Is this normal for a leather coral?

[Mighty]

I have a 46g bowfront that I started in early September. My leather was doing really well until a few days ago. It appeared to have grown over an inch in just 2 weeks. Now, it is shriveled up and looks dead. The attached picture is from two days ago. It looks much worse today. Any ideas? My temp is still a little high-- tank recovering from Ich.

Custom Sea Life- one 55w CFL and 10,000k actinic
Ammonia- 0
Nitrates- 10
Nitrites- 0
Salinity- 1.024
temp- 81
Ph- 8.2
Phosphates- 0

 

[melosu58]

Leather corals will do what we call sloughing. They do this occasionally most times every few weeks. Mine do it all the time. It will look good and all of a sudden look bad and then the next day it will be OK. You water parameters look ok. How is it today?

 

[ccCapt]

My temp is still a little high-- tank recovering from Ich.

What is your temp?
What did you use to treat the fish? Did you put medication in the tank with the coral?

 

[Ziggy953]

Ditto ccCapt's questions!

 

[Mighty]

The coral is even worse now. It has completetely died off, with the exception of one new branch that seems perfectly fine. I used Marine Aquaria No-Ich. I added to the tank while the coral was in there. The product claims to be reef safe, and becomes neutral after five days. The temp right now is 79. I have a 300W heater for a 46g bowfront-- I went a little overboard. I have to make very small adjustments or the temp fluctuates too much.

 

[mncspradlin]

I had one do the exact same thing. It released a toxin when it died and nuked my whole tank. Still trying to recover.

 

[Mighty]

That's rough. The coral has been wrecked for three or four days now and I haven't noticed any critters dying, but that's good to know that the possibility exists. I've been considering setting up a QT. This will definitely motivate me.

 

[melosu58]

Yes if it`s been that long then maybe it should come out.

 

[Mighty]

Here's the latest picture. Any ideas? There's one new sprout, but the rest is toast.

 

[Ziggy953]

If the one sprout is looking decent I say leave it in there. Keep an eye on it and if it starts to wither then I would remove it as well.

 

[Mighty]

Sounds good. Thanks for the help.