Coral bleaching? Or STN/RTN

[AlexTheGreat]

Hey guys my Coral started to lose its color and I can't tell if it is bleached or experiencing STN/RTN. My parameters are in the picture and so are some images of the coral. Algea seems to be growing on top of it but I still see the purple polyps of the coral. I hope I can do something before I lose it.

 

[Sniperhank]

It is bleaching. How long have you had it? What kind of lighting is it under? Settings on said lights?
The phosphates are high, but shouldn't be the cause of this...monti are generally pretty hardy for SPS.

 

[AlexTheGreat]

I have had this month for about a year now and I can not control the settings for the lighting because it came as part of the Fluvel EVO 13.5 kit

 

[Sniperhank]

Have there been recent changes you can see in your journal? As I said, the phosphates are high, but I wouldn't see that being the issue like that. Most of the tissue is dead and gone, but the rim is still there.
Just don't take it out. Do water changes to see if you can dilute whatever the issue is in the mean time. I had an orange monti 'die' when my AC broke and it went over 100 in my living room many years ago. Nuked most of the coral in the tank, but once things were back under control, the monti's eyes showed their color and the tissue regrew.

 

[AlexTheGreat]

So far I haven't seen any major swings in my journal but I do know that it was fighting a bit with the Green star polyps and candy cane coral. I cut the peices that were close to both but other then that I don't know what else might have caused it

 

[Sniperhank]

It was throwing out sweeper tentacles in an actual fight with a candy cane? If that is the case and you've witnessed it, well that is a quick loss for any SPS against an aggressive LPS. And when it comes down to soft/polyps...the chemical warfare they throw out would be something activated carbon would be needed to solve. But if you haven't witnessed aggression then I wouldn't go down that route of finger pointing.

 

[AlexTheGreat]

Yes I have witnessed it and but since I cut the piece that the LPS was attacking they have no been touching so I assume that's why it hasn't completely died off. Will replace ing the activated carbon reduce the chemicals produced by the candy cane or GSP?

 

[Sniperhank]

LPS and SPS corals do not fight chemically, they use sweeper tentacles. That is specifically a soft coral defense. So that would be only the GSP. Activated carbon will help remove the chemical warfare they are throwing out, but it will need replaced. I'd suggest cutting the GSP back. It lays down a carpet and can be easy to do.

 

[AlexTheGreat]

Alright sounds good to me [emoji108]. I'll try it out and see how it goes