What is wrong with this acro frag?

Areseebee · Jun 5, 2026

Apparently I'm losing this frag and I'm just curious if anyone recognizes what is happening here? Is this a symptom of something obvious?

zheka757 · Jun 5, 2026

Looks like the acro was recently being fraged, didn't even encrusted yet, Have seeing that way to many times on acros that was shipped to me.

Personally I will never going to by any more frags if they are not encrusted onto a frag plug.

exnisstech · Jun 5, 2026

I agree with @zheka757 . I won't buy frags that haven't started to encrust. They do much better if they're allowed to heal in the tank they grew in. JMO

Areseebee · Jun 5, 2026

I got a few of them and some of them just took off and encrusted out the whole plug in like 2 weeks. This one I guess won't but I'm kind of worried about the pattern here. I've seen RTN/STN and usually it's just white like all the flesh is gone, it looks different here like the skin is being eroded away.

zheka757 · Jun 6, 2026

Yeah, sounds like a similar story, dosent mean anything is wrong with your system, its just some frags cant handle the stress, stress like being just cut, within couple days weeks offered for sale, now its in completely new inviroment trying to survive after its being shipped/handled, I mean that's alot of stress for a tiny little 1/2" frags. After we pay $50 to a $100 minimal now days.
When i see frag being encrusted onto a plug, at least I know that its being cut at least a month ago or more. And its actually growing. Giving it a way more chance to survive.

zheka757 · Jun 6, 2026

Btw when vendors say, this coral is "healed" all it means is coral didnt die during that 1 ir 2 weeks after being cut. Its still a very, very sick/weak coral that cannot take alot of stress.

slingfox · Jun 6, 2026

Areseebee said:
I got a few of them and some of them just took off and encrusted out the whole plug in like 2 weeks. This one I guess won't but I'm kind of worried about the pattern here. I've seen RTN/STN and usually it's just white like all the flesh is gone, it looks different here like the skin is being eroded away.

If you ordered multiple SPS frags and you have only one death out of many then it may just be happenstance. As you collect more coral you’ll figure out which vendors are more reliable. Once you find a set of vendors you trust then stick with them.

Areseebee · Jun 6, 2026

Yeah there are multiple and many are doing well, it just worried be because I don't really recognize what's happening to it so I thought it might be a telltale sign of something id never experienced (like most pests).

X-37B · Jun 6, 2026

Areseebee said:
Apparently I'm losing this frag and I'm just curious if anyone recognizes what is happening here? Is this a symptom of something obvious?

If it was mine I would frag it above the area of concern.
What is that frag plug? Never saw one like that before.