Sick Leather ????

[ronj]

one of my leathers has a white edge that is like 2-3" long...the edges of the rest of the leather look normal..the white part is kind of frilly...the surface of that part is a little frayed and is coming off a little.......my other leather has not been opening much lately at all...i know they do that from time to time, but i didn't know if this was related to the other problem...there are no other corals close to the leather..the water is fine....it is about time to replace my bulbs....could this be part of the problem??? is there anything that i could feed this coral???..it is a toadstool leather

 

[Jiddy]

Does it look a cut with stuffing come out? Mine does this sometimes, its kind of like strech-marks i figure, but then it heals up and the leather is happy again

 

[ronj]

it just looks furry on the edge..it does kind if resemble polyfill stuffing or something...i don't know .

 

[ronj]

bump..i have been trying to get Anthony to see this for days!!! please help

 

[jake65]

You have a pic we could see?

 

[ronj]

i will have to get the charger for the camera from my dad.......i will try to get a shot at night when it's closed..you can see it then...i have another camera that isn't that good, but i will try it first

 

[ronj]

here are some pics of the leather...i hope they are clear enough...you can see the edges that are frayed looking

 

[ronj]

here's one more that didn't fit........

 

[Anthony Calfo]

it does appear to have a necrotic fringe. It can/will turn infectious if not nipped in the bud (literally... trim into healthy tissue to remove the infected portion).

I'm guessing its occuring more from water quality (lack of adequate water changes over time and/or high concentration of corals in the tank exceeding one per ten galls, etc). Toxic soup is finally catching up perhaps.

Lighting is likely not an issue here at all... not to cause an infection. Such Alcyoniids are highly adaptable and tolerant re: light.

 

[ronj]

wow!!! that was a fast reply......so i should trim it and do more WC's.......there are only like 3-4 more corals in this tank...they are tiny...it is a 72g....i have a small mushroom rock,button polyps??( i think, )and a couple star polyp colonies

 

[Anthony Calfo]

ahhh... the problem may be aggression and not stocking density. The last three coral groups you mention (mushrooms, zoanthids and starpolyp) are top ten most (brutally) noxious/aggressive corals in the hobby. With weak water changes and any of them nearby (within 6" or so) and we may have a winner

 

[ronj]

i have star polyps right under it..i will get a pic real quick!!!

 

[ronj]

here are some pics..there are star polyps right above it, to the side of it , and a large colony under it....i thought that they were pretty harmless though??? i went ahead and moved the star polyps after this pic..i tried to get them more than 6-7 inches away!! also, will it release anything harnful if i trim it in the tank?????? i have one blue hippo in the display right now

 

[ronj]

well, i trimmed the entire cap off and fragged a few of the pieces that didn't look like they were infected....i will post some pics tomorrow!!!

 

[ronj]

here are some pics of the leather and some frags from it!!!

 

[ronj]

i went ahead and fragged my other leather..i cut the entire cap off and sliced it..i got about6 or 7 new frags..i did a very large water change last week and one last night..the frags seem to be doing well..they have their polyps extended...i do have a question about flow....what is the ideal flow for the toadstools??????

 

[Anthony Calfo]

adequate flow usually ends up being in the 40X+ tank turnover range... but essentially whatever it takes to purge the regular mucous tunics that form on their crowns in 1-2 days. If it takes longer to slough that tunic... you don't have enough flow.

 

[ronj]

ok thanks Anthony...i think i will redirect my closed loop outlets..they may not be hitting the leathers enough!!!

 

[ronj]

i just returned from out of town...my leather frags have grown since i left..they are all open and the polyps are extended..i still want to add some flow for them