Strange spots on coral

[MsBeanCtr]

My coral has been doing very well but I noticed a couple of spots on it this morning. My leather would "shed" and I'm wondering if this coral is doing the same thing? (the 2 "x" marks are food that just fell on the coral and the other 2 circles are the spots I'm concerned about).

TIA!

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

What is it, and how long have you had it?

Has that torch to the left been able to reach over to it yet?

 

[MsBeanCtr]

Sorry about that....it's a devil's hand soft coral that I've had for approximately 4 months. So far the frogspawn near it hasn't gotten close enough to touch it (although I think I'll turn it a little more - away from the frogspawn)

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I was thinking it was some type of softie, but wasn't sure. I know with my Stylophora, I got concerned over a "whitish" spot but it turned out to just be the spot where a new branch was forming before it became obvious. Do soft corals do the same thing? (Although that white area in the "armpit" between the two fingers doesn't seem like that type of deal.) Just talking out loud here...

Frogspawn, huh? Oh well... at least I got the right family! Probably wouldn't hurt to give it some more room. My torch just over the last week seems to have two tentacles that have gotten reaaaaallllly long all of a sudden. I was surprised at how long they could get, and how quick!

 

[Devilishturtles]

I'd simply keep an eye on it for now, kinda like Kurt mentioned. If you start to see the spots turn black, then it may be time for some action (cutting away some of the coral). It is probably nothing though. And I agree, my torch has loooooooooong tentacles.... only two as well. They can stretch half way across the tank it seems.

 

[melosu58]

I know my thin finger leather gets them and they usually go away. I think fish waste falls on it and causes it at least that`s what I think I see. Not 100% sure. I just know that it eventually goes away.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Tagging along with melosu's comment... you don't scrape your "salt creep" back into your tank, do you? Thinking along the lines of a chemical burn, if you did push the evaporated salt back in and it landed on a coral before it dissolved, you could have issues.

 

[MsBeanCtr]

Nope, I'm lucky in that I don't have much salt on the outside of the tank.....pretty easy to mop it up. One of the spots cleared up but the other has remained unchanged. I'll keep any eye out on it.

Thanks!

 

[Innovator]

First impressions lead towards improper flow or settling. Do you add any supplementation to the tank such as Ca, Alk, or even Iodine? You mentioned food settling along with the pics, are they being flushed away regularly by your flow? Do the spots form holes allowing you to see through the coral?

 

[MsBeanCtr]

I do add Ca to the sump but nothing else. Anything that happens to land on the coral seems to always be pushed off by the flow (or the fish whizzing by). I've not ever seen any holes on this coral.....it's been very healthy.

 

[MsBeanCtr]

I've been keeping an eye out on this coral and it had two days that it looked terrible! I've noticed now that one of the spots looks like it's shedding?? I didn't realize that this softy did that? My toadstool did that all the time......eeeewwww!!

 

[Innovator]

...all leathers shed.

 

[MsBeanCtr]

Just an update.....everything is fine and back to normal. Thanks for the input!

 

[roka64]

Good to hear!