I think I have a problem with this coral

[twilliard]

This is the first time I have had to deal with this. I don't even know what is going on.
As you can see at the bottom of the frag it is dieing. I can't remember the name of this coral to go look it up to see if it needs special attention to this.

I have never had any of my frags react to super glue in such a way. You can see where I missed putting the super glue down and that is where it is starting to die.
What can I do to help it? It cost me too much to watch it die on me.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Sorry for how blurry it is, I cant get any better closeups with my camera.

Thanks all

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
Is the tank new? I don't see much coralline algae on the rocks in the background but rather what appears to be a hair type alga. This can be a sign of high phosphates and or other nutrients (not always but can be). You can try covering the area with superglue being sure to cover a little of the good tissue.
Do you have other Acropora species in the tank? If so are they doing well? How long have you had them? A list of tank water parameters, flow, and lighting may also be of help.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[twilliard]

Thanks Kevin. I have about 13 acros all growing great. Ya I know there is some algea in there but that is what was left over from having everything in a temporary 90G tank on well water for 2 months while we moved. Long story.

I will rattle off what I have for tank #'s
water is 1.025
cal is 475
PO4 no trace
nitrate no trace
DKh 10.2
PH 8.3
never have tested MG
temp held at 79 by chiller
2 250W MH
3 110W VHO
110G tank 30G sump
skimmer made by me pulls a quart dark greeny a day
closed loop sequence dart
PCX 40 return, I think flow is no problem.
30G water changes every week.

But like I say, all my other acros, monties, acans, stags are happy as bugs.
Just this one guy where I glued it.

I can give you any info you need.
Thanks for your help Kevin.

 

[twilliard]

Oh and sorry, most of my other corals are about 2 years old. Same with the tank but was tore down for two months while we moved to a new house back in November. (the algea outbreak)

Thanks Kevin!

 

[kevinpo]

How long has the tank been running? Also is this a new addition? If new, I like to leave them on the bottom of the tank for a week or so to prevent light shock. Even when I know what lighting it came from I still place new SPS corals on the bottom (just for safety )

Regards,
Kevin

 

[twilliard]

Yes Kevin it is a new addition. Got it last weekend from BR, they just got it in when I bought it.

So do you think it was my super glue?
It started right where I glued it. Actually I missed and accidentally got it on the side of the coral when gluing it down.

But I have never had a problem with gluing frags.

 

[kevinpo]

OK after reading your other thread I think covering with superglue would be your best course of action. It should be done right away don't wait until morning. I would also place it a moderate alternating flow, low light area.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[twilliard]

Thanks Kevin. I moved it glued it, moved it down, and also fraged it. When I pulled it out I noticed it wasnt just the spot where it was glued, it was the whole 1/2" of the bottom of the frag was white.

Gosh dang it. I have never lost a coral, but this isnt looking good.
Thanks again Kevin for your help.

 

[twilliard]

Oh also Kevin when I got this frag I took it off the frag plug and tried to glue it to the rock. As a person can see I missed but it seemed to stay in place.

Is it good practice to always glue the base of all cut frags?

 

[kevinpo]

Yes. I always try and cover about 1/4" or so past the cut area up onto the coral tissue. IME SPS coral likes to grow onto the glue and will do so quickly.
Best of luck with the coral.

HTH,
Kevin
PS: This is the proper spelling of necrosis
necrosis ( medicine ) Death of a cell or group of cells as a result of injury, disease, or other pathologic state.

 

[kevinpo]

Sometimes when cutting a large branch it will shatter and we glue the pieces back to each other, right where they broke. In 7-10 days all you can see is a thick spot where the break was.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[SueT]

I also have never had an issue in getting glue gel onto the base part of a frag to glue the frag in my tank. The tissue just grows, rather quickly right over the glue. That shouldn't be a problem.

Hows the frag look this morning??

 

[Snappy]

The glue idea has always worked well for me too.

 

[mcvicker]

This happened to me once. I have 2 400 watt MH on my 60 gallon (only a few hours overlap though). I purchased a frag that came from a tank with low light and glued it down. The dead tissue progressed from the bottom right up to the top and the whole frag died. After that I always stick the plug in the sand on bottom of the tank for a couple weeks then glue in final location. I also moved the other frag I purchased when I saw this and it recovered.
-chris

 

[twilliard]

The freshly cut frags of this coral are doing great today.

I did NOT glue this frag when I put it in the tank. The first time I have never glued the base of a frag. Now I believe in the "bandaid" for frags.

Thanks all for your help!

 

[barrierreefcf]

twilliard...I just caught this thread. I agree with everything Kevin suggested. Even though most of our frags are used to 400w halides its always best to photo-acclimate them by starting them lower in your tank. Light shock may not have been the problem but at least then it could be ruled out. You did the right thing by fragging it right away and gluing over any bare skeleton that might have remained. We have never had problems with glue affecting frags so I wouldn't look to that as a concern, as Kevin and Sue already mentioned. It sounds like its going to be ok, but keep us posted on how the coral does. In the unfortunate event that you lose it, we will replace it with another frag.

 

[twilliard]

Thanks Cy, I will be by tomorrow for more super glue. This ordeal has cleaned me out of it. So far I have had to frag it twice, it just keeps dieing on me. Lost the second frag in less than 8 hours while I was at work. The third frag is kinda holding in there. But the weird thing is the Oregon Tort and lime green blue tip acro is fine and those three were added to the tank the same time.

Do you know which coral this was in the picture? I cant remember what it was called. I need to start writing names down. I am hoping you have another frag left of it.

Anyhow, no need to replace it Cy. You guys cant control anything outside your store. I will talk to you more tomorrow.
Thanks guys, info is what keeps it all alive.

 

[barrierreefcf]

Was it the Blue robusta?? It looks a little more purple now compared to when we got them. Honestly, I can't remember for sure what you purchased. I'll show Tim the pic and see if he remembers. We'll work something out.

Thanks

Edit- Tim recognized it as one of those crazy looking blue milleporas we got last weekend. Now I see it as well. We sold out of those that day. We can get more though.

Thanks Cy, I will be by tomorrow for more super glue. This ordeal has cleaned me out of it. So far I have had to frag it twice, it just keeps dieing on me. Lost the second frag in less than 8 hours while I was at work. The third frag is kinda holding in there. But the weird thing is the Oregon Tort and lime green blue tip acro is fine and those three were added to the tank the same time.

Do you know which coral this was in the picture? I cant remember what it was called. I need to start writing names down. I am hoping you have another frag left of it.

Anyhow, no need to replace it Cy. You guys cant control anything outside your store. I will talk to you more tomorrow.
Thanks guys, info is what keeps it all alive.

 

[kevinpo]

RTN can happen for no discernable reason. A few years ago I received two frags of the same coral from the same parent colony and placed them in the same tank a few inches apart. By the morning one was a white skeleton and the other I still have today. So it’s not always something we do, but can be factors we have no control over.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[SueT]

I have had that happen too. Same frags that even came off the same plug, I glued them onto 2 different rubble pieces and place them in different spots in the tank. Next morning one completely white and the other polyped out like it'd been in the tank for months. Thankfully it doesn't happen often as it wrecks the nerves.