Has anyone compiled a guide on tissue recession or bleaching patterns and their likely causes?

[dtruitt]

We are recovering (I hope) from a mini crash resulting from an out of calibration refractometer, bad RODI water, and consequences of those two core problems.

Most of the acropora casualties make sense. Low salinity + alk swings = dead acro.

We lost a platygyra (again...), and a chalice. The platygyra lost tissue in an unusual way, with the flesh at the peaks of the ridges dying first.

After correcting these issues and doing 4 20% WCs with good RO water so far, now some euphyllia are looking rough, which is really eating me up considering how little trouble theyve been up to this point.

One common factor among the euphyllia and platygyra is that they were all recently moved within 4-6 inches of a lobophyllia. Their new locations had very similar levels of light, and slightly less flow than they were previously getting. I'm starting to wonder if the lobo may have attacking some of these corals with its mesenterial filaments.

Since I havent seen any warfare first hand, I'm wondering if there are patterns that tend to indicate warfare rather than chemistry as a cause for tissue death. I'm also wondering if there are tell tale patterns indicating flow, abrasion, or pests are to blame.

 

[Backreefing]

I have been wanting to see a sticky thread on basic sps problems. Example tissue recieding at base of acropora. Common causes and solutions. Or tips burning and tissue missing -common causes and solutions.
I don’t know enough to to be writing that stuff .

 

[fcmatt]

I think the main problem with writing such a document is how people will use it. A lot of newer reefers often are unsure of their own specs and procedures that it might lead them astray more then it helps.

For example tissue receding at the base. Lets say it read alk swings, low nutrients, and poor lighting. That is the advice it gives. Yet the new reefer says their salinity is x but in reality it is off by x+++. Or they used 2 cups of gfo for only 60 gallons of water.

So many variables to make it useful in my mind.

 

[Backreefing]

It may be to much trouble to write it up , and there is some who will trash it publicly. But such a guid would be cool

 

[dtruitt]

I think the main problem with writing such a document is how people will use it. A lot of newer reefers often are unsure of their own specs and procedures that it might lead them astray more then it helps.

For example tissue receding at the base. Lets say it read alk swings, low nutrients, and poor lighting. That is the advice it gives. Yet the new reefer says their salinity is x but in reality it is off by x+++. Or they used 2 cups of gfo for only 60 gallons of water.

So many variables to make it useful in my mind.

Generic STN from the base is pretty ambiguous, but splotchy recession in patches seems like it should be a pretty tell tale sign of *something*. LPS in particular seem to express their displeasure in more ways than SPS:

Recession starting on side facing flow usually means too much flow.

Necrosis in the middle of a large ish chunk of LPS often means damage from falls, nipping, etc.

Skin pulled uniformly tight against flesh often indicates too much light.

 

[Backreefing]

I have had a acropora slowly die , recieding from the base and turned brown. It ended up being to little light intensity. I turned up the LEDs to 100% it helped . Then I literally mounted a t5 with a blue plus Bulb on the front of the aquarium. And that turned things around for the better. It survived still even now . Now it’s under Halides, t5s , and LEDs.