Uh-oh Bad stuff is happening

[Charlie]

I have a large Pearl Coral which I believe is in the Bubble Coral family. Part of the Pearl has been receeding with a little apparent die-off. Next to the Pearl is a rock covered with BIG green Mushrooms.

This morning when I went to feed the reef/fish, I noticed that a brown slime was covering several Mushrooms and part of the Pearl. Looks like the corals are turning into slime!

Water parameters are all normal.

What's up with this?

 

[Innovator]

Siphon the brown jelly, perform a water change, direct water flow once brown jelly was removed, and add carbon. Depending on how much tissue is affected, the bubble (Plerogyra sp.) might have to be removed to a qt and/or any necrotic area flushed with sw, iodine (Lugols, etc) administered. If most or all of the mushrooms are beginning to turn to mush, do remove them.

 

[Charlie]

What is it? Bacteria, fungus, or something else?

 

[melosu58]

It definitely sounds like Brown jelly disease. Sounds like James has a good plan there. Moving this to the sick fish/coral forum.

 

[Innovator]

Usually brown jelly is not the initial cause of coral mortality, but the after effects and what you are witnessing is protozoans consuming the tissue.

 

[melosu58]

Here is a pic of a torch coral of mine that Brown jelly. It started with that one and as James said it is contagious and spread to two more heads.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I've also lost a few torch coral heads from brown jelly (which in turn set in becasue my clowns battered the poor defenseless coral to death).

It's not fun, but like said, contagious.

 

[Charlie]

How should I treat it?

 

[melosu58]

Siphon the brown jelly, perform a water change, direct water flow once brown jelly was removed, and add carbon. Depending on how much tissue is affected, the bubble (Plerogyra sp.) might have to be removed to a qt and/or any necrotic area flushed with sw, iodine (Lugols, etc) administered. If most or all of the mushrooms are beginning to turn to mush, do remove them.

I thought this was a pretty good plan. It was posted earlier.

 

[Charlie]

I did everything listed except iodine (Lugols) administered. Wasn't sure what that meant or how to do it.

Both of the affected corals were put into a 10gal quarantine tank. Green mushrooms completely diintegrated into brown stringy slime. Pearl is quite receeded buy is still alive. I sucked off the slime and did a 40% PWC. We'll see what happens.

I should be moving everything from its current 46 bow to a new 72 bow within a week. Just waiting to get the fuge into the base cabinet which requires partial disassembly.