Troubles in Gary's Reef Land

[Gary]

My hammers are separating from their skeleton. One separated about a week ago. Others are in the process of separating. It is not looking good for their future. All the water parameters look reasonable to me. Triton test is in the mail somewhere. The sample may have frozen! Any ideas or suggested actions are welcome?
Thanks, Gary
Ca - 425
Mg - 1560
Kh - 9.1
Sg -1.025
PH - 8.15
Temp - 79.8
Water Change - 8% weekly
Salt - IO Reef Crystals

[jfishwild]

Dip it see if you have a pest

[AJ]

Mag seems quite high, what test kit are you using to test that parameter?

[Gary]

I dipped them a week ago in Coral Rx.
I'm using the Reef Foundation Pro Test Kit. Two weeks ago Mg was 1340, two weeks before that 1380, two weeks before that 1560.

[Kenn]

Have to ask.. have you tested the basics? Ammonia nitrite nitrate?

[Gary]

Yep.
NO2 - zero
NO3 - zero
PO4 - near zero - no color that I could see on the 0.03 (Salifert Test Kit)
NH4 - zero

[Kenn]

Could it be brown jelly disease? The photo seems to have a brown discoloration around the areas that are dying.

I would dip it regardless. you have nothing to loose IMO

[mrbh22]

Could be a silly question but how much flow are they getting?

Have you added anything new to the tank recently? Changed carbon or gfo? New rodi filters? I dont know man. I hope you figure it out asap! I hate to see pretty corals struggle.

Best of luck.

[Gary]

I think the tank has good flow. Gyre 150 provides the circulation in the 75 gal display (sand dunes from it) and a 500gph pump on the 55 gal refugium return. I have been reading about the brown jelly disease (BJD) that Kenn suggested. Thanks Kenn! I'm going to put the coral under the microscope to see if ciliate protozoan are present.  Ciliate protozoa are heterotrophs (feed on smaller organisms - bacteria and algae). They are also like algae, always present and opportunistic. There appears to be a number of possible causes.
Thanks,
Gary

[Gary]

A few zoas and sunsets added in the December. RODI is good, no resent change, TDS is 001 at the tank auto top off. I change GFO and carbon every month. I did change from IO to IO Reef crystals in November. I have been trying to keep my hands out of the tank and reduce the amount of food too.

[Kenn]

Gary, did you get a chance to put a sample under the scope?

[Gary]

Kenn,
I did. It is a very scary micro world. Lots of critters. The flesh of the coral would appear to be eaten from the inside. The green part of the hammer looks fine, but there is nothing inside and the inner surface is brown (no  rotting/decaying flesh inside).  I didn't see the ciliate protozoa, but there were numerous other things. There were large number of worm like critters under and maybe in the flesh of the coral. They were only a speck to the naked eye. The head is the shape of a salamander and the body is tapered. There are cilia along the body. They could be attacking the coral or just consuming the decaying meat or both. They were active down between the skeleton and the tissue. The healthy tissue is white, similar in appear to shrimp tissue. I dipped it in Coral Rx and wash out the parasites that I could. The Coral Rx did NOT seem to kill them. I did dissect a small portion of the coral tissue ( very difficult because it is so small) but I didn't find a predators in that piece.  I need to get a digital camera microscope so I capture the images.
We will see how it looks in the morning.
Gary

[Wall_Tank]

If stressed Euphyllia will sometimes drop polyps.  Its a form of reproduction, or trying to stay alive.   Brown Jelly, normally consumes all of the tissue.  My 50+ head colony just dropped a few heads, when my tube nem decided to take up residence under the shade of the coral.   Only a small area affected.   But once that happens, or if it were brown jelly, there is no real way to recover.

[Gary]

Paul,
The tissue is receding from the skeleton. The separated tissue maybe trying to establish itself, but the under side looks white/gray. There is a piece establish in the refugium now.  This colony has four heads, three have completely separated. There is another colony of golden hammers that the tissue has receded up the stalk as well. Something is making them unhappy. I will continue with the weekly water changes to improve water quality.
Thanks,
Gary

[Gary]

Triton results are here!

[Wall_Tank]

Everything is fairly as expected.   This would lead you to a pest or bacterial issue.

[Gary]

I have attached a photo of the flat worms that were on the small Purple Torch on 27 Jan dipped in Coral Rx. I also dipped the big Torch, Green Hammer, Golden Hammer, Pink Boobie, and Green Slimer that same night. No critters were found.  I dipped the Duncan's last night in Coral Rx. I didn't see any critters. If I assuming it is bacterial, what should I do to control it?
Thanks,
Gary

[delta1190]

Have a flatworm or two wow