Please help! Unknown pest on candy cane

[maleks.reef]

what the heck are these black dots? Im pretty sure they are killing my candy cane. This pic is 2 weeks old, they look much worse now. They do not wiggle or move and when I dipped this coral in a dettol dip, many things came off (pods, 2 worms) but no black dots like these so im very confused. Please help I REALLY do not want to lose this piece.

Some context: I got this coral in June, around 1.5 months later it started dying and melting away. I gave it to a friend who dipped it in iodine and coral rx and it "survived" in his tank for around 2 months. After those 2 months I took it back and within 2 weeks it started dying again. Thats when I noticed the black things.

 

[Shirak]

Were they absolutely not there when you got the coral back from your friend?
Have you tried looking with a 10x jeweler's lens or other type of magnifying glass? It almost looks like coral tissue that has died and is breaking up? Are they some sort of eggs from a flatworm? Can they be wiped off and if they can do they come back?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like eggs of possibly worms or flatworm
You will want to dip the coral initially and you will have to scrub this off with a toothbrush in a container of tank water.
This may have to be repeated over a few days

 

[maleks.reef]

Were they absolutely not there when you got the coral back from your friend?
Have you tried looking with a 10x jeweler's lens or other type of magnifying glass? It almost looks like coral tissue that has died and is breaking up? Are they some sort of eggs from a flatworm? Can they be wiped off and if they can do they come back?

I dont remember if they were there but i dont think so. I can wipe it away yes but no movement and I feel like they do come back yes but slowly.

 

[maleks.reef]

Looks like eggs of possibly worms or flatworm
You will want to dip the coral initially and you will have to scrub this off with a toothbrush in a container of tank water.
This may have to be repeated over a few days

I have done that once already. I am afraid more dip might kill it since it is mostly a skeleton now. I did use a toothbrush but these things are stubborn they don't come off easily, not with a toothbrush.

Also, i should add that kind of wave in place because of the water flow. As if they are clustered into small transparent bags that gently move with the flow.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have done that once already. I am afraid more dip might kill it since it is mostly a skeleton now. I did use a toothbrush but these things are stubborn they don't come off easily, not with a toothbrush.

Also, i should add that kind of wave in place because of the water flow. As if they are clustered into small transparent bags that gently move with the flow.

With toothbrush try peroxide or diluted iodine

 

[maleks.reef]

Any other ideas as to what it might be?

 

[Shirak]

Any other ideas as to what it might be?

I am not convinced it's something that is doing harm. I think if it started to heal and look better in your friends tank after a single iodine and coralRx dip then it is not a pest or pathogen. A single dip in either of those would not eliminate something that could be killing your coral IMO. Looks like there is a little brownish stuff in the slime coat on the coral where there is still healthy tissue. I think it could be some sort of brown material in the water that is collecting on the skeleton and the slime of the coral. There is tissue recession and the skeleton looks like it is crumbling a little which makes me wonder what your tank parameters are and if there is something else going on with alk/ca and nutrients or something else with flow and lighting.

 

[maleks.reef]

I am not convinced it's something that is doing harm. I think if it started to heal and look better in your friends tank after a single iodine and coralRx dip then it is not a pest or pathogen. A single dip in either of those would not eliminate something that could be killing your coral IMO. Looks like there is a little brownish stuff in the slime coat on the coral where there is still healthy tissue. I think it could be some sort of brown material in the water that is collecting on the skeleton and the slime of the coral. There is tissue recession and the skeleton looks like it is crumbling a little which makes me wonder what your tank parameters are and if there is something else going on with alk/ca and nutrients or something else with flow and lighting.

I do not have a Ca kit yet but I will test my alk and let you know as soon as i can hopefully. Also, I think my light and flow are good. I have a jeabo wave maker plus the return. And for lights im running a 70w Chinese light. My tank is 34 gals and is around 60 cms high.

 

[maleks.reef]

Also, I'd like to add that I have a hammer with 3 heads that doing fine, I hope it stays that way, and I have 2 duncans both of which are doing ok however one of them isn't FULLY open, maybe this is because I moved it the other day. So how come it's the candy cane only that's deteriorating this quickly?

 

[Shirak]

Also, I'd like to add that I have a hammer with 3 heads that doing fine, I hope it stays that way, and I have 2 duncans both of which are doing ok however one of them isn't FULLY open, maybe this is because I moved it the other day. So how come it's the candy cane only that's deteriorating this quickly?

Sometimes difficult to tell. Could be a minor thing that the coral is unhappy about. Mixed reef is challenging in trying to figure out what each coral wants and provide so they are happy.

Do you see that brownish stuff anywhere else in the tank?

 

[maleks.reef]

Sometimes difficult to tell. Could be a minor thing that the coral is unhappy about. Mixed reef is challenging in trying to figure out what each coral wants and provide so they are happy.

Do you see that brownish stuff anywhere else in the tank?

What brownish stuff exactly? There isnt any brown slime on the candy cane. Its not BJD because it wouldve been dead ages ago if it was. It just looks horrible rn and i dont know why.

 

[Shirak]

What brownish stuff exactly? There isnt any brown slime on the candy cane. Its not BJD because it wouldve been dead ages ago if it was. It just looks horrible rn and i dont know why.

No doesn’t look like bjd. The polyp on the right has some brownish coloration on the surface. There is also skeleton deterioration just below the coral flesh. Something is causing the skeleton to break up or dissolve or perhaps not calcify properly in the first place

 

[Shirak]

Photos of your other corals? Can you post any recent test results?

 

[maleks.reef]

No doesn’t look like bjd. The polyp on the right has some brownish coloration on the surface. There is also skeleton deterioration just below the coral flesh. Something is causing the skeleton to break up or dissolve or perhaps not calcify properly in the first place

I think this brownish stuff is the pest that im asking about. And yes I think something is causing the skeleton to break down.

 

[maleks.reef]

Photos of your other corals? Can you post any recent test results?

 

[Shirak]

Do you see these thing on any of the other LPS? If it's a pest it would most likely be showing up on the other corals also. I am not sure I understand your response to brushing them off. You have removed them and now they are back? If so do you see anything crawling along the skeleton at night when the lights are off? I really don't see anything around the coral flesh in the photo. You can usually see pests along the edge of the coral tissue and skeleton or on the flesh itself. Hence why I am skeptical it is a pest.

Have you tested the water? Parameters that are not correct can cause the skeleton to dissolve slowly and deteriorate. It would also lead to poor coral health.

 

[maleks.reef]

Do you see these thing on any of the other LPS? If it's a pest it would most likely be showing up on the other corals also. I am not sure I understand your response to brushing them off. You have removed them and now they are back? If so do you see anything crawling along the skeleton at night when the lights are off? I really don't see anything around the coral flesh in the photo. You can usually see pests along the edge of the coral tissue and skeleton or on the flesh itself. Hence why I am skeptical it is a pest.

Have you tested the water? Parameters that are not correct can cause the skeleton to dissolve slowly and deteriorate. It would also lead to poor coral health.

Nothing similar on other LPS. Basically, if I brush them off with a toothbrush (or my finger) they will come off whatever they are however they do not move and when i did dip them, all that came off was 2 tiny worms and a pod. Honestly, I do not have a calcium or mag kit. I do have an ALK/po4/no3 kits for now (salifert) but it is so hard to use the alk kit which makes it even harder for me to put testing into my packed schedule. I know testing is a crucial part but I dont dose anything and the only LPS i have are the 4 you see in the tank. I'm doing bi-monthly 10% WCs right now and i really doubt that the alk or calcium are so dangerously low that the candy cane is dying. I want to do anything to save it tbh, it was so beautiful when it was healthy.

 

[Shirak]

Nothing similar on other LPS. Basically, if I brush them off with a toothbrush (or my finger) they will come off whatever they are however they do not move and when i did dip them, all that came off was 2 tiny worms and a pod. Honestly, I do not have a calcium or mag kit. I do have an ALK/po4/no3 kits for now (salifert) but it is so hard to use the alk kit which makes it even harder for me to put testing into my packed schedule. I know testing is a crucial part but I dont dose anything and the only LPS i have are the 4 you see in the tank. I'm doing bi-monthly 10% WCs right now and i really doubt that the alk or calcium are so dangerously low that the candy cane is dying. I want to do anything to save it tbh, it was so beautiful when it was healthy.

20% a month? Should keep up with demand but maybe not. Alk can fluctuate pretty rapidly. So while your Ca and Mg are probably ok with water changes Alk may not. Other things in your tank besides the LPS will use minerals. Without testing though there is no way to say for sure if your current water change amount and schedule is keeping up with demand but equally important not causing really big swings in tank parameters which could stress the corals. Are you using a salt for reef tanks that have elevated levels of Alk, Ca, and Mg etc? Perhaps it is a nutrition issue? Have you been monitoring PO4 and NO3?

So with regard to the things on the skeleton, you have removed them and they have come back? Are more showing up over time? Sorry I am still confused by your answers.

 

[maleks.reef]

20% a month? Should keep up with demand but maybe not. Alk can fluctuate pretty rapidly. So while your Ca and Mg are probably ok with water changes Alk may not. Other things in your tank besides the LPS will use minerals. Without testing though there is no way to say for sure if your current water change amount and schedule is keeping up with demand but equally important not causing really big swings in tank parameters which could stress the corals. Are you using a salt for reef tanks that have elevated levels of Alk, Ca, and Mg etc? Perhaps it is a nutrition issue? Have you been monitoring PO4 and NO3?

So with regard to the things on the skeleton, you have removed them and they have come back? Are more showing up over time? Sorry I am still confused by your answers.

I have a bit of an algae issue rn so my po4 has been at 0 for a while. I cant increase it because whenever I feed more or such, the GHA just eats all the nutrients away. Keep in mind i have a HOB skimmer and a fuge. Also, no i dont think they came back. I just had a look now while the light are off and there are barely any left. I think the small amount that is left is whatever i missed while cleaning it. I will do a po4/no3/alk test tomorrow hopefully and il llet u know of the results.

I use the regular Red Sea salt (blue).