yellow leather iodine dip tragedy

tycham · 03/22/2006, 12:52 PM

A little knowledge is dangerous. after reading some of the posts about yellow leathers and brown spots I noticed two tiny brown spots on my new yellow leather and decided to try the iodine dip to "nip it in the bud" so to speak. I did 1 qt sw to 20 drops Lugols for 15 minutes and now HALF IF THE LEATHER IS BROWN AND SHEDDING. I think there is a lesson in this somewhere. I don't know if I should leave it in the tank or quarantine it. Thanks.

MiddletonMark · 03/24/2006, 05:57 AM

Got a picture? A pic of one that looks like yours?

Less is more, often, when in terms to `doing anything' for my corals IMO.

Iodine is strong, and while the anti-bacterial properties are useful, for a few situations, ... they can also kill your coral, quick. While some problems can be solved with iodine, many cannot.

Concentration + length of dip are important, and seem to have a small tolerance for mistake.

Got a picture? Got a couple?

I hope yours pulls through.

I'd leave it in the main tank, unless it starts to degrade rapidly - at which case I would say to cut it back to healthy tissue, outside of the tank in a bucket/tub of water, then replace to where it's acclimated.

I guess at worst, use a new/clean razor blade to cut off any decaying areas if some dies off - careful to avoid handling the `good side' as little as possible [IMO these don't like handling a lot] .... and keep good flow around it after.

Often I'll give the coral a little while to soak in a bucket [half an hour?] of tank water after cutting ... sometimes they slime/emit stuff that probably is best outside of tank. Works well with `old water' during a water change ... when you just might have a bucket of water that just came out of the tank handy

I'd probably see if it pulls through before before doing anything. IMO, only if patience is leading to obvious slow steady decline over many weeks/longer would I do anything further.

But you're the judge of that, really.

---
FWIW, Megan and Thriller were born on my 25th birthday

tycham · 03/24/2006, 10:07 AM

Thanks for your response Middleton Mark. Yesterday AM it seemed to be getting worse quite rapidly so I performed the surgery, just as you described. What was once a lovely 6 inch leather is now about 1.5 inches and in our secondary tank. It seems to be doing OK there as of this AM. I think I'll stay away from the leathers for awhile.

I have a yellow scroll that is starting to show sights of receeding tissue, though at a much slower pace than the leather was deteriorating. You mentioned that Iodine was pretty srong stuff. Do you know if anyone has ever tried colloidial silver on corals? I've seen it cure infections in dogs and people and it is quite gentle. just a thought.

MiddletonMark · 03/24/2006, 10:11 AM

IMO, most recession or other problems are the results of:

Dipping does not change the condition of the tank which caused this. IMO, few coral issues are from bacterial problems - which is what iodine [or many other dips] would address.

I'd start checking into all the water chemistry, up the w/c's, and make sure every last bit of that end is perfect.

tycham · 03/24/2006, 11:14 AM

The majority of our water chemistry is good except we are a little high on the nitrates (in the 20s). We did a water change last night and are increasing our calerpa in the refusium. We have some more clean up crew invertabrates arriving today (mexican red hermit crabs, fighting conchs and cleaner snails. I just moved the scroll to a position where it gets better water flow. Ty is going to install the skimmer this evening. Hopefully that will help. Obviously all the cautionary statements about adding multiple new corals at once fell on deaf/impatient ears...For two years we've been looking at a 250 gal tank with 6 fish and 3 corals in it...we went to the store to get "A" coral and....well....then....OCD kinda took over. Actually the majority of stuff seems to be doing really well...only the yellow stuff (both the leather & the scroll) seem to be having the problems. Thanks for your help!

03/22/2006, 12:52 PM	#1
tycham Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sultan, WA Posts: 203	yellow leather iodine dip tragedy A little knowledge is dangerous. after reading some of the posts about yellow leathers and brown spots I noticed two tiny brown spots on my new yellow leather and decided to try the iodine dip to "nip it in the bud" so to speak. I did 1 qt sw to 20 drops Lugols for 15 minutes and now HALF IF THE LEATHER IS BROWN AND SHEDDING. I think there is a lesson in this somewhere. I don't know if I should leave it in the tank or quarantine it. Thanks.

03/24/2006, 05:57 AM	#2
MiddletonMark Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 14,441	Got a picture? A pic of one that looks like yours? Less is more, often, when in terms to `doing anything' for my corals IMO. Iodine is strong, and while the anti-bacterial properties are useful, for a few situations, ... they can also kill your coral, quick. While some problems can be solved with iodine, many cannot. Concentration + length of dip are important, and seem to have a small tolerance for mistake. Got a picture? Got a couple? I hope yours pulls through. I'd leave it in the main tank, unless it starts to degrade rapidly - at which case I would say to cut it back to healthy tissue, outside of the tank in a bucket/tub of water, then replace to where it's acclimated. I guess at worst, use a new/clean razor blade to cut off any decaying areas if some dies off - careful to avoid handling the `good side' as little as possible [IMO these don't like handling a lot] .... and keep good flow around it after. Often I'll give the coral a little while to soak in a bucket [half an hour?] of tank water after cutting ... sometimes they slime/emit stuff that probably is best outside of tank. Works well with `old water' during a water change ... when you just might have a bucket of water that just came out of the tank handy I'd probably see if it pulls through before before doing anything. IMO, only if patience is leading to obvious slow steady decline over many weeks/longer would I do anything further. But you're the judge of that, really. --- FWIW, Megan and Thriller were born on my 25th birthday __________________ read a lot, think for yourself Current Tank Info: 58g stony reef [250w10k, 250w 20k MH, 2x vho act, Octopus150, 6060 + 6000] ; 60g mixed tub Last edited by MiddletonMark; 03/24/2006 at 06:16 AM.

03/24/2006, 10:07 AM	#3
tycham Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sultan, WA Posts: 203	yellow leather iodine tragedy Thanks for your response Middleton Mark. Yesterday AM it seemed to be getting worse quite rapidly so I performed the surgery, just as you described. What was once a lovely 6 inch leather is now about 1.5 inches and in our secondary tank. It seems to be doing OK there as of this AM. I think I'll stay away from the leathers for awhile. I have a yellow scroll that is starting to show sights of receeding tissue, though at a much slower pace than the leather was deteriorating. You mentioned that Iodine was pretty srong stuff. Do you know if anyone has ever tried colloidial silver on corals? I've seen it cure infections in dogs and people and it is quite gentle. just a thought.

03/24/2006, 10:11 AM	#4
MiddletonMark Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 14,441	IMO, most recession or other problems are the results of: Dipping does not change the condition of the tank which caused this. IMO, few coral issues are from bacterial problems - which is what iodine [or many other dips] would address. I'd start checking into all the water chemistry, up the w/c's, and make sure every last bit of that end is perfect. __________________ read a lot, think for yourself Current Tank Info: 58g stony reef [250w10k, 250w 20k MH, 2x vho act, Octopus150, 6060 + 6000] ; 60g mixed tub

03/24/2006, 11:14 AM	#5
tycham Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sultan, WA Posts: 203	The majority of our water chemistry is good except we are a little high on the nitrates (in the 20s). We did a water change last night and are increasing our calerpa in the refusium. We have some more clean up crew invertabrates arriving today (mexican red hermit crabs, fighting conchs and cleaner snails. I just moved the scroll to a position where it gets better water flow. Ty is going to install the skimmer this evening. Hopefully that will help. Obviously all the cautionary statements about adding multiple new corals at once fell on deaf/impatient ears...For two years we've been looking at a 250 gal tank with 6 fish and 3 corals in it...we went to the store to get "A" coral and....well....then....OCD kinda took over. Actually the majority of stuff seems to be doing really well...only the yellow stuff (both the leather & the scroll) seem to be having the problems. Thanks for your help!