Annnnd my tear drop is toast.
And then there were 3 ... 15 a year ago, all long-term multi-year individuals some as old as 6 or 7 years ... and poof, just like that, all done. One by one.
What sucks is he's not completely dead but he's past the point of no return, I'll post a picture you can see what I mean .. but I think once you see the inside of the shell because the body has shrunk, that's really it.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place but have to go out of town tomorrow for 2 or 3 days for the sake of the family. If it were my choice I'd stay home and see how it goes because I always cling to the "what if it turns around" faint hope but I can't risk leaving it in there. So I have to do something I really wish I didn't have to do.
But the reef collective is more important than any one individual therein..