Why is my brain dying? :(

[demonsp]

Your profile says still putting together.
How old is this tank?
How did you feed and what?

[Hassman]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
I would not cover it more than 45 min while it feeds

Did you ever fresh water dip this coral when you purchased it?

Never dipped it. FWDs scare me for some reason. Perhaps there was some unseen parasite lurking...

All i can say it looked great in the LFS, didn't look bad in my tank for a couple weeks. I just wish I knew what I did wrong so at least I could say I learned something from this.

[Hassman]

Originally posted by demonsp
Your profile says still putting together.
How old is this tank?
How did you feed and what?

Yea I need to update the profile a bit.

tank is about 4 months old. It cycled really quick. ~130 lbs of live rock, 80lbs live sand. 96w x 4 PC lighting (2 actinic, 2 15K).

Fed it mysis shrimp every few days. Took it readily in the beginning. Tentacles would extend at night. then about a 10 days ago that stopped. Didn't think much of it at first. But then the flesh started to recede.

[demonsp]

http://www.asira.org/trachyphylliidae

[tmz]

The coral in the picture is a Trachyphillia. It does not require direct feeding although a spray of food once a week or so is a good long term practice,but not now.Give it a chance to heal.
The best thing you can do for it in it's current state is to put it in a low flow area in the shade and leave it alone. If there are signs of infection( a brown jelly like mass) you may have to dip it but at this point that coral is likely in very grave condition and may be dying.
It needs low light and low flow. If it closed up; it likely got too much light or flow in your original placement. Sometimes they become photoinhibitted as a result of too much light. The zooxanthelae just keep photosynthesizing and producing oxygen,more than the coral can deal with and it hurts them. If it's receeding and skeleton is showing then tissue is dying or it has drawn up so tight to protect itself from the light that is ripped it's flesh on the skeleton.It is likely the pods are eating the dying tissue. Gaping is not a good sign but maybe it's just trying to expell excessive carbons or oxygen. Feeding it now or moving it around will only make it expend it's limited enrergy which it needs if there is any chance at healing. It's not going to eat untill it is healthy and feeding will only invite scavengers large and small that will irritate it and keep it closed.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by tmz
The coral in the picture is a Trachyphillia. It does not require direct feeding although a spray of food once a week or so is a good long term practice,but not now.Give it a chance to heal.
The best thing you can do for it in it's current state is to put it in a low flow area in the shade and leave it alone. If there are signs of infection( a brown jelly like mass) you may have to dip it but at this point that coral is likely in very grave condition and may be dying.
It needs low light and low flow. If it closed up; it likely got too much light or flow in your original placement. Sometimes they become photoinhibitted as a result of too much light. The zooxanthelae just keep photosynthesizing and producing oxygen,more than the coral can deal with and it hurts them. If it's receeding and skeleton is showing then tissue is dying or it has drawn up so tight to protect itself from the light that is ripped it's flesh on the skeleton.It is likely the pods are eating the dying tissue. Gaping is not a good sign but maybe it's just trying to expell excessive carbons or oxygen. Feeding it now or moving it around will only make it expend it's limited enrergy which it needs if there is any chance at healing. It's not going to eat untill it is healthy and feeding will only invite scavengers large and small that will irritate it and keep it closed.

great answer as usual although I have had three brains--all have perished despite putting them in a quiet flow low light corner. It seems like once the get to the point where the flesh is being pulled from the skeleton they are gonners

Tom---I you notice this thread--kind of unbelievable
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1403753

[tmz]

I have several trachyphylia, scolymia and cynarina which I have kept for years without ever feeding them directly. They are ,however, a favortie target for nippers of all species and genus it seems which either causes infection or causes them to close for prolonged periods leading to death , unless you move them or the nipper. My hippo is bad. .Sometimes they don't ship well either. Best to wait until one is healthy at the shop for a month before purchasing.

That thread is troubling.

[MRN]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but some say that smoking, drinking and drugs can kill your brain… but high levels of testosterone have been thought to do this also… Just my 2 cents

[demonsp]

So the combination is lethal?

[tmz]

Originally posted by MRN
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but some say that smoking, drinking and drugs can kill your brain… but high levels of testosterone have been thought to do this also… Just my 2 cents

In my 39 years of marriage, I have learned that the lady is always right. But in this case I didn't think he was dosing vodka.

[MRN]

LOL... your right tmz.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by MRN
LOL... your right tmz.

testosterone envy or frustrated baseball player

[Hassman]

Originally posted by MRN
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but some say that smoking, drinking and drugs can kill your brain… but high levels of testosterone have been thought to do this also… Just my 2 cents

Nutbunnies! I thought all living organisms like that sort of thing...

[Hassman]

Originally posted by tmz
The coral in the picture is a Trachyphillia. It does not require direct feeding although a spray of food once a week or so is a good long term practice,but not now.Give it a chance to heal.
The best thing you can do for it in it's current state is to put it in a low flow area in the shade and leave it alone. If there are signs of infection( a brown jelly like mass) you may have to dip it but at this point that coral is likely in very grave condition and may be dying.
It needs low light and low flow. If it closed up; it likely got too much light or flow in your original placement. Sometimes they become photoinhibitted as a result of too much light. The zooxanthelae just keep photosynthesizing and producing oxygen,more than the coral can deal with and it hurts them. If it's receeding and skeleton is showing then tissue is dying or it has drawn up so tight to protect itself from the light that is ripped it's flesh on the skeleton.It is likely the pods are eating the dying tissue. Gaping is not a good sign but maybe it's just trying to expell excessive carbons or oxygen. Feeding it now or moving it around will only make it expend it's limited enrergy which it needs if there is any chance at healing. It's not going to eat untill it is healthy and feeding will only invite scavengers large and small that will irritate it and keep it closed.

Excellent post. Last night I moved it to the corner with as low light and low flow as I could. I'm thnking it is way to late now. A good chunk of the bran is prety much gone. 50% of it is still 'in tact' (more or less) but the other 50% is pretty much destroyed. It is almost as if one of the mouths tore open.

I can't say for sure, but I wonder if I over-light-ified it when i first introduced and when I saw it declining, I moved it around the tank too much. I tend to over-worry about my tank and wonder if I over-reacted when I should have just sat tight to let it adjust ... see if it could fix itself.

Here is hoping that his little coral is truly as hardy as they say and can bring itself back from the brink. I know not everything I keep will survive, but it is just sad seeing such a wonderfully beautiful organism die.

Thanks to all for your help and suggestions. All that is left is to hope.

[tmz]

Most of us have a tendency to over handle a new coral either because we think it needs helpo or we don't quite like the originasl placement. This impulse to touch it /move it/feed it should be repressed. Research it's needs. place it well the first time and as the song goes. let it be.

Good Luck, hope it survives.