Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board  

Go Back   Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board > General > Reef

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 11-17-2010, 03:14 AM
trilinearmipmap trilinearmipmap is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Prince Rupert B.C.
Posts: 1,213
trilinearmipmap is on a distinguished road
Default Acro bleaching question

I have a purple Acro, in the past 9 months or so it has grown nicely from a 2" frag to several inches across. A couple of days ago I moved a powerhead, and inadvertently one branch of the Acro was being blasted full force by a Tunze 6105 Stream from about 3" away.

Yesterday I noticed the tip of that branch was bleaching so I moved the powerhead away from the coral. Today about the last 3/4" of that branch is bleached, the rest of the Acro looks fine. All routine water parameters (temp, Alk, Ca, Mg) are within normal limits, nitrate is zero to 0.5 and all the other corals are fine.

My question is, will the bleaching spread to the rest of the Acro and should I trim off the bleached branch to prevent it spreading? Obviously mechanical trauma started the bleaching problem but if there is some kind of infection setting in on the damaged part of the coral then would removing that branch help?
__________________
120 gallon sps/anemones/LPS reef since 2004
Apex controller
8 x 54 watt T5 PowerModule
Herbie's silent overflow system
Jebao DC 12000 return pump
Jecod CP-40 Cross-flow circulation device
Mini Bubble King 180
Barr Aquatics calcium reactor
Bucket fuge

Last edited by trilinearmipmap; 11-17-2010 at 03:16 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 11-17-2010, 03:32 AM
lorenz0's Avatar
lorenz0 lorenz0 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: calgary
Posts: 1,317
lorenz0 is on a distinguished road
Default

are you sure its bleached or rtn'ing. I did the same thing when I first got into SPS and even after moving the powerhead it eventually rtn'd on me
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 11-17-2010, 05:11 PM
Myka's Avatar
Myka Myka is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Saskatoon, SK.
Posts: 11,268
Myka will become famous soon enough
Default

I would guess there is tissue recession (different than RTN and STN) from the damaging effect of blasting the coral. I would watch very closely, and if the recession doesn't stop I would clip that branch off at least 1/2" from the edge of the bad tissue.
__________________
~ Mindy

SPS fanatic.

Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 11-17-2010, 06:12 PM
ScubaSteve ScubaSteve is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 1,591
ScubaSteve is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Myka View Post
I would guess there is tissue recession (different than RTN and STN) from the damaging effect of blasting the coral. I would watch very closely, and if the recession doesn't stop I would clip that branch off at least 1/2" from the edge of the bad tissue.
+1 on trimming it if it looks like it's about to go off. Lots of SPS can just go POOF! like someone lighting a fuse once tissue recession starts. Watch it and if it looks to be stable, leave it and hope it will recover. Otherwise, trim the bugger. I'd still recommend breaking off the dead area to encourage the growth of a new axial corallite and branch. Make sure you keep the cut area clean of algae so it can grow back.

I made the mistake a while back of not fragging a colony when it started to receded. Not only did I end up losing 3/4 the colony by the time I finally did frag it to save the living pieces, it also triggered recession in neighbouring colonies. As soon and I got rid of the dying parts in the big colony everything else in the tank was happy and healthy again.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 11-17-2010, 06:13 PM
Myka's Avatar
Myka Myka is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Saskatoon, SK.
Posts: 11,268
Myka will become famous soon enough
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScubaSteve View Post
I'd still recommend breaking off the dead area to encourage the growth of a new axial corallite and branch. Make sure you keep the cut area clean of algae so it can grow back.
Good call.
__________________
~ Mindy

SPS fanatic.

Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 11-17-2010, 08:43 PM
trilinearmipmap trilinearmipmap is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Prince Rupert B.C.
Posts: 1,213
trilinearmipmap is on a distinguished road
Default

OK thanks for the advice.

My plan is to remove the whole branch and attach it as a frag somewhere else on the rock, if the branch survives then great.
__________________
120 gallon sps/anemones/LPS reef since 2004
Apex controller
8 x 54 watt T5 PowerModule
Herbie's silent overflow system
Jebao DC 12000 return pump
Jecod CP-40 Cross-flow circulation device
Mini Bubble King 180
Barr Aquatics calcium reactor
Bucket fuge
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 11-17-2010, 09:01 PM
untamed's Avatar
untamed untamed is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Coquitlam
Posts: 2,248
untamed is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScubaSteve View Post
+1 on trimming it if it looks like it's about to go off. Lots of SPS can just go POOF! like someone lighting a fuse once tissue recession starts. Watch it and if it looks to be stable, leave it and hope it will recover. Otherwise, trim the bugger. I'd still recommend breaking off the dead area to encourage the growth of a new axial corallite and branch. Make sure you keep the cut area clean of algae so it can grow back.

I made the mistake a while back of not fragging a colony when it started to receded. Not only did I end up losing 3/4 the colony by the time I finally did frag it to save the living pieces, it also triggered recession in neighbouring colonies. As soon and I got rid of the dying parts in the big colony everything else in the tank was happy and healthy again.
I think this is excellent advice and is identical to experiences that I have had. I also would support the suggestion of "snapping" the dead end off, rather than "cutting/trimming". Sometimes the "snap" doesn't happen where you would like, but a snapped end regrows a new growth tip, while a trimmed end doesn't do it as quickly...and sometimes never.
__________________
400 gal reef. Established April, 2007. 3 Sequence Dart, RM12-4 skimmer, 2 x OM4Ways, Yellow Tang, Maroon Clown (pair), Blonde Naso Tang, Vlamingi Tang, Foxface Rabbit, Unicorn Tang, 2 Pakistani Butterflies and a few coral gobies

My Tank: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28436
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 11-17-2010, 09:57 PM
Myka's Avatar
Myka Myka is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Saskatoon, SK.
Posts: 11,268
Myka will become famous soon enough
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap View Post
My plan is to remove the whole branch and attach it as a frag somewhere else on the rock, if the branch survives then great.
I would suggest you just toss that piece in the garbage. You never know for sure what the problem is, so why risk one little frag for your whole tank? I remove anything questionable from my reef. My reef is worth too much (and I'm not just talking money) to risk a little frag over.
__________________
~ Mindy

SPS fanatic.

Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 04:17 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.