Are they Dead?

[stricknine]

Had a bit of a tank crash, lost shrimp and crabs, and now I think a few more corals may be on the way out. crash specs are in the link below. Now I am curious if the rest are dying, heres the symptoms (tried to post pics but had a hard time);

Green finger leather;
-slumped over at first, then lost all colour and turned brown/tan, looks to be decaying a fair bit on the stalk and through center of head, polyps are out(little pin head dots protruding
- get him out of there?

Green star Polyps;
- polyps rarely out for the last week, tiny if they do, and looks like dark purple bubbles all over it.
- Dying or requires treatment?

Blueberry gargonian;
- Darkening all over, some branches look bare, blue polyps shrinking in size and quantity.
- again, gone or treatable?

I also have this thick slimy kind of purple film growing on my substrate in one of the corners. I tried agitating the sand but it always comes back. Any idea what this is?

All advice greatly appriciated! This is the first problem I've encountered since getting the SW set up and am as clueless as I am frustrated!



http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1472026

[stricknine]

... and how can I forget.

Green torch coral;
- 1/2 heads not coming, saw a few tentacle pieces floating in the tank, slimy looking film on the retracted heads skeleton.
- Cut that head off (if so how far down?) or is there help?

Much thanks again!

[stricknine]

Its a long read, but can someone please help me. Getting desprate. Should I be posting somewhere else maybe?

Thanks again!

[pelochas]

just keep doing 10-20% water changes. pull out any dead or dying coral. i have a friend who does almost 100% water change when something urgent needs to be done. but your water needs to be perfect
i know you want to save the coral but when they go....there way past gone and you need to just get it out.
buy some carbon and use a lot of it. if you have a 2 lil fishes fluidized reactor to put the carbon in. if you dont, then put the carbon in a bag and place it when some flow runs thru it

[pong]

if u can put the sick/dying corals in qt, it will help.
coz the good ones will remain in the tank and
the ammonia spike wont kill them

[mrharris3]

What are your levels?

[stricknine]

will confirm levels tomorrow and re post. they have been fluctuating lately. somewhat suspicious of the test kit I have giving me a whole load of false info.(hagen-nutrafin)

Also, crash levels on link if you wouldnt mind taking a look.

Thanks all.

Do the corals sound dead or worth quarantine?

Thanks.

[liz3]

Well that was going to be my question?? What are your levels and everything that you are testing for?

That will give a clue more than the way it looks...but don't sound good something is going on.

How often do you do water changes?

[stricknine]

Water changes are 10 a week, or if I miss it 20 on the 2nd week . let me cut and paste my first post below.

Thanks all again!

[stricknine]

This is my original post about a week ago....


PLEASE HELP! Possible Catastrophe

Where do I start... Dead shrimp and crabs, bad water, don't know whats going on... Here's the history;

- Previous - slumping green finger leather, hair algae growing like mad.

Friday, 12 Sept.
- water readings (all mg/L);
NH3 - 0.1
NO3 - 7.5
NO2 - 0.2
PH - 7.9
KH - 170
PO4 - 0.5
CA - 550

Sunday, 14 Sept.
- 2 x dead cleaner shrimp (poor fellas)

NO3 - 10
NO2 - 0.5

- Did 20% water change, let cycle 4Hrs
- Washed sponge filter, cylinder media, pumps, mini skimmer, etc.
- used gravel vacuum for water change. Sucked a whole ton of green waste from back of tank (where filters are) Had no idea it was building up!
- After cleaning, did another 20% water change (I always use distilled water)

Monday, 15 Sept. (today)
-1 x dead hermit crab (gotdamn!)
-Kenya Tree is sad
-Green Leather is droopy
-Green Star Polyps won't come out
-Blueberry Gorgonian Polyps have shrunk
-Feather duster, bubble coral and torch look good
-Sun Coral looks good after 1 week of acclimating
-3 Chromis, 1 Clown Goby look good

Today's test results are:

Ammonia - 0.1
Nitrate - 0-5
Nitrite - 0.2
PH - 7.9
KH - 140
CA - 480
MG - 1300 - 1400
Phosphate - 0.25

**Also have very white cloudy water... bacteria bloom??

If you made it this far, thanks. Would really appreciate some help.

Not sure what is going on but from the bits I found searching the net it sounds like my water is in for a terrible ride.

THANKS!

Hobby Experience: nano reef (24G) rookie

[stricknine]

will run all tests tomorrow if you all are kind enough to check back.

Thanks in advance!!!

[stricknine]

***note above*** not a dead hermit but a dead emerald crab.

I did pick out a hermit 3 days ago, thought it was a territory battle as his shell was gone.

[Albanets202]

I think (and take it with a grain of salt) that you are going through a cycle. What killed your coral is ammonia. Inverts are most susceptible, hence go first. The more stuff dies, the more ammonia is generated. It is now converted to nitrites =>nitrates, hence algae bloom.
I would remove ALL decaying matter (find dead snails, dead coral pieces, etc), do 20% water changes every day and use carbon. To immediately stop ammonia, you can consider amquel ammolock or any ammonia neutralizer.

[Aerowen]

keep doing WC, run carbon and i would dose amquel to neutralize some of that ammonia. if you can smell the corals, and it they smell , well you know what to do.