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What are you water parameters like? What are you using for lighting and how strong is it where the monti is placed? How old is your tank?
It's polyps are out so it's far from dead but it does look rough, it probably just needs some adjustments and stability in order to bounce back.
It's polyps are out so it's far from dead but it does look rough, it probably just needs some adjustments and stability in order to bounce back.
It's actually losing tissue. +1 on nautical_nathanel's post. There is a parameter issue or pest causing this. We need to know tank parameters to give sound advice.
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I’m glad to hear polyps being out means it’s far from dead. The tank is kind of new only being 3-4 months old. I didn’t plan on having SPS yet, but I won it in a raffle for $4. I thought I put the parameters, but I must have forgot. Nitrate and nitrites are negletable, ph is 7.8, kh 80ppm, gh 120. I would like to test the alk, calc, and phosphate, but that test kit is out of date and I don’t know if it will still be accurate. I can get a new one if need be. What confuses me is it gets more discolored at night while the lights are off, but color starts to come back as the lights come on. Could that be a Ph swing causing it or something? The lights have been on for almost two hours now and this is the color difference.
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You need to get an accurate test asap and confirm this number, I've never heard of alkalinity being so low in a tank. That is 4.472 dkh which is way lower than the 8-11 recommended levels. Are you using test strips? The reason I'm asking is that they are notoriously inaccurate for reef aquariums and normally we don't see the general hardness for a reef aquarium since it doesn't really apply.
Monti Eating Nudi's would be my guess. If it is actually a monti. It looks similar to Alvepora Minuta which sometimes is refered to as Long Polyp Joker Monti.
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I was told it was a grafted monti, but I am not confident in that what so ever. How do I get rid of nudis? Do I dip again or should I put it in less light? By the way, the light is a current USA orbit.
Pretty sure that is not a grafted monti. It is most likely one of the two. Sunset Monti or the Alvepora Minuta. Here is a pic of each of mine. MENs will eat both. If you observer the coral at night you should see white monti eating nudi's if they're present. Do you have any other monti's in the tank? If so you may want to observe them as well after lights out. If you see any monti eating nudi's you'll need to remove the monti's and QT them for 6+ months. Followed with dips every few days and scrub the plugs under sides of the monti's to knock off any eggs.
My money is on MENs but I could be wrong, you could have a parameter/nutrient issue. Looking closer at your pic it looks like other dead coral skeletons. Unless that is your rock.
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Oh, that is just my rock. And I agree it probably isn’t grafted monti. 6 months in QT and dipping every few days? Is the dipping for the full 6 months as well? I will look for MENs tonight for sure! Thanks!
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Dip it know in a coral dip like brightwells, can't hurt and may help, I've had good results with the dip on all kinds of different corals versus just taking the wait and see approach. Maybe something is eating it, maybe a bacterial infection, who knows.
If MENs are present then yes a dip every 3-5 days for 6+ months. MENs are a pain to get rid of. The issue could be something else. My second guess would be your ALK parameters are too high or low.
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When i see one going downhill i use double the recommended dosage and leave it in for 10 to 15 minutes, that using brightwell aquatics coral dip. I say it works for whatever reason 90% of the time. If you feel you wanna dip it again the next day and again why not, if its not doing good most times doing nothing it will surely die, thats just my experience. By the way i had some of those dang monti eating nudis devoring a coral and dipped it in triple the solution and it killed em off plus the eggs cuz it started growing back almost immediately and never dipped it again.
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I honestly don't think it's being eaten, it has to be something to do with the chemistry and/or a lack of adequate light.
I'm not opposed to dipping by all means but I'd do one thing at a time. Removing the coral and dipping it right now, IMO is not a good idea. Your chemistry is off and until you can get an accurate test I think you'll do more harm than good. Start with one thing and I'd start at chemistry. Does neglegable nitrites mean your reading 0? Knowing your parameters are one of the important things to keeping corals.
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