Was the "Mystery Of The Lost Coral" ever solved?

[revhtree]

We've all been there. The water parameters are good, at least we think they are. The other corals are growing and doing great. All is well in our saltwater reef aquarium and then BAM one of your corals bite the dust! But why? We scramble to solve the mystery. What did my kid put in the tank? But wait the other corals are fine. Do I have a coral predator that only like to eat the most expensive acro frags? Maybe this or that happened, we flip flop ideas around in our head only to come to the conclusion that there is no conclusion. Why it died was a mystery.........until it wasn't! Let's talk about it today!

1. Have you mysteriously lost a coral and then eventually found out what the cause was? What was the cause?

2. What do you think are the biggest reasons why people "mysteriously" lose coral?

image via @hometown9

 

[Pico bam]

Typically when I was starting out phosphates where what was really biting me. Several brown jelly events. Othere than that still have alot of mystery acro deaths, tbh now that I'm thinking about it most likely bad flow and low light on my end but not sure. It can be difficult to have a mixed reef, trying to keep perfect conditions for a wide variety of corals is not easy.

 

[LadyMac]

I’ve actually lost a few. And by that I mean my lovely tiger pistol shrimp seems in cahoots with the hermit crabs. They will knock a frag down and then the pistol shrimp will decorate his cave with it. Then eject the skeleton when it’s no longer alive. I’ve lost several zoas. A flowerpot coral and all my macro algaes to this shrimp.

 

[Jilly92]

When I cleaned out my tank and took everything out I found about 5 plugs that had fallen behind the rockwork, due to my big butt Bertha snail I'm sure.

 

[WVNed]

Someone was taking them. I evicted them to the sump.

He said he is sorry.

 

[adsf430]

Went away for two days and came back to a perfectly healthy hammer colony just gone. Skeleton and all. Couldn't find anything in the sand and multiple fish stores told me that's impossible. Finally weeks later I see my pistol shrimp take it out of his cave. Just happy it didn't crash my nano tank. Not sure if he ate it or whatever happened but haven't had a repeat.

 

[Pico bam]

Someone was taking them. I evicted them to the sump.

He said he is sorry.

Thats a bigin make sure he doesn't dismantle your plumbing. ;Hilarious

 

[JcoralAnton]

Yeah, my acros. Black bugs and those things are vicious! My favorite part, experimenting on them. Only wish I had more access to some medications to see if I can kill them in a dip. Oh and found out after getting a microscope. Hard to see at first until it's too late.

 

[stephnjeph]

In the beginning it was alot of trial and error. I lost alot, some seemed to die off and/or die off and bounce back while other simply flourished. There weren't any forums to turn to in the early 90s and I hadn't yet finished my graduate studies. It all boiled down to lighting too much or too little, flow too much or too little, and general placement. After a while I figured out pump placement for ample flow and reef building/rock placement to help control the flow in certain areas. Then followed lighting and placement as they go hand and hand. Too much and they burn/melt too little and there is little to no growth and quite possibly a slow demise. Once I found flow and light balance within the tank, it was just simply maintaining good clean water parameters. I am a slow and patient reefer. Any addition to a DT comes one at a time with a minimum of 90 day waiting period to test and balance parameters before any further additions. It usually takes me 2-3 years to get a new DT stocked.

Funny story though in regards to missing coral. I had purchased a tiny blue ricordia on a plug many years ago. After putting it in my tank, I came back to view it and it had disappeared. It must have been blown off. I was unable to find it and assumed it was a goner. Fast forward 4 years and we are taking the tank down to replace it with a larger tank. While removing the rock that had been stacked against the back wall of the tank we found a colony of blue ricordia. If I remember correctly 8-12ish. Somehow that little bugger survived and thrived for years completely out of site.

 

[Jdjohnson89]

Had some torches and hammers mysteriously start dying and then one night I seen my emerald crab picking them apart

 

[jtf74]

I thought you meant lost as in couldn't find. My large female maroon clown will grab them and carry them off and drop them somewhere else if I put certain ones too close to her anemones. She doesn't mind softies but will move hard corals. I've seen her pic up and flip a rock that had to weigh more than she did.

 

[WVNed]

Thats a bigin make sure he doesn't dismantle your plumbing. ;Hilarious

ORP probe, Jebao wavemaker and the optical sensor for my ATO.

 

[DH78]

I once had a GSP die. Not long after, my cespitularia started to "melt". I thought all my parameters were good. I then noticed my refractometer calibration fluid was about 2 years old. I bought some new calibration fluid and my refractometer was off. My sg was around 1.022. I raised it back to 1.026 over the next week or so and the cesiptularia recovered. About a year later, it has claimed the large rock structure on the left side of my aquarium and even spawned once. I had no issues with any of the LPS corals in my tank at this time.

 

[BanjoBandito]

ORP probe, Jebao wavemaker and the optical sensor for my ATO.

WHY WOULD YOU KEEP SUCH A BRUTE????

 

[WVNed]

WHY WOULD YOU KEEP SUCH A BRUTE????

He's the little one of the three.

 

[BanjoBandito]

He's the little one of the three.

 

[Goaway]

1. Have you mysteriously lost a coral and then eventually found out what the cause was? What was the cause?
I had an emerald crab nipping at my oldest goni frag. He was grabbed and bagged a few minutes after. My tuxedo urchin will take up any unsecured frag and roam around the tank with them.
I never lost a coral from any inhabitant of my aquarium that I can visually see without a microscope.

2. What do you think are the biggest reasons why people "mysteriously" lose coral?

1. The LFS saying "this is reef safe, don't worry." So they aren't willing to think of this reef safe fish, crab, shrimp of being a coral muncher.

2. A hitch hiker they just didn't know was lurking in a dark place. Lack of observation at night to catch them in the act of hunting.

Probably other reasons I can't think of right now.

 

[jcaqua]

So random this would come up today on my feed. For whatever reason my clowns are having a lovers tiff and the rest of the tank is really feeling it. I’ve spent all evening looking for a 2 headed orange euphyllia frag that’s gone down to the bottom over night and amazingly vanished, last resort is to lift my rock work to see which of my pistol shrimps has stolen my coral for decoration.

Edit: confirmed pistol shrimp had it. Saved and remounted, let’s try again!

 

[Reefjockey]

In the beginning it was alot of trial and error. I lost alot, some seemed to die off and/or die off and bounce back while other simply flourished. There weren't any forums to turn to in the early 90s and I hadn't yet finished my graduate studies. It all boiled down to lighting too much or too little, flow too much or too little, and general placement. After a while I figured out pump placement for ample flow and reef building/rock placement to help control the flow in certain areas. Then followed lighting and placement as they go hand and hand. Too much and they burn/melt too little and there is little to no growth and quite possibly a slow demise. Once I found flow and light balance within the tank, it was just simply maintaining good clean water parameters. I am a slow and patient reefer. Any addition to a DT comes one at a time with a minimum of 90 day waiting period to test and balance parameters before any further additions. It usually takes me 2-3 years to get a new DT stocked.

Funny story though in regards to missing coral. I had purchased a tiny blue ricordia on a plug many years ago. After putting it in my tank, I came back to view it and it had disappeared. It must have been blown off. I was unable to find it and assumed it was a goner. Fast forward 4 years and we are taking the tank down to replace it with a larger tank. While removing the rock that had been stacked against the back wall of the tank we found a colony of blue ricordia. If I remember correctly 8-12ish. Somehow that little bugger survived and thrived for years completely out of site.

The best is learning your coral have legs and like to mess with you! haha

 

[debees5]

Someone was taking them. I evicted them to the sump.

He said he is sorry.