My 2 year old....

[pipermurphy]

cranked up the temp settings on one of my sump heaters without us realizing he did it,I was cleaning out the skimmer from the opened childproof doors under the tank. Well when I came home drom work the tank was all cloudy and the temp was at 95*.
The coral fatalities were a toadstool, kenya tree, xenia, frogspawn and galaxy plus my 3 cleaner shrimp & 2 CBS. It really gets to me because all were doing excellent, growing, happy, vibrant. The fish all seem to have come out fine TG.

My question is: I did a 100% water change with cured SW & my levels all seem fine so do I need to be concerned with anything? Should I be aware of some other problems that may arise from the high temp?

[reefrunner69]

Keep an eye on the levels before replacing the items lost. You could experience die off for the next week or two, even though the temp has returned to normal. If you have any SPS...it could very well be a week before they react to the temp spike and start bleaching, although at 95, I'd think the reaction would have been immediate.

[pipermurphy]

Okay I have a problem. Today(monday) I tested everything my results were:
Temp is at 80* lights off
82* lights on with a digital meter
PH is 8.2 with a Mr. Aquaium digital meter & verified with Hagen test kit
Nitrite (NO2) is 0 with both Aquarium Pharm. & Hagen test kits
Nitrate (NO3)is 0 with Aquarium Pharm test kit
Ammonia is 0 with Hagen test kit
While testing I also checked Calcium at 440 mg/l with Salifert and
Magnesium at 1470 ppm with Salifert.
So with these good results I went out today and bought 2 small toadstools, a xenia(frag) and a cleaner shrimp to replace some of what had died. I acclimated them properly(I never set up a qt tank) and glued the xenia first, after an hour it was moving around and doing fine, so I put one toadstool in and after 15 mins it opened, all looked good so I added the cleaner and within 5 mins he was dead. Then 15 mins later the toadstool closed up and looks unhealthy. I am now afraid to fully place the other toadstool?

Whats going on here I am at a loss for words and now some real cash? I am getting really *&@@#~ off now.

HELP ME PLEASE

[reefrunner69]

Could be coincidence, shrimp are very sensitive to changes in salinity and ph, how did you acclimate the shrimp?

Can we get a pic of the toadstool?

[danamo]

I know how you feel. I had a sea cucumber that decided to crawl into the pump and got shredded. It must have thought it was gettting eaten by something and released a toxin into the water. Lost $300 worth of fish . Before we started adding new fish to the tank after this we did three water changes and left it to cycle for two weeks. Luckily none of the invertabrates or corals were affected. Was heartbreaking to see all the fish dead the next morning though. Like yourself everything was doing perfectly.

[pipermurphy]

The shrimp was acclimated by floating the bag and bringing up the temp, then a slow water drip/exchange into the bag, over 3/4 hour. My SG is 1.023. Sorry but I don't have a digital camera yet. The only way I can think of is scanning a developed pic & that may take a few days to post.

[reefrunner69]

I think the shrimp just had a hard time with the acclimation. It is fairly common for the leather to react the way you describe. How are the other corals in the tank? How is the leather today? When moved from one environment to the next it is common for the leather to shed a waxy film, so don't be suprised if this happens.

[pipermurphy]

The first one I placed doesn't look so good, it is drooping over on its side and the 'felt' isn't extended like my old one used to & it looks like a bald grey mushroon,but on the bright side my 2 clowns were in the sand under it this morning. The second one I placed on Mon is doing a little bit better this afternoon, it is probably about 40% open. The xenia frag is pulsing like it should and my polyps never were in ill health. I tried to reposition the first toadstool in the sand and it let off this smokey substance when disturbed, so I left it as is. I guess I will wait it out and see what happens. Any other ideas would be welcomed. Thanks again.

[reefrunner69]

I tried to reposition the first toadstool in the sand and it let off this smokey substance when disturbed

To me this would indicate an infedtion and develpment of necrosis. I would run my fingers over the coral, if it seemed an area started to crumble, I'd frag the dead part out.

[pipermurphy]

I am going to get rid of that one toadstool, the stem is gone, it can't support the head which is in the sand, I don't think it will come back, and I don't want to chance that its dying will have a negative effect on the rest of the tank's inhabitants, they have been through enough lately. BUT I will wait for your reply first. Thanks again

[reefrunner69]

If you can remove the necrotic areas, it has a good chance of survival. If you do nothing it will waste away. One thing for sure is you want to remove the dying tissue from the aquarium