Attack on the Finger Leather

[SaltwaterVirgin]

This leather has good days and bad days. A few weeks ago, I notice one of the fingers were gone. Then I found a bristleworm in the sandbed by it. I still haven't been able to catch the _____. From last wednesday until Sunday night, it did well: good extensions and readily showing tentacles.

Well a few days ago when I came home from work, it looked like another finger was removed!!!! When does this end!! The spot where the finger was is brownish, although the rest of the color is white with a hint of a light green color. The green tint is a first because it has always been off-white. I don't see this finger anywhere in my tank. The other healthy fingers were extended with the little tentacles out.

This morning when I woke up, I noticed that the most healthy looking section of the leather was gone. . Once again, it looks like something just ate or tore this section off.

PLEASE HELP ME I don't know what else to do. Could it be a bristleworm attack? I would think that it would sting and not completely remove a section of the coral in 8 hours!! I don't hear any clicking noises (mantis shrimp) and look in my tank every night after the lights go off.

My tank is almost eight months old. My other tank inhabitants are listed below:

orange colony polyp
long tentacle leather polyp
hairy mushroom
open brain
red sea pulsing xenia
regular pulsing xenia
starburst mushroom (hasn't opened in 5 days)
2 ocellarus clowns
1 cleaner shrimp (the food thief)
15 blue leg hermits
3 scarlet hermits
1 turbo snail
1 nassarius snail
30+ brittle stars (live rock hitch hikers)


Also, my open brain has been in the tank for less than 1 week and appears to be fading away. My tank parameters haven't changed.

NH3=0
N02=0
N03=10-20
PH= 8.1

Again, what could be wrong? I would appreciate your help. Thanks.

[fishfreek]

What coral are in close proximity to the leather?

[SaltwaterVirgin]

Long tentacle leather polyp
Starburst polyp (has opened in days)
Open Brain (in the sandbed in about 3-5 inches away)

[reefrunner69]

Can we get a pic? It sounds to me more like necrosis than an attack. FWIW, the bristle worm is innocent

[SaltwaterVirgin]

I'm at work right now so I can't send a picture until this evening.

BTW, what is necrosis?

[fishfreek]

Necrosis means death of tissues and or cells. The condition is irreversable but can be taken care of by removing the affected portion.

[SaltwaterVirgin]

The guy at the lfs says that I would see a white spot if there was a disease? He claims leathers shed themselves like this from time to time? Now, I don't buy this-at least not with my leather--but have you heard of leathers shedding fingers like this before. I can't find the fingers anywhere in the tank so far.

[jackdp]

Leathers will shed an outer layer of tissue from time to time, it helps remove dead cells and detritus that may have settled on it. I've never seen my leathers "shed" a finger.

[SaltwaterVirgin]

Well, I have finally found out what was attacking my finger leather!!! A CRAB!!!!!

Tonight about an hour after the lights went of in my tank, I peeped in to find a hairy looking crab about the size of my emerald crab wrapped around one of the 2 remaining tentacles on my finger leather!! He was cutting away when I removed him. I see a pretty deep cut surrounding this tentacle.

I took the crab out of the tank immediately and attempted to take a picture but I couldn't get a good enough resolution to post it. The crab is an orange/rust color with a hairy looking shell. It was about 1.5 inches.

I know the description isn't much but could someone take a shot at telling me what kind of crab this is?

Also, is there something I could add to my tank to eat predatory crabs?

[fishfreek]

Wow thats good/bad to hear. Im so glad you found the culprit but sorry that you and your coral had to go thru this. It really confused me when you was saying entire arms/fingers where turning up missing.

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/

Take a look at the above link and see if you cant find the crab in question. That page(s) have many of the common hitchhikers that come on our rocks.

[SaltwaterVirgin]

Thanks for the website . My crab is the hairy one on page 2 of the rock surfaces page.