Should I be concerned that I can see skeleton ridges on my acantho? What should I do next?

[Mr. Acantho]

Good morning,

This green acantho I've had for 11 months is showing skeleton at the bottom.

Upon further inspection, there is a thin layer of gray skin that covers some skeleton ridges but some skin is gone and you can see the skeleton ridges.

Your feedback & guidance would be appreciated

 

[VintageReefer]

That is what happened with my 24k

It started as one spot. Some days would inflate over it. Some days it wouldn’t. Was more noticeable at night. Whatever was needed…I couldn’t figure out

I would classify this as receding tissue

 

[shakacuz]

iodine dip? cipro dip?

 

[Mr. Acantho]

iodine dip? cipro dip?

Thanks I'm doing a Lugol's iodine dip

Technician told me likely due to bristle worms. I've manually removed from the acanthos.

I have a trap arriving on Wednesday to trap others

 

[Mr. Acantho]

That is what happened with my 24k

It started as one spot. Some days would inflate over it. Some days it wouldn’t. Was more noticeable at night. Whatever was needed…I couldn’t figure out

I would classify this as receding tissue

Do you have bristleworms?

 

[VintageReefer]

Do you have bristleworms?

YES

and my acantho vendor I bought from also said it’s a possibility.

Mr Knightly said he doesn’t think it’s related but I can see it as a possibility. They burrow and hide under the coral, come out for food. Go back to hide. What’s in the underside of the coral? That flesh mantle.

In time it gets irritated and recedes.

Then you go in phase 2. Bristleworm babies. These are tiny. Like 1/8”. And they go in those skeletal ridges as a safe spot and start irritating the coral from the inside

I would not be surprised at all. I dipped mine in attempted to save it and I did have bristle worm babies come out of the ridges. I elevate the coral on pvc pipe and then on a acantho stand but it never recovered.

My other acantho’s I dipped, elevated. They were declining in various ways. They also had worms but not as much as the 24k. It seems to have stabilized and they aren’t getting worse but I don’t see them getting better. I will continue to feed, monitor, keep elevated, and I have my alk increased to 9.25. Hoping I can get some color back in them

I also got a trap and 2-3x a week I bait it and capture all I can. And it’s mostly babies. 1/8” to 3/4”

 

[Mr. Acantho]

Sounds like our issue are bristleworms then.

The rest of the acantho is OK and damage is only where a bristleworm can reach.

I'm trapping on Wednesday. Already manually removed as many as I can.

 

[VintageReefer]

Sounds like our issue are bristleworms then.

The rest of the acantho is OK and damage is only where a bristleworm can reach.

I'm trapping on Wednesday. Already manually removed as many as I can.

My vendor also said “while unlikely, the acantho may have ingested bristleworms…you never know…it’s possible”

Then in my research on the forum I found help threads from brandon429 on lps issues and he said that bristleworms burrow into meat corals to get to undigested food…

So we feed the coral and then after dark the worms smell the food in the coral and try to get to it…through skeleton ridges, or by the mouth. And that they can eat the food while it’s in the coral

I have not seen this, but it’s another theory that seems possible.

I know plenty of people have these on the sand and have worms also. So it’s not something that happens all the time. But I have no other explanation for my acantho loss and issues and when I dipped them, baby bristleworms came out of skeletal ridges

 

[Mr. Acantho]

My vendor also said “while unlikely, the acantho may have ingested bristleworms…you never know…it’s possible”

Then in my research on the forum I found help threads from brandon429 on lps issues and he said that bristleworms burrow into meat corals to get to undigested food…

So we feed the coral and then after dark the worms smell the food in the coral and try to get to it…through skeleton ridges, or by the mouth. And that they can eat the food while it’s in the coral

I have not seen this, but it’s another theory that seems possible.

I know plenty of people have these on the sand and have worms also. So it’s not something that happens all the time. But I have no other explanation for my acantho loss and issues and when I dipped them, baby bristleworms came out of skeletal ridges

How long did your acantho last when you first noticed the skeleton ridges?

 

[VintageReefer]

The 24 k about 3 months

The other two developed symptoms and it was about a month before I elevated and posted for help

I bought the stands aug 2. I feel like I stopped things from getting worse around that time. I have not noticed improvement though

Green one is in rough shape.

Red one has no skeleton exposed, but doesn’t inflate fully. And is bleached

 

[Mr. Acantho]

Day 6: Green acantho continues to be puffy and show feeding tentacles, but it's bare skeleton is now showing 2x more than initial post.

Will wait next month until my technician arrives to see if it will heal on its own or need to get a pico like @VintageReefer

I'm doing bristleworm trap today

 

[VintageReefer]

Watch out for mouth gaping despite feeding. That was a common trait mine all had

 

[Dburr1014]

I think it's more an issue of damage of some sort, shipping, moving, ect.
The bristleworms come to eat the dying flesh. They are CUC.

 

[Mr. Acantho]

I think it's more an issue of damage of some sort, shipping, moving, ect.
The bristleworms come to eat the dying flesh. They are CUC.

It's been in the same spot for a year and if you see the initial pics the skeleton is covered with skin in some areas and others It's not like something is eating it.

 

[VintageReefer]

Mine were in same spot for months also. Open and happy daily

Now. Not saying the bristleworms are the root cause of the issue. But something happens - that we can’t identify or are in the process of figuring out - then the worms come and make it worse or compound with additional problems they cause

A sterile system would be best for recovery. How can it heal if it’s being eaten or has pointy worms climbing in and out off it’s skeleton. Or laying eggs inside it

 

[Dburr1014]

It's not like something is eating it.

Correct.

Damage, algae sets in on skeleton, can't repair over that spot with algae. Some dead flesh, bristleworms. That's a nice spot for hiding, they need to go somewhere. Irritation.

Once those get a damage, they rarely come back from it. You've done a great job so far.