From this lil bitty thing back in 09
to This:
Which was taken last July (2010) along with the next photo
Now picture THAT all the way at the top of the water level with the trunk almost another inch in diameter (because I have no recent shots of the healthy coral in all it's glory)
And this is what it looks like today (sorry about the window reflection) >>
It's VERY unhappy. I accidently tore the middle of the top (forget the actual name -capitulum or something like that?) a couple days ago trying to get some GSP off a rock behind it, and it is moping. I really think I'm just going to bite the bullet and cut it off at the base and get it out of there. Now with damage, I'm really concerned for the health of the rest of my corals.
Check out this snippet I found while browsing tonight:
In fact, Sarcophytons are producers of over fifty different chemical compounds, many of them unknown and of uncertain chemical makeup..... Specifically, the toxin of this coral is called sarcophytoxide. Sarcophine is another terpenoid toxin isolated from Sarcophyton glaucum. These compounds are so effective that in almost no cases will stony corals be unaffected by them, and growth inhibition, local necrosis and death usually ensue contact of Sarcophyton corals. In other words, in a war between soft corals and hard corals, the soft corals will almost invariably be victorious.
Given this information, and the obvious complications that arise in a close system aquaria, it should not be surprising that there are beginning to be many reports of mysterious unexplainable recession of stony corals in tanks housing large specimens or many types of soft corals. Some stony corals seem infinitely more sensitive to the terpenoid compounds of Sarcophyton . Others seem comparatively unaffected. However, the obvious zonations that occur in the wild should be carefully considered, and it is my opinion that soft corals and hard corals should be minimally intermixed, if at all. Sarcophyton , being considered a highly toxic species, does not seem to be a wise choice for displays with stony corals. ....Sarcophytons are exceptional corals that are fast growing, hardy, and reproducible. This makes them highly desirable, but just as we would not keep a parrotfish with our stony corals, Sarcophyton deserves similar respect for its own health... and the health of all the other inhabitants in the tank. The risk of one damaging other corals or killing fish is not worth the selfish motivation to keep all the species of a reef within one display. At least for me, leather is not optional.
Eric Borneman (Eric Hugo)
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