Systemic coral death, HELP

[SeamusHarper]

In a span of a week, many of my corals have died suddenly.

Last week, a giant torch that has been in the tank for over 4 months died within three days, losing many tentacles a day, leaving only a brown stump.

My hammer coral followed the same process a few days later and now it's gone.

This morning I awoke to find the skin peeling off my Jack O Lantern, exposing white skeleton below. I also noticed a small white worm travelling along the edge so perhaps this is the culprit?

I'm also noticing webbing hanging off some of the corals, I have no idea what's going on!

Nothing has been added to the tank for over 2 months.

Temp: 77-78

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Nitrate: ~20 ppm

pH: 8.2

Alkalinity: 9 dKH

Calcium: 400 ppm

Magnesium: 1,200 ppm

Salinity: 1.025

 

[EnterName]

If you have photos of the issue or the whole tank this could help the community to help you
Turn off the heavy blue lights and use neutral/white light if you take photos, this usually helps to keep things visible.


As for the white worm, it's hard to tell without images, but many organisms will simply profit from the biofilm that establishes when corals die, so it might just be something that helps to clean up the dead tissue.

Phosphate, flow, and light are the next potential candidates to check, and finally an ICP-MS test would help to find out if something like copper or zinc got into your tank. There are obviously more dangerous substances, but those can be introduced quite easily and are extremely toxic to corals.

 

[SeamusHarper]

Here is the Jack this morning

 

[EnterName]

(Ex)aiptasia can hurt corals and "walk" so this obviously can cause tissue necrosis, but then the edges of the coral would be hurt, not something in the middle.

That guy however, looks a bit more suspicious. I can't identify it properly, but maybe, that's the issue.

 

[SeamusHarper]

I haven't observed the (Ex)aiptasia moving, it's been stuck to that coral since it was placed in the tank months ago from what I have seen (it may be moving around and returning to it's spot I suppose). Should I remove it?

The worm disappeared shortly after I took the picture unfortunately.

 

[EnterName]

I haven't observed the (Ex)aiptasia moving, it's been stuck to that coral since it was placed in the tank months ago from what I have seen (it may be moving around and returning to it's spot I suppose). Should I remove it?

The worm disappeared shortly after I took the picture unfortunately.

They can move but don't have to. It's probably sitting still there and doesn't move.
These are still pests that can take over the entire tank and need to be treated properly to avoid them from spreading.

Don't scrape it off, they can regrow from small fragments of pedal tissue so scraping them can spread them. If you can take out the rock it's sitting on for an appropriate treatment I would advise to do so. You can use dedicated products like Aip-Away, Elimi-Aiptas, Aiptasia-X, and others to dissolve the anemone. Then rinse the spot thoroughly and return the rock to the tank.
If you can't take the rock out stick very closely to the instructions of the product you want to use. Kalkpaste works as well and many people simply cover the spot in glue.

The "worm" looks like a potential nudibranch. These usually have very specific diets and don't survive in tanks for long if they aren't specialized on something that we have in our tanks (like corals). A tiny selection of them is beneficial like Berghia sp. that are specialized on Aiptasiidae so they can be effectively used against an infestation. However, some are more generally "corallivore" and start eating coral tissue.

I would wait until the lights are off for a while and then check all corals with a flashlight. Maybe you see any sort of parasites. You will certainly see copepods, isopods, and amphipods. Those are fine, most bristleworms will be fine as well, but if you see flatworms, or the nudibranch again, try to take it out.

 

[SeamusHarper]

I know I have a number of pods, I've seen them moving within the coral and I also have stomatellas.

I don't think I've seen flatworms yet but I'll keep an eye out for the worm I saw this morning.

Lights are off right now, I don't see anything although I'm seeing webbing on some corals and last night I saw a thick mucous wafting out of another coral.

I don't know what to do from here, I don't want to lose all the corals in my tank whilst having no idea what's going on

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

My jack o lantern occasionally gets little white spots, I don't know what they are but they usually heal within a day or two. Overall it looks rather fine to me.

But the first line of your post says many corals have died, what exactly died? Where is the picture of the torch? Can you post picture of other affected corals? Pictures of the webbing hanging off the corals? Can you post a full tank picture so we can see everything?

Can you tell us about your lighting and flow?

 

[SeamusHarper]

My jack o lantern occasionally gets little white spots, I don't know what they are but they usually heal within a day or two. Overall it looks rather fine to me.

But the first line of your post says many corals have died, what exactly died? Where is the picture of the torch? Can you post picture of other affected corals? Pictures of the webbing hanging off the corals? Can you post a full tank picture so we can see everything?

Can you tell us about your lighting and flow?

Yea but I can see the orange flesh peeling off and exposing the white underneath. That has never happened.

I've had a torch coral die as well as a hammer coral and now the upper layer of the Jack O Lantern is ripping off.

The torch was gone in a few days. At first the tentacles kept coming off, then it shriveled, then one morning I woke up and all was left was the base and a bunch of brown mush.

I've attached a photo of the hammer but it's a bad picture.

Lighting is two Kessils that go on 8 hours a day, blue light. Flow is an MP40 in the top left corner in Reef Crest mode, and filter is Marine Land Emperor 450.

 

[mcarroll]

Lighting is two Kessils that go on 8 hours a day, blue light. Flow is an MP40 in the top left corner in Reef Crest mode, and filter is Marine Land Emperor 450.

Why not a standard tropical day at 12 hours?

And you're running maximum blue on the slider with no colors (R,G,V) and no white?

RGV are not necessary. But a little white usually looks better at the very least, but may also boost your corals.

What intensity level are you running? And how high are the lights from the water surface?

It's difficult (or impossible, depending on the tank) to get good flow with only a single pump.

I'd consider adding a second pump.

It's even dodgier to attempt a single pump flow situation with a relatively weak (low velocity) pump like the MP40.

What are the dimensions of this tank?

If the tank is more than 24" wide I think I would *definitely* add a second pump.

 

[SeamusHarper]

@mcarroll This is what my previous fish guy set it at.

The tank is close to a window and a very sunny room that gets sun early in the morning so I'm not sure if that enough light before the Kessil's kick in.

It's mostly blue light with a hint of white light and the lights are about 9" from the water. I think they're turned up all the way.

My fish guy did say I'd need a second pump at some point, especially because my tank is 60" long.

It's 24" tall and 11" wide (it's fairly narrow).

 

[mcarroll]

@mcarroll This is what my previous fish guy set it at.

The tank is close to a window and a very sunny room that gets sun early in the morning so I'm not sure if that enough light before the Kessil's kick in.

It's mostly blue light with a hint of white light and the lights are about 9" from the water. I think they're turned up all the way.

My fish guy did say I'd need a second pump at some point, especially because my tank is 60" long.

It's 24" tall and 11" wide (it's fairly narrow).

The lights need to be 4-5" from the water due to the WIDE lens angle on the Kessils. At 8" you are losing light/wasting power over the rim of the tank.

A 60" tank is FAR too much volume for the one MP40 to cover. They're good to flow a 24x24x24" area and not really more. A higher velocity pump like a Tunze 6105 would do a lot better, but I'd still recommend two of them.

This thread might help you see which pump(s) would be a good fit for your tank:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/flow-reach-by-pump-model.128376/

The inexpensive 6045 pump would be a better fit than the MP40. Unlike the MP40, one would at least reach more than 50% across the tank, two of them would be good coverage that overlaps a bit. Two of these 6045's outperformed two MP40's in my tank, BTW, although they are not controllable. (Their flow is manually adjustable, for what that's worth.)

They are bigger and with a lot more flow, but two 6085's would be a more or less perfect fit for your tank.

The 6105 would be the ideal controllable model, IMO.

Tunze also has some newer pumps (all wider flow than these, so maybe not as high velocity) not addressed by that thread that may work. I'd give rvitko (add an "@" to the beginning of his username to tag him) a shout if you want to consider those and see what he thinks....he runs Tunze USA.

 

[Hillz]

They can move but don't have to. It's probably sitting still there and doesn't move.
These are still pests that can take over the entire tank and need to be treated properly to avoid them from spreading.

Don't scrape it off, they can regrow from small fragments of pedal tissue so scraping them can spread them. If you can take out the rock it's sitting on for an appropriate treatment I would advise to do so. You can use dedicated products like Aip-Away, Elimi-Aiptas, Aiptasia-X, and others to dissolve the anemone. Then rinse the spot thoroughly and return the rock to the tank.
If you can't take the rock out stick very closely to the instructions of the product you want to use. Kalkpaste works as well and many people simply cover the spot in glue.

The "worm" looks like a potential nudibranch. These usually have very specific diets and don't survive in tanks for long if they aren't specialized on something that we have in our tanks (like corals). A tiny selection of them is beneficial like Berghia sp. that are specialized on Aiptasiidae so they can be effectively used against an infestation. However, some are more generally "corallivore" and start eating coral tissue.

I would wait until the lights are off for a while and then check all corals with a flashlight. Maybe you see any sort of parasites. You will certainly see copepods, isopods, and amphipods. Those are fine, most bristleworms will be fine as well, but if you see flatworms, or the nudibranch again, try to take it out.

Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

How many watts is your kessil lights? What intensity is it on? I see a lot of shadowing on the sand, I see zoa's on the top rocks, so I'm wondering about the lights. Lets eliminate this possibility.

 

[Freenow54]

They can move but don't have to. It's probably sitting still there and doesn't move.
These are still pests that can take over the entire tank and need to be treated properly to avoid them from spreading.

Don't scrape it off, they can regrow from small fragments of pedal tissue so scraping them can spread them. If you can take out the rock it's sitting on for an appropriate treatment I would advise to do so. You can use dedicated products like Aip-Away, Elimi-Aiptas, Aiptasia-X, and others to dissolve the anemone. Then rinse the spot thoroughly and return the rock to the tank.
If you can't take the rock out stick very closely to the instructions of the product you want to use. Kalkpaste works as well and many people simply cover the spot in glue.

The "worm" looks like a potential nudibranch. These usually have very specific diets and don't survive in tanks for long if they aren't specialized on something that we have in our tanks (like corals). A tiny selection of them is beneficial like Berghia sp. that are specialized on Aiptasiidae so they can be effectively used against an infestation. However, some are more generally "corallivore" and start eating coral tissue.

I would wait until the lights are off for a while and then check all corals with a flashlight. Maybe you see any sort of parasites. You will certainly see copepods, isopods, and amphipods. Those are fine, most bristleworms will be fine as well, but if you see flatworms, or the nudibranch again, try to take it out.

All I know is that Berghia Nudibranch do not appear on there own. So I suspect something entirely different. They are sold specifically to eat Aiptasia when its gone they die . There is no mention of them eating coral . Do a search yourself , you can buy them. This is a picture of what they look like from a website that sells then. I no nothing about chemical treatment. Something I choose to try and avoid. Just a personel thing

 

[EnterName]

They can move but don't have to. It's probably sitting still there and doesn't move.
These are still pests that can take over the entire tank and need to be treated properly to avoid them from spreading.

Don't scrape it off, they can regrow from small fragments of pedal tissue so scraping them can spread them. If you can take out the rock it's sitting on for an appropriate treatment I would advise to do so. You can use dedicated products like Aip-Away, Elimi-Aiptas, Aiptasia-X, and others to dissolve the anemone. Then rinse the spot thoroughly and return the rock to the tank.
If you can't take the rock out stick very closely to the instructions of the product you want to use. Kalkpaste works as well and many people simply cover the spot in glue.

The "worm" looks like a potential nudibranch. These usually have very specific diets and don't survive in tanks for long if they aren't specialized on something that we have in our tanks (like corals). A tiny selection of them is beneficial like Berghia sp. that are specialized on Aiptasiidae so they can be effectively used against an infestation. However, some are more generally "corallivore" and start eating coral tissue.

I would wait until the lights are off for a while and then check all corals with a flashlight. Maybe you see any sort of parasites. You will certainly see copepods, isopods, and amphipods. Those are fine, most bristleworms will be fine as well, but if you see flatworms, or the nudibranch again, try to take it out.

All I know is that Berghia Nudibranch do not appear on there own. So I suspect something entirely different. They are sold specifically to eat Aiptasia when its gone they die . There is no mention of them eating coral . Do a search yourself , you can buy them. This is a picture of what they look like from a website that sells then. I no nothing about chemical treatment. Something I choose to try and avoid. Just a personel thing

OP's worm/nudibranch lacks Cerata, it looks very smooth so I don't think it's a Berghia species.

 

[Freenow54]

OP's worm/nudibranch lacks Cerata, it looks very smooth so I don't think it's a Berghia species.

Like I said its from a web site Specifically Fragbox Corals " small Berghia Nudibranch

 

[EnterName]

OP's worm/nudibranch lacks Cerata, it looks very smooth so I don't think it's a Berghia species.

Like I said its from a web site Specifically Fragbox Corals " small Berghia Nudibranch

I might have misunderstood what you were trying to say sorry about that

 

[SeamusHarper]

How many watts is your kessil lights? What intensity is it on? I see a lot of shadowing on the sand, I see zoa's on the top rocks, so I'm wondering about the lights. Lets eliminate this possibility.

They are 40 watts each, full intensity. Zoa's were placed there by my fish guy. What's wrong with the shadowing? Won't shadow be cast under the rock work?

@mcarroll I will definitely look into some new pumps. I think the plan was eventually to get two but just to get me started, my fish guy put in the single MP40 which I know isn't enough.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I'm sorry but I think lighting is a part of the issue, 2 lights at 40 watts each on your size tank is not sufficient. My 40 gallon tank has double this wattage