sick leather

[ellisz]

I have what I think is a toadstool leather. He used to be a brilliant white and about 4" in diameter. I noticed over the past week or so that is has gotten darker and does not open as big. The polyps appear to be extended but not really.

I believe it was stressed from when I move te rock it was attached to and tore it from a second rock. The stem was really long and I did not know it.

The stem has deteriorated and the head came off in my hand tonight. Should I keep the leather in my tank or is it lost?

 

[fishfreek]

SOunds like your coral is suffering from tissue nercrosis. Take a pair of good sissors and cut the deteroating part away and remove. Be sure you cut some of the healthy tissue so as to be sure to cut all of teh bad out. Do this on both the stem and the head half. Put both on different sections of the tank and you will soon have two toadstools.

If you do nothing the coral will slowly deterate into nothing.

 

[ellisz]

All I have left is the head. Can you tell by look or feel what is good tissue vs. bad? The head felt pretty good last night.

I need to read up on necrosis and see what caused this. This was my best leather too. Would be cool to have two though. I had considered fragging it but I did not want to risk losing it.

Thanks fishfreek.

 

[revhtree]

Hey fishfreek I have a similar question about my toadstool. It has not had its poylpsextended in like 5 days. On the top middle it has turned a light yellow, green color. It is contracted real tight like it does when it has its poylps out, but they will not come out.

Do bubbles in the tank have an effect on leathers? I heard something I think.

Sorry to interrupt here.

 

[fishfreek]

Usually the necrosis will appear a differnt color and have an overall different texture than the healthy tissue.

 

[steve-s]

Hey fishfreek I have a similar question about my toadstool. It has not had its poylpsextended in like 5 days. On the top middle it has turned a light yellow, green color. It is contracted real tight like it does when it has its poylps out, but they will not come out.

Do bubbles in the tank have an effect on leathers? I heard something I think.

What your describing sounds more like sloughing. Leather corals will go into a dormant stage which allows them to shed and rid their outer layer of impurities. It can also be a reaction to a stressor such as being in a new tank, exsessive water flow, coral chemical warfare or other irritant. Minor bubbles might irritate the coral somewhat but unless they become trapped for long periods of time will not normally cause necrosis. Also watch for detritus accumulation on the top of the crown. It can lead to necrosis if left too long.

As long as the coral does not show signs of the flesh crumbling or turning dark colors, it should be okay. Take a small eye dropper or the like and gentley force water over the various parts of the leather. If pieces start flying away, it's necrosing. If you just get a bit of outer slime peeling away or nothing, it's sloughing.

Cheers
Steve