White tips on sps

[wdavid]

These have been in the tank for a bit more than a month now I believe. I've been noticing these 2 frags in particular gaining white tips. Are these just growth tips? I didn't think it was because the first stag with a few of branches have brown spots at the very tip of the white part making me believe it's dead there. The small blueberry fields frag just has tiny white parts by comparison.

Stable parameters at 435 cal, 7.4alk, 1380 mag, .5 nitrate and .08 phos

 

[Joe Batt]

Difficult to tell with the colour of the pictures but sounds like growth if parameters are stable. Unlikely to be burnt tips at that alkalinity

 

[wdavid]

Difficult to tell with the colour of the pictures but sounds like growth if parameters are stable. Unlikely to be burnt tips at that alkalinity

Yeah I was just worried about the dark ring at the tip of the coral, because I was under the assumption growth tips would be completely white.

Here's a photo I edited to show the color difference between the flesh, white parts and the very tip. Hopefully it'll help. I can try doing proper color correction when I'm on the computer later

 

[wdavid]

This is definitely STN I think? Here's birdsnest/ blueberry fields. Birdsnest is STN probably, not sure about blueberry.

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PC rainbow I believe? not sure, since its only tips.

Ice fire echinata - definitely STN?

Left of birdsnest - STN, the one left seems to be just growth tip? It has looked that way for weeks.

I've been slowly increasing my LED output from 25% to 40% over 3 weeks with the acclimation mode after adding T5s but I brought it back down to ab out 35% just in case I was doing it too fast/ too much. Other thing I can imagine why is because I'm slowly getting off zeovit but I didn't really start that process until after these white tips showed up on a few frags.

 

[Twocorns]

Def stn. I can see algae growing on the dead spots.

 

[wdavid]

Yeah the brownspot I mentioned in the 4th photo right? The PC rainbow's tip just looks weird but in person it's the same color as the body, so don't think it's algae. However it still seems like STN.

Honestly sort of expected side effects coming off of zeovit, but it's sad to see still. STN/RTN is pretty much not curable besides cutting off the tips right?

 

[HB AL]

Sometimes it stops on its own, sometimes it stops after a dip, sometimes it just keeps going till there’s nothing left. Fragging off good portions is a good idea to atleast save some of the coral. None of the photos look like new growth to me, definitely stn and possibly burnt tips.

 

[Benpastw]

It really doesn’t look like new growth, have you noticed the white regressing backwards over where there was once healthy flesh? The brown algae on the tips definitely hints towards it being the more undesirable outcome, all the sticks I’ve had that have died always started at the tips and bleached backwards slowly until they were just a algae skeleton. Sorry for the depressing outlook, I would recommend doing what @HB AL suggested and frag off the portions that are still alive. Good luck and happy reefing!

 

[Ashish Patel]

In my experience Acros STN when any parameter is not to their liking or if they have not been correctly acclimated to nutrients or lighting. It is notorious for happening in tanks thats not mature since SPs have a symbiotic relationship between microfauna, sponges, and bacteria that help them fend of certain diseases and ailments. Your rock looks pretty established so maybe look at your parameters over the past 2 weeks and make sure its not chemical. I had a scented candle cause some STN before and have also had it happen for a number of reasons (overlighting, nutrients, chemical, new coral stress, tank being too new, etc). If your tanks stable and you can rule out the cause just maintain your chemistry (focus on ALK, Phosphate, and Temp), and let them heal. Doing too many water changes (unless you know why your doing them), will cause them more harm especially since your ALK is lower.

 

[wdavid]

It really doesn’t look like new growth, have you noticed the white regressing backwards over where there was once healthy flesh? The brown algae on the tips definitely hints towards it being the more undesirable outcome, all the sticks I’ve had that have died always started at the tips and bleached backwards slowly until they were just a algae skeleton. Sorry for the depressing outlook, I would recommend doing what @HB AL suggested and frag off the portions that are still alive. Good luck and happy reefing!

Not that sad because it was expected while I was leaving zeovit. Let's just hope the others survive.

And overall it's definitely growing backwards into the skeleton so STN. Before the other frags showed symptoms I was confused but after these started it's pretty obvious it seems.

Thanks for the help everyone. I'll take STN/RTN home remedies though

 

[Ashish Patel]

I think your corals will bounce back, just take it slow and they will start growing over the dead skeleton in no time.

 

[HB AL]

I'll take STN/RTN home remedies though

Iodine dip
A bath in brightwell aquatics Frag recover and Koral md.
I’ve had some success after giving the affected corals a dip. Sometimes it just stops other times it continues. Fragging off the sections with good tissue has been the most effective. Figuring out what the cause of the stn is will help long term but I’ve found that to be difficult at times, when everything seems in check. Good luck..

 

[jda]

That looks like light burn... or possibly even ammonia. Most STN starts at the bottom and is a controlled, methodical climb to all of the branches.

 

[wdavid]

That looks like light burn... or possibly even ammonia. Most STN starts at the bottom and is a controlled, methodical climb to all of the branches.

Ammonia reading is 0 but I did add a liter of bio media and bacteria so I don't think that's the cause. I moved 2 of the worst frags to a bit shaded area and lowered my LEDs. Hopefully that makes things better. Buying some iodine and the brightwell dip to try things as well

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Could be starvation from not enough light. What is your light setup? Have you checked their par levels?

 

[wdavid]

Could be starvation from not enough light. What is your light setup? Have you checked their par levels?

I have 4 t5s for 6hrs + 2 xr15s for starting and ending 1 hr before/after the T5s. I'm waiting on the par meter from the club so I'm just on the low side for now to be safe. Recently upgraded from 2xr15s alone.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

They look just like mine did before I got a par meter. They look great for a couple weeks or months and then they have no PE, start to look dried up and the fade away, stn or even rtn. I kept guessing what my par levels were and wanted to be on the low/“safe” side. Turns out I was starving my acros because the par was under 100-150 in the majority of my tank. It’s true they survive longer in lower light versus TOO much light, but it’s my opinion that they need a lot of light. Too little light will slowly kill them.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

They look just like mine did before I got a par meter. They look great for a couple weeks or months and then they have no PE, start to look dried up and the fade away, stn or even rtn. I kept guessing what my par levels were and wanted to be on the low/“safe” side. Turns out I was starving my acros because the par was under 100-150 in the majority of my tank. It’s true they survive longer in lower light versus TOO much light, but it’s my opinion that they need a lot of light. Too little light will slowly kill them.

The same thing happened to me. I lost several Acro's due to what I thought was STN. I kept lowering my light level because I kept being told I had burnt tips. Well, finally my Monti Setosa bleached overnight. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I asked my LFS what to do. They looked at my light settings and told me that it was way too low. I copied their settings and increase my lights by 50% immediately. I then slowly raised my lights up to their settings via acclimation mode over six weeks. Within two days of increasing my lights by 50%, my Setosa started to color back up after being bleached for weeks. Now my corals look much more colorful and have a deeper color than before. Even my mushrooms look much better with the higher light.

I'm not saying that this is the OP's problem, but I do believe that I was slowly starving my corals. What I thought was burnt tips and STN was really the result of slowly killing my corals sue to a lack of light. Just a thought for those that have these issues.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

The same thing happened to me. I lost several Acro's due to what I thought was STN. I kept lowering my light level because I kept being told I had burnt tips. Well, finally my Monti Setosa bleached overnight. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I asked my LFS what to do. They looked at my light settings and told me that it was way too low. I copied their settings and increase my lights by 50% immediately. I then slowly raised my lights up to their settings via acclimation mode over six weeks. Within two days of increasing my lights by 50%, my Setosa started to color back up after being bleached for weeks. Now my corals look much more colorful and have a deeper color than before. Even my mushrooms look much better with the higher light.

I'm not saying that this is the OP's problem, but I do believe that I was slowly starving my corals. What I thought was burnt tips and STN was really the result of slowly killing my corals sue to a lack of light. Just a thought for those that have these issues.

Exactly. I’m not saying crank them all the way up. You still should be careful with leds but there has to be enough to provide photosynthesis, which acros need for energy. Every coral farmer I’ve talked to grows acros at 250-450. Some use leds some use t5 or metal halides, but they all say 250-450 par.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

The same thing happened to me. I lost several Acro's due to what I thought was STN. I kept lowering my light level because I kept being told I had burnt tips. Well, finally my Monti Setosa bleached overnight. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I asked my LFS what to do. They looked at my light settings and told me that it was way too low. I copied their settings and increase my lights by 50% immediately. I then slowly raised my lights up to their settings via acclimation mode over six weeks. Within two days of increasing my lights by 50%, my Setosa started to color back up after being bleached for weeks. Now my corals look much more colorful and have a deeper color than before. Even my mushrooms look much better with the higher light.

I'm not saying that this is the OP's problem, but I do believe that I was slowly starving my corals. What I thought was burnt tips and STN was really the result of slowly killing my corals sue to a lack of light. Just a thought for those that have these issues.

What kind of lighting do you use islandlifereef?