Should I cut the tips off my Acro?

[jordanrb]

I was just moving it around so the polyps have retracted however I have been trying to clean the tips on my Marvin the Martian acro for the last few weeks. I am thinking maybe STN however it doesnt look like the skin is actually receeding. My other acros are looking fine. Could be getting covered by other others around so it could be an issue with the flow.

I now cannot get the little bit of algae growth off the tips without damaging it now. Should I cut all the tips off and let it heal and grow or could it clean itself up naturally?

View attachment 4490769

 

[Reefer Matt]

I usually snip off dead parts a couple at a time with a few days in between. All at once can stress out the coral. Leaving them alone is also okay, but they may not recover if you keep scrubbing them. I’d keep an eye on the anemone.

 

[jordanrb]

I usually snip off dead parts a couple at a time with a few days in between. All at once can stress out the coral. Leaving them alone is also okay, but they may not recover if you keep scrubbing them. I’d keep an eye on the anemone.

Ok I will snip a few of the bad ends. Do you think it could be STN?

The anemone looks close bit it sits about 4 inches below on the rock face and is only about 2.5" in diameter

 

[tbrown]

It's likely STN if it's just the tips dying.

Do you know what's causing it? What's your alkalinity and phosphates?

 

[jordanrb]

It's likely STN if it's just the tips dying.

Do you know what's causing it? What's your alkalinity and phosphates?

Alkalinity stays around 8.2. Im dosing with AFR. Phosphates are .08ppm and nitrates 25ppm. I know that's on the high end however its been like that since day one

 

[tbrown]

Alkalinity stays around 8.2. Im dosing with AFR. Phosphates are .08ppm and nitrates 25ppm. I know that's on the high end however its been like that since day one

I was thinking more along the lines of high alkalinity and low/nondetect phosphates causes tip burns like that. 8.2 isn't high though. Usually I didn't start seeing it until around 9+ with 0 phosphates.

 

[jordanrb]

I was thinking more along the lines of high alkalinity and low/nondetect phosphates causes tip burns like that. 8.2 isn't high though. Usually I didn't start seeing it until around 9+ with 0 phosphates.

Do you think there could be anything else? My calcium sits at 420 consistently. Magnesium was at 1300 but brought it back up to 1350.

I know my nutrients are considered high but I've seen thriving tanks in those ranges and honestly I jusy dont want to believe its the nutrients because I cannot get them down no matter what I do lol

 

[tbrown]

Do you think there could be anything else? My calcium sits at 420 consistently. Magnesium was at 1300 but brought it back up to 1350.

I know my nutrients are considered high but I've seen thriving tanks in those ranges and honestly I jusy dont want to believe its the nutrients because I cannot get them down no matter what I do lol

Your nutrients aren't high at all. I know lots of people say 5-10 nitrates or less and 0.03 phosphates but many of us run significantly higher nutrients than yours. @Matt L what are your nitrate and phosphate levels?

 

[Nate Chalk]

My phos is 0.3- 0.5 and nitrate around 30-50

 

[jordanrb]

Your nutrients aren't high at all. I know lots of people say 5-10 nitrates or less and 0.03 phosphates but many of us run significantly higher nutrients than yours. @Matt L what are your nitrate and phosphate levels?

I am getting around 290par right at this acro specifically. Could that be too low?

My ai prime 16 is cranked to the max. I can lower the light a tad I just dont want to create a super hot spot.

 

[jordanrb]

My phos is 0.3- 0.5 and nitrate around 30-50

Wow. Ok maybe I dont need to worry about them. Everytime I have an issue with my tank and say my parameters the go to is my nutrients lol

 

[tbrown]

I am getting around 290par right at this acro specifically. Could that be too low?

My ai prime 16 is cranked to the max. I can lower the light a tad I just dont want to create a super hot spot.

Low light usually doesn't cause tip burns though.

 

[slingfox]

Alkalinity stays around 8.2. Im dosing with AFR. Phosphates are .08ppm and nitrates 25ppm. I know that's on the high end however its been like that since day one

Lots of potential issues with that SPS frag. Marvin the Martian is known to be very hardy and have very long up extension. The fact that there is no polyp extension and parts of the frag are during suggests someone is wrong. If it is only this coral then I wouldn’t make any drastic changes. If other SPS are looking off (eg, showing zero to limited polyp extension) then you may have issues to resolve. I would not be concerned with your phos and nitrate readings. I don’t think many would consider them too high—that is outdated thinking.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Your nutrients aren't high at all. I know lots of people say 5-10 nitrates or less and 0.03 phosphates but many of us run significantly higher nutrients than yours. @Matt L what are your nitrate and phosphate levels?

30 ppm NO3,
0.1 ppm PO4
last checked before water change. I got stn too right now but just let it do it’s thing. I just keep up on maintenance and leave the tank alone and it usually stops and regrows.

 

[jordanrb]

30 ppm NO3,
0.1 ppm PO4
last checked before water change. I got stn too right now but just let it do it’s thing. I just keep up on maintenance and leave the tank alone and it usually stops and regrows.

Do you recommend to trim anything or just leave it completely?

 

[Reefer Matt]

Do you recommend to trim anything or just leave it completely?

I like to wait until I see the coral growing back (if it ever does) to trim it. But sometimes trimming works if the stn is from the bottom up. From tips down it has been a temporary thing most times in my tank. I suggest keeping a reference photo to help guide your decision on if it’s getting better or worse.

 

[slingfox]

Do you recommend to trim anything or just leave it completely?

I would frag off 1-2 healthy pieces from the coral as backup. There is a chance the entire coral will go downhill.

 

[tbrown]

I would frag off 1-2 healthy pieces from the coral as backup. There is a chance the entire coral will go downhill.

With tip burn? Like Matt says, I can understand that when the base up is STN/RTN but tip burn usually trimming the tips if they continue to peel is all that's necessary. But if his aren't peeling...

 

[tbrown]

But yeah, it could be a possibility. It does happen some.

 

[slingfox]

With tip burn? Like Matt says, I can understand that when the base up is STN/RTN but tip burn usually trimming the tips if they continue to peel is all that's necessary. But if his aren't peeling...

Yes, taking a frag or two as backup is what I would do. The picture of the small colony shows algae growing on 10+ spots and some growth looks like it covers areas larger than just axial coralites (hard to tell from the blurry picture). With a colony with that much widespread damage I would want to have a backup or two.