Bubble Coral acting up

[Enad]

Hi all,

I have a large teal Bubble Coral, it's been in my tank for 2 weeks today. After a few days of acclimation, I put it in a relatively high location in my tank and it seemed to settle in great. Expanding to a very large size. It has looked great every day up until the last 2 days. It hasn't fully opened in those 2 days, and will sometimes close up completely during the day. I've since moved it to the sand bed in case it was getting too much light. I noticed a few of these brown things on it, they seem to have 'fallen off', because I later saw one sitting on the sandbed nearby. I'm attaching a picture. This picture was taken when it was nearly fully closed up, it doesn't usually look like this, but it hasn't expanded to its full size in the last two days.

These brown balls were gone for the day, but again this morning I notice one on it. So, in short, I'm really not sure what these are or what the coral is going through. Could it be some sort of infection? Should I try dipping it again? It was very happy for awhile, none of my parameters drastically changed, and all other corals are doing fine.

It's a really beautiful piece so any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[lucyretz]

something is definitely ticking it off. in order for us to help determine why it may be acting this way we will need some vital information:

-parameters (alk,cal,mag,phos,nitrate) as well as the type of test kit used (this is to help determine how accurate the measurements may be!)
-could it have been stung by a neighboring coral?
-on day of arrival, did you dip this specimen?
-how old is the tank?
-do you have access to a par meter?

 

[Enad]

something is definitely ticking it off. in order for us to help determine why it may be acting this way we will need some vital information:

-parameters (alk,cal,mag,phos,nitrate) as well as the type of test kit used (this is to help determine how accurate the measurements may be!)
-could it have been stung by a neighboring coral?
-on day of arrival, did you dip this specimen?
-how old is the tank?
-do you have access to a par meter?

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Parameters are as follows (tested today)
Ammonia - 0
Phos - 0.01
Nitrate - 16
Mag - 1040
Calc - 330
Alk - 8.7

Calc and Mag are low but I'm working on slowly increasing the dosage, I have a Doser setup doing 5ml of AllForReef, will be bumping up to 10ml.

- It's possible it could've been stung, it was closest to a good sized Candy Cane coral. It was probably 4-5" away from two torches. It definitely could explain the sudden change.
-It was dipped, yes.
-Tank is about 3 months old, but has matured quickly considering the age. Lots of biodiversity already.
- I do not have a PAR meter, but my lights are generally quite low. Using the ReefLED50, my spectrum is max 40% blue, max 6% white.

I'm attaching a few more pictures of what it looks like right now. It's definitely looking happier since moving to the sandbed, but I tried to get another good shot of the brown ball on it, which definitely looks like it could be a stung bubble perhaps. Also uploading an older pic of where it used to be placed, not a great picture.

Let me know what you think.

 

[lucyretz]

mag is detrimental to these corals so it could 100% be a contributing factor. candy cane could definitely sting it if it was close enough, and in the photos you just posted that really sucked up side looks like it might have gotten stung.

 

[Enad]

mag is detrimental to these corals so it could 100% be a contributing factor. candy cane could definitely sting it if it was close enough, and in the photos you just posted that really sucked up side looks like it might have gotten stung.

Do you mean low magnesium is detrimental? As far as I know, these Bubbles, and all LPS, enjoy around 1300-1600ppm Magnesium levels. Please correct me if I'm wrong there.


As for a sting, yes it definitely looks like a possibility. That side was facing the torches, so I feel like that could be what happened. I'll try to keep it out of harms way for awhile and see how it recovers.

 

[lucyretz]

Do you mean low magnesium is detrimental? As far as I know, these Bubbles, and all LPS, enjoy around 1300-1600ppm Magnesium levels. Please correct me if I'm wrong there.


As for a sting, yes it definitely looks like a possibility. That side was facing the torches, so I feel like that could be what happened. I'll try to keep it out of harms way for awhile and see how it recovers.

yes sorry, low mag is detrimental.

 

[Dburr1014]

Candy cane stinging a bubble??
Doubt that is a problem.
Is it brown jelly?

Raise mag, 100 ppm per day no problem.
Raise calcium 50 ppm per day.

 

[Enad]

Candy cane stinging a bubble??
Doubt that is a problem.
Is it brown jelly?

Raise mag, 100 ppm per day no problem.
Raise calcium 50 ppm per day.

I'm thinking it was a torch that could've stung it. The area where the brown pieces were are on the same side that the torches are so that seems much more likely.

It's definitely not brown jelly, thankfully.


I am bringing up the mag and calcium, though I don't think that was the issue here.

 

[Enad]

Reviving this thread because the same Bubble Coral is acting up again but this time it seems much more serious.

Over the last week or so, this Bubble coral has been having some real problems. It doesn't fully inflate anymore, and the mouth area always looks sunken or withered. For a few hours after lights on, it'll puff up a good bit(spines are still visible) but not nearly to the extent I know it can(the full size is about 5" wide, right now its about 2.5"), however around 11am it'll start to deflate again, and spines become very visible. It will sometimes slightly inflate randomly later in the day.

I initially suspected it was getting a bit too much flow, and so I've turned off my MP10 and just left my AI Nero on and everything seems happier honestly, but the Bubble has not recovered and still acts the same each day.

The other obvious suspect would be lighting, but I have my lighting quite low overall. While I don't have a PAR Meter, I have a Red Sea LED50 that maxes out at 36% Blue, 5% White and 4% Moon. This hasn't changed since the Bubble first arrived and it has thrived at other times under this lighting. Additionally, no other coral is showing any bit of stress, including another Bubble(Pearl Bubble) coral on the sandbed, happy as can be and growing. Happy to hear any opinions on this though.

As of Sunday, my Parameters were as follows..
Phos - 0.03
Nitrate - 52
Alk - 9.5
Mag - 1520
Cal - 470

While I know my Alk is a bit high and my Nitrates are definitely high, this has been pretty consistent in the entire time the Bubble coral has been in my tank. Nitrates have always been high, and Alk is usually in the low to mid 9s.

I've been hesistant to try Dipping because I don't want to stress it out further, but let me know if anyone here really thinks I should. I use Red Sea DipX, but I also have Lugols Solution though I've never used that as a dip.


I'm attaching some pictures of how it looks at its worst, as well as when it inflates a bit. Also attaching a video to show the flow, let me know if it looks good.

Any help would be appreciated. This Bubble is a truly beautiful colony, and I really don't want to lose it.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Are you running carbon? Your parameters dont seem to be the issue here. Im thinking chemical warfare.

 

[Enad]

Are you running carbon? Your parameters dont seem to be the issue here. Im thinking chemical warfare.

I use Chemi-Pure Elite, I put in a new one probably a month...maybe a month and a half ago at most. Shouldn't be used up by now. As well a bag of Seachem Purigen, this one has been in the tank for 3 months. I also run some bio-pellets and what not to try to keep Nitrates down. This is all in a Red Sea Max Penninsula, so I have a Protein Skimmer as well.

I can try putting in a new Chemi-Pure.

It lives closest to a green mushroom and a Cespitularia, as well as a recently added little Maxima Clam. I have 3 Toadstools in this tank and they've all been extremely happy so I don't think they are excreting any toxins at the moment, plus all other corals are doing great.

 

[Enad]

At the recommendation from my LFS, I did a 10 gallon water change and dosed half a pill of Cipro yesterday after the water change, and will do the other half tonight.

I'll update this post as to the progress of the Bubble.

Any other recommendations would be much appreciated as well!

 

[exnisstech]

As depressing and mysterious as it is sometimes certain corals just die in our tanks. I have a pink bubble that is larger than a softball that has been in the tank for over 6 years. I bought a green one that looked healthy and did well for a few week and then just died. It was in the same area as the other one that was and still is thriving

 

[Enad]

Bubble has only gotten worse since my last post. Flesh has started to come off the skeleton and it's just looking really bad. I've resorted to dipping it in DipX for 15 mins. Put it back in a slightly shadier location (don't have many options considering its size) and hoping for the best.

Anything I can do to improve its survivability post-dip?

 

[Dburr1014]

every time you post your nutrients it seems your phosphates are on the very low Edge. You need to bring up your phosphates for sure.
I think your Coral is hungry

 

[Enad]

every time you post your nutrients it seems your phosphates are on the very low Edge. You need to bring up your phosphates for sure.
I think your Coral is hungry

I do have some AquaForest Phosphate I can dose. As far as I'm aware 0.03-0.05 is the ideal range. Should I bring it up closer to .1?

 

[hexcolor reef]

Hi all,

I have a large teal Bubble Coral, it's been in my tank for 2 weeks today. After a few days of acclimation, I put it in a relatively high location in my tank and it seemed to settle in great. Expanding to a very large size. It has looked great every day up until the last 2 days. It hasn't fully opened in those 2 days, and will sometimes close up completely during the day. I've since moved it to the sand bed in case it was getting too much light. I noticed a few of these brown things on it, they seem to have 'fallen off', because I later saw one sitting on the sandbed nearby. I'm attaching a picture. This picture was taken when it was nearly fully closed up, it doesn't usually look like this, but it hasn't expanded to its full size in the last two days.

These brown balls were gone for the day, but again this morning I notice one on it. So, in short, I'm really not sure what these are or what the coral is going through. Could it be some sort of infection? Should I try dipping it again? It was very happy for awhile, none of my parameters drastically changed, and all other corals are doing fine.

It's a really beautiful piece so any advice would be much appreciated.

Do you have carbon filters? Some coral release contamination into the water to ward of other nearby coral or if it feels threatened. The toxicity could be building up in the tank. Make sure you’re running a lot of carbon. Also check for bristle worms. Bristle worms can borrow into the coral and cause it to act to is way or any other worm that could borrow in

 

[Dburr1014]

I do have some AquaForest Phosphate I can dose. As far as I'm aware 0.03-0.05 is the ideal range. Should I bring it up closer to .1?

0.03 is the, IMO(and I think a lot of people agree), is the absolute minimum. That is the lowest, if I was there, I would bring it up. I don't like to be less than 0.05 personally.

 

[Enad]

Does anyone have experience with the KFC Dip?

Over the last few days, this Bubble coral has started to have significant tissue loss, so I gave it a dip in the Red Sea DipX but I know this isn't entirely made for bacterial issues. Though, I think I've noticed the Bubbles that are left looking a bit better than pre-dip. Pic of how it looks now will be attached.

I'm determined to get this coral back on track, so I'm looking to any other techniques or methods I can do to keep it healthy. I'm going to be doing more frequent water changes to bring my Nitrates down to the 10-20 range(at 30 now), and I'll dose a bit of Phosphate to keep it at the 0.05 level. I've also moved it to the shadiest area where it will fit, also slightly lower flow.

Any further advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Enad]

Update for those who care -

I've been nursing this Bubble back to life over the last month or so. Shortly after my last post, I prepared a medicated dip. I put the Bubble in an empty 15g tank, filled it with 2g of water and used...

250mg Cipro
20 Drops of Lugols Solution
3 Caps of Brightwell Restor
5 Scoops of Boyd Chemiclean

I put in a heater at 73-74f and a pump to keep the water flowing, and let the coral sit for many hours. I've done 4 hours, but you could try longer. I've done this dip twice now, and both times the coral has looked happier than ever the next morning. I've never seen a coral recover from a dip so quickly, and so happily. It's bubbles are more inflated than I've seen in months, and the feeder tentacles are nice and thick looking. It's slow going, but I've definitely noticed some tissue growing back. It had lost so much, so there is still a long way to go but it seems to be doing much better.

I dipped a second time because I noticed it had started to look a little less happy, not quite as inflated as it was for the weeks after the initial dip. I will continue to dip it as needed during its recovery, as it seems to boom after each dip. I've also been doing frequent 5 gallon water changes every 2-3 days. It only takes me about 15 minutes and everything is looking happier than ever so I can't complain.

Additionally, I've recently had a beautiful plate coral get torn up by some peppermint shrimp(I will be getting rid of them as soon as possible), and I've tried the dip on that twice now as well and it's looking much happier. I think I've found a winning formula with this medicated dip!