Sudden and Massive die-off

[SparKy697]

When I got home late last night I checked on my frag tank. Everything looked normal. I come home today from work and almost all of the SPS corals have massive white sections. It's as if the tissue has just disappeared!

All water parameters, temperature, and salinity seem to at typical levels. This is a tank that has been doing quite well for weeks. The mushrooms and zoas still seem to be doing just fine.

Not really anything to do at this point except to try and understand what happened.

Has anybody ever had such an experience?

 

[Tank2379]

What kind of Frags or Coral are in your Frag Tank?

 

[SparKy697]

The corals that seem to be affected are acros and digitata. The mushroom, blastos, and zoas seem to look just fine.

That is pretty much all I have in that tank.

I'll post some pics here in a bit.

 

[Innovator]

Most of the time massive die-offs are due to some water parameter off target (valve left open, over dosing, etc) or toxicity from an outside chemical agent. How is the temperature?

 

[SparKy697]

That's the strange thing. This is a transition tank of sorts. I have corals in this tank but do not dose anything. Water temp is 79.9. This is on a lab spec thermometer, not the cheap coralview ones.

 

[neilanh]

Transition tank, could the sudden change in lighting cause this?

 

[Tank2379]

Maybe a Change in the Bulbs?

 

[SparKy697]

These corals have been in this tank for weeks. Take a look at the pics and you will see how the problem is on one side of some of the corals but not the other side. Not sure the light would do that.

 

[Innovator]

You would have to make a major bulb switch to cause such a die-off imo, but if the water parameters are different than that of your main display and you recently transferred some frags?... Did you transfer any soft corals over recently that slimed up? More than likely one coral was affected by something and set off the others because of the waste/decay generated. I take it water changes were frequent? Sorry to hear about this...

 

[neilanh]

Is this what Rapid Tissue Necrosis would look like?

Can that spread to a whole tank like this?

 

[SparKy697]

I did move some corals from the main tank. That green (used to be) monti cap was fragged and added to this tank a few days ago. That is the only addition I can think of.

 

[Tank2379]

I had that happen to my Birdsnets just about a Week ago and Also I am seeing on one of my Red Monti Caps with the Same thing Starting to turn white...

 

[Innovator]

Rapid Tissue Necrosis is just the degeneration of tissue, oftentimes sloughing from the skeleton and the waste produced triggering other skeletal coral (mainly sps, but also lps) to follow suit. It is a big deal because it is a very fast-acting "disease" that I consider highly contagious and there is no singular causative agent (please correct me if I am wrong). Just from experience I have seen this more with actual water stability problems occuring and, in general, is a commonly encountered result across the board in terms of negative responses (even fragging). I would test Salinity, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, and pH just for kicks to see if anything has bottomed out...doesn't hurt. Other than that, all I can advise is not to keep soft corals and hard corals together in a frag tank.

 

[Tank2379]

Is this same for main Tanks I have a Soft Coral Xenia and I think if Toadstool is considered Soft with LPS and SPS in my Tank but it's probably one of each. Not many. Sorry don't mean to Hi-jack the Thread just wondering for everyone sake?

 

[Innovator]

The rule usually applies moreso for frag tanks because when you frag a coral you are damaging it via cutting, thus lacerating the tissue and skeleton and trying to regenerate at a rapid rate to prevent bacteria from settling and eventually consuming tissue. Even though you are also damaging a coral within the main system, most frag tanks contain an assortment of freshly damaged tissues whereas most peple aren't going to frag their entire main display and most people I talk to tend to frag during a large water change. Carbon use and water changes are very important and especially in a frag tank if corals are mixed.

 

[Tank2379]

Sweet Thanks

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

wow, i think this is what threw my tank off. the xenia and mushrooms flaked away, then the same happened to the brain and now my blasto and sps frags r doing horrible. i might be taking those back to the lfs for their well being.

 

[Innovator]

Most lfs' will not take back a coral that has begun recession. Add carbon and do some water changes while siphoning any necrotic areas of the corals. Some may require a dip in ReVive depending on the severity.

 

[austinsdad]

Could it be a severe lack of calcium? Then again, with almost overnite type changes like that, maybe not. But isn't it that only those corals affected rely more on calcium?

 

[Tank2379]

Could it be a Change in Calcium Levels? I know when I did my water change last week I notice it starting to turn white. I just want to know if it could be a Change in replenishment of trace elements? I mean we are using the same Salt mix every time we do a water change, and when are SPS or LPS coral eat up what is used and we replace it with new trace elements you think it can also be all to much at once? If you get what I mean....???