those Frags either came damaged, and have become damaged.
Cyano looks awful, but Cyano won't ever kill a live Coral.

Here is proof, when my DT what nothing but Cyano. That was years ago.
Cyano ended just where the Live Corals began.

I actually find my Corals color up and do better during Cyano Outbreaks. Just means there are too many nutrients in the water.

Sorry I don't have better advice for you. Just want you to look beyond CYANO problem, and find the cause, and way to save your valuble corals.

One thing to consider is the Cyano Covered parts of the Corals are dead, dying, and rotting, and the non-cyano covered parts of the corals are alive and healtheir. It clearly shows the good and bad part of your corals so you might (if possible) cut off the good coral parts to see if you can separate and save those good coral part pieces.
It's a risky decision you have to make and no guarentees. Different corals respond to fragging/cutting differently.

If you think there is a Chemical Battle going on, then Carbon is something that will remove Toxins, and keep removing in between your water changes.

 

[Crustaceon]

It could be a situation where water changes are causing more stress than having high phosphates would....unless you’re doing 1 gallon weekly water changes...which is tricky to do on a smaller tank because it’s so easy and tempting to go overboard and do a 5 gallon change, which is way too much.

 

[MarsWulf5]

I don't know what's going on in you QT, but from my experience CYANO never grows on a Live part of a Coral.
It will only infest the dead skeleton, so those Frags either came damaged, and have become damaged.
Cyano looks awful, but Cyano won't ever kill a live Coral.

Here is proof, when my DT what nothing but Cyano. That was years ago.
Cyano ended just where the Live Corals began.

I actually find my Corals color up and do better during Cyano Outbreaks. Just means there are too many nutrients in the water.

Sorry I don't have better advice for you. Just want you to look beyond CYANO problem, and find the cause, and way to save your valuble corals.

One thing to consider is the Cyano Covered parts of the Corals are dead, dying, and rotting, and the non-cyano covered parts of the corals are alive and healtheir. It clearly shows the good and bad part of your corals so you might (if possible) cut off the good coral parts to see if you can separate and save those good coral part pieces.
It's a risky decision you have to make and no guarentees. Different corals respond to fragging/cutting differently.

If you think there is a Chemical Battle going on, then Carbon is something that will remove Toxins, and keep removing in between your water changes.i I do see your pic... But I have seen cyano grow a film right over corals that appeared healthy in a matter 48 hours.

 

[MarsWulf5]

OK. I took EVERYTHING (all coral) out of QT. I absolutely had to.

Night before last my Aussie Lords just melted. I wouldnt call it Brown Jelly but it was White Jelly. It was terrible! A $70 frag just went nuclear.

I had just done a 100% water change on my fish QT which is doing very well - and I had no water made to do a watef change AGAIN on the coral QT.

I took EVERYTHING out immediately because Jelly spreads fast.

I dipped everything in Coral Rx for 10 min.

Then, I dipped everything (except the plate coral) in 9% Peroxide solution.

Gratefully, nothing bad came off on these dips... Which was the 3rd and 4th dip these corals got.

Everything (except what was already dead of half dead) looks great in the DT.
My only hypthesis is that the QT was too small to handle whatever toxins these corals were putting out.

It is a risk putting them to the DT - but I was not about to lose $1000 of new frags. No sir.

I have a Pentair 40 W UV Sterilizer with tubing and plumbing attachments on the way for the DT.

I'm very frustrated with QT.

My first batch of fish were QTd for 10 months because of ich. Treated multiple times - kept them in QT an extra SIX months to be sure.

As soon as they got into thd DT - I noticed a couple of cysts appear!

I have new fish in my fish QT and the ones in DT cant come out now. So, now it is ich management.

The ich is not bad. One cyst between 6 fish today - but - it got in there. Sonovabitch!

I did my absolute best to cure the ich. Copper, Hannah Checkers, Prazipro, Hyposalinity... A 90 day process and then 6 months of observation as the fish healed from the copper poisoming. They still have ich.

They showed no sign whatsoever... But it got into the DT.

Anyhow, DT looks great, Fish QT looks great, and the coral QT is now empty and I managed to save what was left. I lost 4 frags... I'm not pleased about that

I'm gonna try another vendor for corals. I have lost confidence and trust in WWC. I wish it wasnt so.

Will never order another coral pack from BRS. It was total garbage for what I paid. Just gonna buy from a LFS. I have thrown enough money away playing this game. Paying $100 for a quarter size frag that comes in sickly or cut bad, infested with garbage... I've had enough.

Makes me want to start my own business where I actually sell people HEALTHY animals for their reef.

 

[RedFrog211]

Do you know the par levels in your QT? Is it possible your lights are too high? What about temperature? If it’s 78° In the tank and you do a 60% water change without first heating the new water, that can have drastic effects. Another thing, which I’m sure you know, is that corals need stability. I wouldn’t recommend changing more than 35% of a nano tank that has only gravel. If you are able to add more live rock and surface area, perhaps you can cut down on water changes. Best of luck!