oral disc perforated by liverock

Dr4gula.f32 · Jan 9, 2023

Last night I bought a rbta from a local reefer on this forum. It was cheap and I was warned he had minor damage on his foot. I got him in the tank last night and he attached to some rubble I had. He was puffy and looking good. On lunch today I went to check on him. He is still attached, but his oral disk has been perforated by the rock. Either this is the damage the seller warned me about, or it's something new. Either way I'm here for a general consensus on this guy. Will he make it? He is delfaed compared to last night. Clearly the rock is right through the center of the disk. He hasn't attempted to move at all.

bradleym · Jan 9, 2023

If you are lucky it is trying to heal a badly damaged foot by splitting. However I am concerned that your tank may be too new to provide it the stable conditions needed for recovery. Either way, I wish you good luck.

EagleEye121 · Jan 9, 2023

Never seen this one before… could you share tank Params and lighting?
It’s possible that it’s getting ready to or is in the process of splitting

Dr4gula.f32 · Jan 9, 2023

bradleym said:
If you are lucky it is trying to heal a badly damaged foot by splitting. However I am concerned that your tank may be too new to provide it the stable conditions needed for recovery. Either way, I wish you good luck.

The tank is about 7 months old, which puts it in the recommended range for a BTA, as far as I've read. It has Corralline algae growing, as well as a good population of pods.

I use a single AI Hydra 32 mounted on an AI arm about 12 inches from the top of the tank.

Salinity 1.026
Alk 9.4
Calcium 450
Mag 1600
Nitrate 20ppm
Ammonia 0
Temp 76.5-77.5 throughout the day/night

Dr4gula.f32 · Jan 9, 2023

bradleym said:
If you are lucky it is trying to heal a badly damaged foot by splitting. However I am concerned that your tank may be too new to provide it the stable conditions needed for recovery. Either way, I wish you good luck.

What is your recommended tank age for adding a BTA?

bradleym · Jan 9, 2023

Dr4gula.f32 said:
What is your recommended tank age for adding a BTA?

Seven months should be fine. I was thinking it was younger based on the growth on rocks facing towards the light, and the small amount of red slime on the glass.

Rtaylor · Jan 9, 2023

It’s in the process of splitting. It should be fine assuming no other issues.

Dr4gula.f32 · Jan 9, 2023

bradleym said:
Seven months should be fine. I was thinking it was younger based on the growth on rocks facing towards the light, and the small amount of red slime on the glass.

Understandable. This piece of rubble in the photo spent most of the 7 months buried in the sand bed. It does look pretty fresh. In the background you can see my ugly rock.