Tank problems

[christyf5]

Thanks for the input Jason.

Its not like anything really grows super fast in my tank. If anything they are gaining mere millimeters of growth and those that are faster growers are just frags. I agree about changing up the placement of my powerheads just to see if that is the problem but those corals that are experiencing the tissue recession have ample flow IMO, I can see their polyps waving about, so I'm not sure about that. But heck, I don't seem to be sure about much in this hobby so it can't hurt.

I think I'm going to take your advice about the refugium. Its only been set up for a short while (since about November) but that doesn't mean it can't be causing problems all on its own. There isn't much in there and what is in there isn't doing all that fantastically well anyways (its mostly a cyano/gack factory) so I'll have a go at cleaning up the sand and restarting it.

[danny zubot]

A couple of things I've been finding, A lot of my SPS are causing there own demise. They out grow the flow in the tank, or another SPS grows and cuts off flow to a part of another coral

I totally understand this catch 22. I've been trying to find the best way to set up flow in my tank so that my flow loving prostrata gets its share, while trying not to upset my milli and other acros. One suction cup from a ph came loose and directed flow right onto a milli for a day, it now has a dead patch, which doesn't seem to be growing at all thankfully. And where flow hits my caps directly, they grow brown hair algae! Whats up with that!

The bottom line is that I probably have too many large corals for my tank, and I can't accomidate all of them perfectly. As far as flow is concerned.

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by danny zubot

And where flow hits my caps directly, they grow brown hair algae! Whats up with that!

Caps don't deal well with direct flow. The flow is basically a shearing force, and the exposed skeleton gets the algae.

The bottom line is that I probably have too many large corals for my tank, and I can't accomidate all of them perfectly. As far as flow is concerned.

As much as I like caps that's basically the reason I don't have them any longer myself, they just grow too fast for my 75g.

[Samw]

I'm guessing it's bacteria such as vibrio.

[Bill]

Since it's mostly on one side of the tank, I'd bet it's either a crab or water flow problem on that side.

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Bill

Since it's mostly on one side of the tank, I'd bet it's either a crab or water flow problem on that side.

Well originally thats what I thought but now its happening on the other side of the tank as well.

[Snappy]

Christy,
Welcome to my world. I am having the same issues. Stuff like Digitata and monti caps all seem to do fine but many of my acros are suffering tissue loss at the base and I have lost about 8-10 nice size pieces in the last few months. I am at a loss as what to do, what isn't receeding seems to be loosing much of it's colour.

[Samw]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/eb/index.php

The Amazing Case of Vibrio shiloi

Several years ago, an article appeared that described the bacteria, Vibrio shiloi, as causing bleaching in the Mediterranean coral, Oculina patagonica (Kushmaro 1996). ...

However, one could have heard a pin drop during the elegant and outstanding presentation by Dr. Eugene Rosenberg of Tel Aviv University (Rosenberg 2002). This man single handedly threw the proverbial monkey wrench into the coral world that morning. In the years since the original articles have been published, Rosenberg's team has not only fulfilled Koch's postulates for this pathogen in a textbook-like fashion, but has proceeded to describe the etiology in an extremely impressive manner. I would urge those interested to read the articles listed below that relate to this disease. ...

In short, Vibrio shiloi is a newly described species of bacteria, related to V. mediterranei, with an as-yet undetermined reservoir; that is, it is not known where or if the presence of this bacteria is normal to the environment, or if it is somehow just recently showing up to affect the area. It follows the temperature cycles of the area precisely, and causes bleaching in warm months followed by recovery as the water temperature declines....

A new species of bacteria, Vibrio corallyticus, was consistently found in the tissues of the bleached Pocillopora at a level that already fulfills the first of Koch's postulates. The virulence is even more amazing. At 23° C, there are no visible signs of disease. At 25° C, bleaching occurs. At 27° C, there is rapid tissue lysis. A virulence factor is being produced by this bacteria that correlates extremely well with the temperatures commonly cited as causing coral bleaching....

However, the importance of looking at bleaching in an entirely new light is now at hand. It has often been questioned why corals in the wild would bleach with only a 1-2° C temperature change when other areas (including tanks) routinely experience far greater vacillations without any bleaching incidence. The fact that virulence can be expressed with this small temperature increase makes such accounts explainable. Furthermore, with temperatures in the oceans having warmed over the past fifty years, and with bleaching events being more common in recent years, the existence of bacterial bleaching under such temperature increases may explain not only the increased incidence of bleaching, but also explain why mortality is so common in some bleaching events while recovery happens in others.
As an example, if corals have been growing in water averaging 26° C, more or less, for the past several thousand years, and over the past fifty years the temperatures in the water are now 27° C. Virulence of a microbe is expressed at 28° C to cause bleaching. Now, it only takes a 1° C change to cause virulence genes to be turned on and cause bleaching, and this occurs much more frequently than the 2° C change that it took previously. Furthermore, if the water temperature gets to 29° C, it may not be that the corals have exceeded their upper thermal limit, but that virulence genes that cause tissue lysis have been expressed. ..

As a final note to this incredible tale, and as if the reader has not had enough already, Rosenberg also found that Oculina in shallow water, even in high temperature and exposed to V. shiloi, rarely bleached. They found that UV radiation acted as an effective sterilizer for V. shiloi on the coral surface!

[sumpfinfishe]

Sorry to hear the news Christy

After talking with you today I thought about heat or flow as the cause of your STN. However after reading this thread I can see you have those bases covered and I had a feeling you would have looked at both of those areas.

I had this same problem about a year ago and the more that I think about it the more I think it may be due to what you first suggested-Chemical Warfare!

Last year I had a green milli that slowly died from STN and due to it's slimming over the course of a week or so I 'm pretty sure it was the cause of almost loosing three other SPS located near bye. Try checking in on the reef via flashlight during the night to see if any corals are slimming up or if there are stingers drifting in the water column, maybe this might be the cause of your STN.

Goodluck and keep us posted, Rich

[Jack]

Possibly acropora flatworms.