Leather Coral flesh eating slug HELP!!

[Drpistak]

I recently purchased a beautiful new toadstool which looked great. It came with a little yellow nudi attached which I thought was a bonus until I noticed the slug was still on the undersurface of the mantle about 5 days later and was apparently eating it's way through the stalk. I have since removed the slug and the leather seemed OK, until large portions around the wound site started turning black and sluffing off. Will this stop or should I cut my losses and discard the coral? It's quite large and I don't want it to fowl my tank if it's going to die anyway.

 

[delemi]

I'd dip the coral and make sure the nudi didn't leave any eggs or nudi friends behind... I've seen my others leathers come back after having pieces removed, its basically the same way we frag em, by cutting them up...

Assuming it has good water parameters and nothing else stressing it I'd watch it closely and see if it comes around.

Has it been extending its polyps?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

All depends on if you value the animal enough to treat it. You need to keep blowing the black necrosis off the wound as it spreads fast. Keep at it and keep the water fresh. It should heal within a few days to weeks.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/softcorlhealthfaq3.htm

 

[TWallace]

You might want to frag off a chunk that looks healthy (if there are any). Leathers are quite resilient and easy to frag.

 

[Drpistak]

I'd dip the coral and make sure the nudi didn't leave any eggs or nudi friends behind... I've seen my others leathers come back after having pieces removed, its basically the same way we frag em, by cutting them up...

Assuming it has good water parameters and nothing else stressing it I'd watch it closely and see if it comes around.

Has it been extending its polyps?

Yes polyps are all up parascope!

 

[Drpistak]

All depends on if you value the animal enough to treat it. You need to keep blowing the black necrosis off the wound as it spreads fast. Keep at it and keep the water fresh. It should heal within a few days to weeks.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/softcorlhealthfaq3.htm

Should the necrotic tissue be cut away with a razor blade or just gently teased off

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Should the necrotic tissue be cut away with a razor blade or just gently teased off

Neither, blast it with a turkey baster or powerhead. The more removed without rubbing it in, the better. And make sure the leather is getting good water flow in it's general direction

 

[Reeferdude]

I would gently suck the dead tissue off while doing small water changes instead of blowing it around the tank...Or some similar technique...Fragging it while it's still healthy is probably a good idea..

BTW Nice to meet ya today Mike..

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I would gently suck the dead tissue off while doing small water changes instead of blowing it around the tank...Or some similar technique...Fragging it while it's still healthy is probably a good idea..

BTW Nice to meet ya today Mike..

Was nice to meet you too!

The black necrosis is quite aggressive and will not easily suck off. I have battled it twice on my Palau singularia. Once removed, it filters out and or is consumed by the cleaner crew.

 

[Drpistak]

Was nice to meet you too!

The black necrosis is quite aggressive and will not easily suck off. I have battled it twice on my Palau singularia. Once removed, it filters out and or is consumed by the cleaner crew.

You are right, no luck with sucking it off, I blasted off with a powerhead and tried to collect as much as possible with a small net. I have been maintaining a 10% water change daily and it looks like this story will end happily ever after. Thanks for all your input.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

You are right, no luck with sucking it off, I blasted off with a powerhead and tried to collect as much as possible with a small net. I have been maintaining a 10% water change daily and it looks like this story will end happily ever after. Thanks for all your input.

Good to hear. Seems to take forever but one day you will notice no more and the next week it will start to puff up and grow and be good as new. Your pet coral thanks you for your support