These punks have been eating my LPS. ID anyone?

[eraserhead187]

These tools have torn up my torch, and I suspect have started in on my Duncan. They came in on an elegance (Of course), and annihilated that. Should have dipped it, but it was from a very reliable LFS. Oops... They're going to replace the elegance for me, but can somebody tell me what these guys are, and how I can treat the tank to get rid of them before I add anything else? I've dipped the other LPS already, but the torch is the only one that really dropped any of these. Only LPS seems affected (so far).

Thanks!

!

 

[Crabs McJones]

They look like common bristleworms. Are you sure they're munching on your LPS? can you snap a pic of the coral? It's unlikely as they mainly feed on detritus on the tank bottom and stay hidden in rockwork.

 

[eraserhead187]

They look like common bristleworms. Are you sure they're munching on your LPS? can you snap a pic of the coral? It's unlikely as they mainly feed on detritus on the tank bottom and stay hidden in rockwork.

They are still ticked off from the dip. I will post a pic when the torch's mood improves. I thought they just looked like bristle worms too. I didn't see any of them ON the coral when I dipped it. It's like they dropped out of the guts of the torch or something. I took a careful look at it and couldn't really see anything. Can you think of anything else that could be consuming the LPS? It's not brown jelly or anything like that, the tissue just seems to disappear and leave clean skeleton behind. I have to believe it is something that came in on the elegance, since everything was fine until then... I'll get some pics a little later and post them. Thanks!!

 

[tehmadreefer]

Bristle worms are not eating your lps. Something else is.

 

[eraserhead187]

You know what, I also have asterina starfish appearing everywhere too. You think they could be doing it? I usually just see them on the glass eating algae. If so, how can I get rid of them?

 

[Robg139]

Usually red planaria is a big destroyer of lps. I would dip everything and see if flatworms come out or off any lps

 

[tehmadreefer]

You know what, I also have asterina starfish appearing everywhere too. You think they could be doing it? I usually just see them on the glass eating algae. If so, how can I get rid of them?

They can sometimes, but usually there are certain ones that go after sps. I would remove them as they multiply fast.

Either pull them out with your hands or get a harlequin shrimp, they eat starfish.

 

[scardall]

They are still ticked off from the dip. I will post a pic when the torch's mood improves. I thought they just looked like bristle worms too. I didn't see any of them ON the coral when I dipped it. It's like they dropped out of the guts of the torch or something. I took a careful look at it and couldn't really see anything. Can you think of anything else that could be consuming the LPS? It's not brown jelly or anything like that, the tissue just seems to disappear and leave clean skeleton behind. I have to believe it is something that came in on the elegance, since everything was fine until then... I'll get some pics a little later and post them. Thanks!!

I have not seen bristle worms eat a healthy coral or clam. They may eat a dieing coral or clam. I have small ones now and they have not bothered my LPS. Good luck I had these in the past.

 

[Saltyreef]

Those little stars eat my zoas, and usually only the high ends of course. So i wouldnt put it past them to munch on other things. Some say theyre harmless. I say nuke em all!

 

[eraserhead187]

He's still very upset from the dip, but you can see where entire heads have just vanished,

 

[MichaelReefer]

He's still very upset from the dip, but you can see where entire heads have just vanished,

Have you seen any of the polyps floating around in the tank? Maybe BJS? Had a similar thing happen to one of my torches about a year ago. Was very little jelly but it just lost all of the polyps within a few days,

 

[reef lover]

Polyp bail out...somethings off in the tank.
Parameters?

 

[siggy]

Bristle worms are not eating your lps. Something else is.

Either pull them out with your hands or get a harlequin shrimp, they eat starfish.

After my Peppermint shrimp ate all the aptasia he started on my lps

 

[eraserhead187]

Polyp bail out...somethings off in the tank.
Parameters?

So here's an update, all the LPS continued to decline while nothing else is affected. I dipped what was left of my torch, bubble coral and duncan and transferred them to another tank. All three have stopped losing tissue and seem to be making a recovery and are looking a little better every day. I did notice more of those little baby bristle worms falling out of them. They all look the same as the photo I posted.

The other piece of bubble coral in my main tank has pretty much been totally consumed at this point. Still no idea what is causing this. Here are my water parameters:

SG 1.023
ALK - 8.9
NH3 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 15
P - 18ppb
Ca - 339ppm (A little low, just dosed some after taking reading)
Mg - 600ppm (Old test kit, redid and its 980ppm)
Temp 78F

Anybody have any new ideas?

 

[Saltyreef]

Your mag is extremely low for coral to utilize alk or calcium.
Shoot for 1400ppm for mag. Also the salinity is a little too low for comfort. Your salt mixes wont be strong enough to sustain life long term.
Sorry for not re-reading but what are you using to measure salinity and are you reactively dosing or do you have a dosing schedule? Auto or manual?

 

[MichaelReefer]

Your mag is extremely low for coral to utilize alk or calcium.
Shoot for 1400ppm for mag. Also the salinity is a little too low for comfort. Your salt mixes wont be strong enough to sustain life long term.
Sorry for not re-reading but what are you using to measure salinity and are you reactively dosing or do you have a dosing schedule? Auto or manual?

That Salinity is awfully low. I would try and get it closer to 1.027 I would slowly add more for your water changes. Like, make your water change water 1.030, and every time you do a water change check your water an hour later and see what its at. Keep doing that until you're where you like it so you don't put your tank into shock.

 

[eraserhead187]

Oh wow, I didn't realize

Your mag is extremely low for coral to utilize alk or calcium.
Shoot for 1400ppm for mag. Also the salinity is a little too low for comfort. Your salt mixes wont be strong enough to sustain life long term.
Sorry for not re-reading but what are you using to measure salinity and are you reactively dosing or do you have a dosing schedule? Auto or manual?

Ow wow, I didn't realize that 1.023 was terribly low. This tank has been operating for over 2 years ranging from about 1.022-1.025. I use a refractometer to measure, and I add some salt to my ATO reservoir. Do you have a suggestion for how best to keep the salinity up that high and stable using my ATO instead of water changes? I use reef crystals. That all being said, the system had been stable and everything was going fine coral-wise until I introduced the Elegance into there.

 

[eraserhead187]

I just dosed some Mg also to try to get that up. Is it possible that the elegance being introduced was a coincidence? But will Mg around that level cause coral tissue to actually disappear? It was like it was being consumed. I would think that it would just fail to grow and thrive, rather than be quickly killed off if the minerals were the main issue. Thanks guys.

 

[MichaelReefer]

Oh wow, I didn't realize

Ow wow, I didn't realize that 1.023 was terribly low. This tank has been operating for over 2 years ranging from about 1.022-1.025. I use a refractometer to measure, and I add some salt to my ATO reservoir. Do you have a suggestion for how best to keep the salinity up that high and stable using my ATO instead of water changes? I use reef crystals. That all being said, the system had been stable and everything was going fine coral-wise until I introduced the Elegance into there.

I've always kept mine at 1.027 personally. I was taught that is about the range you're looking for. When your water evaporates the salt is left over, so your ATO should keep it stable. Your water changes are more of replenishing trace elements, not really keeping salinity stable.

 

[tehmadreefer]

1.024 - 1.026 is the recommended salinity that’s been in place for decades now. And yes, MG is VERY low.