Howdy!
I picked up a couple Lobos today from my LFS. Apparently I did not inspect this one very well because after I brought it home I made a few unpleasant discoveries:
1. Receding tissue on about 1/8th of the coral
2. 2-3 mm, perfectly round hole in the meaty portion of the coral
3. Gall Crab in said hole
4. Moderately open mouth
Not sure how I missed all this. I blame it on the dim lighting and that I was specifically looking for pests when I inspected it.
What I did notice at the LFS was that it had its feeders out but I didn’t see that as an issue, probably just sensed some food.
After temp acclimation, I dipped in Coral Rx for 5 minutes, per instructions. Shook it around but nothing, other than debris, came off. The other Lobo I got had a little worm come out (possibly a skinny bristleworm) but i’m not worried about that.
Since it has been acclimating to my tank it has been filling out for the most part. One of the things that seems off to me is that the feeders are always out. They were out at the store as well. I fed it mysis shrimp twice but the feeders are still begging. I don’t plan of feeding it anymore today.
Question 1: What’s up with the feeders and is this normal?
While it was feeding, I noticed a little gall crab reaching through the previously mentioned hole. I’ve done a little research on these guys and still can’t determine if they are okay or need to be removed. If they do need to be removed, how? I have super skinny pointed tweezers I can use if needed.
Question 2: Do I leave the Gall crab alone or attempt to remove it. I tried to attach a YT video so I hope it works. *Please excuse the marching band of nasarius snails, they were trying to join in on the action. I knocked them off after filming the video.*
The first photo is of the Lobo in question right now. Second picture is of the other Lobo purchased at the same time.
All other corals and inhabitants are doing well:
2 black snowflake clowns
3 rose BTA
1 green RFA
3 demon- I mean sexy shrimp
3 blue leg hermits
2 scarlet hermits
Various snails
Pincushion urchin
3 toadstool leathers
Purple mushroom
Pink frogspawn
Green metallic frammer
Various Zoas and Paly’s
Good chunk of pulsing xenia
Tank deets:
Running 4 years (in my possession for over 1 month)
29g Biocube AIO
Kessil A360WE
El crappo nano skimmer from amazon (planning on getting a new one soon)
Bio media ceramic balls
Activated Carbon
GFO
Red sea coral pro salt with RODI water
Dosing Mg with weekly water changes
Just had parameters checked today:
Sg: 1.023 (slowly increasing this up to 1.025/1.026)
Alk: 184
pH: 7.9
Phos: 1.7 (I know it’s high)
Ca: 392
Mg: 1145
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 36
*Tank is still a work in progress so I know the numbers aren’t ‘perfect’ but they are significantly better than where I started. There was a ridiculous amount of detritus in the sand when I received the tank (probably 50% sand 50% detritus). I have been slowly siphoning out nasty sand during weekly 17% WCs. Not sure why I’m giving so much information other than letting the keyborad warriors know that I am aware of my nutrient situation.
I picked up a couple Lobos today from my LFS. Apparently I did not inspect this one very well because after I brought it home I made a few unpleasant discoveries:
1. Receding tissue on about 1/8th of the coral
2. 2-3 mm, perfectly round hole in the meaty portion of the coral
3. Gall Crab in said hole
4. Moderately open mouth
Not sure how I missed all this. I blame it on the dim lighting and that I was specifically looking for pests when I inspected it.
What I did notice at the LFS was that it had its feeders out but I didn’t see that as an issue, probably just sensed some food.
After temp acclimation, I dipped in Coral Rx for 5 minutes, per instructions. Shook it around but nothing, other than debris, came off. The other Lobo I got had a little worm come out (possibly a skinny bristleworm) but i’m not worried about that.
Since it has been acclimating to my tank it has been filling out for the most part. One of the things that seems off to me is that the feeders are always out. They were out at the store as well. I fed it mysis shrimp twice but the feeders are still begging. I don’t plan of feeding it anymore today.
Question 1: What’s up with the feeders and is this normal?
While it was feeding, I noticed a little gall crab reaching through the previously mentioned hole. I’ve done a little research on these guys and still can’t determine if they are okay or need to be removed. If they do need to be removed, how? I have super skinny pointed tweezers I can use if needed.
Question 2: Do I leave the Gall crab alone or attempt to remove it. I tried to attach a YT video so I hope it works. *Please excuse the marching band of nasarius snails, they were trying to join in on the action. I knocked them off after filming the video.*
The first photo is of the Lobo in question right now. Second picture is of the other Lobo purchased at the same time.
All other corals and inhabitants are doing well:
2 black snowflake clowns
3 rose BTA
1 green RFA
3 demon- I mean sexy shrimp
3 blue leg hermits
2 scarlet hermits
Various snails
Pincushion urchin
3 toadstool leathers
Purple mushroom
Pink frogspawn
Green metallic frammer
Various Zoas and Paly’s
Good chunk of pulsing xenia
Tank deets:
Running 4 years (in my possession for over 1 month)
29g Biocube AIO
Kessil A360WE
El crappo nano skimmer from amazon (planning on getting a new one soon)
Bio media ceramic balls
Activated Carbon
GFO
Red sea coral pro salt with RODI water
Dosing Mg with weekly water changes
Just had parameters checked today:
Sg: 1.023 (slowly increasing this up to 1.025/1.026)
Alk: 184
pH: 7.9
Phos: 1.7 (I know it’s high)
Ca: 392
Mg: 1145
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 36
*Tank is still a work in progress so I know the numbers aren’t ‘perfect’ but they are significantly better than where I started. There was a ridiculous amount of detritus in the sand when I received the tank (probably 50% sand 50% detritus). I have been slowly siphoning out nasty sand during weekly 17% WCs. Not sure why I’m giving so much information other than letting the keyborad warriors know that I am aware of my nutrient situation.