HELP What happened to my plate coral?!?

[Squibege]

Before:

This morning!!!

Ahhhhhhh!!! I'm a newbie and panicking. I'm assuming something tried to eat it?? Nothing else looks angry but I just turned the lights on to see this better. What the heck happened?!?

[ricks49reef]

Are you dosing anything?Looks like a chemical substance hit it.

[Squibege]

I do have a peppermint shrimp and at least one hitchhiker crab

[Squibege]

Originally Posted by ricks49reef

Are you dosing anything?Looks like a chemical substance hit it.

Small amounts of Ca, Mg, and Alk that go into the sump. Trying to get my levels where they should be to start kalk now that there are a few LPS in the tank (this coral, an open brain, and a duncan)

[ricks49reef]

No,they wouldn't do that.I mean are you adding any supplements to the tank?

[slief]

Plates usually prefer finer sand as opposed to more coarse crushed coral. The coarse stuff can cause tears in the coral which lead to rapid death of the plate. It's hard to tell from your pictures but I do see some larger chunks in your sand. Then there is lighting, flow, parameters etc. Often plate corals just don't adjust well to their new home. Whether it's the changes in lighting from what they have grown under or the water quality changes is anybodies guess. They will seem to do well for a few months or more than just receed and perish.

I've personally found that plate corals are often very touchy and can decline pretty quick. If by chance it does die, don't remove the plate. You might just be surprised to find that it sprouts new plates on the skeleton months down the line. I had a plate just like yours that died. I left the skeleton in the tank and now there are 3 or 4 new small plates that have sprouted on it and this isn't the first time I have had that happen.

[Squibege]

Originally Posted by slief

Plates usually prefer finer sand as opposed to more coarse crushed coral. The coarse stuff can cause tears in the coral which lead to rapid death of the plate. It's hard to tell from your pictures but I do see some larger chunks in your sand. Then there is lighting, flow, parameters etc. Often plate corals just don't adjust well to their new home. Whether it's the changes in lighting from what they have grown under or the water quality changes is anybodies guess. They will seem to do well for a few months or more than just receed and perish.

I've personally found that plate corals are often very touchy and can decline pretty quick. If by chance it does die, don't remove the plate. You might just be surprised to find that it sprouts new plates on the skeleton months down the line. I had a plate just like yours that died. I left the skeleton in the tank and now there are 3 or 4 new small plates that have sprouted on it and this isn't the first time I have had that happen.

I have a mix of sands in my tank and as its settled the coarser stuff has come to the top. I'll try to get some of the chunks out of the way of it. I recently moved it a bit in the tank and it wasn't 100% happy with its spot but I figured I would give it some time to adjust (it wasn't thrilled about its old spot either). Just didn't expect it to get this angry overnight!!

[Squibege]

The lighting I have is the same fixture as the tank it came from, but my bulbs are probably much newer since the corals seem to like the shade better. Flow I've been trying to adjust but it's hard to know what they like as a newbie

[Squibege]

I decided to try and feed it and do see a feeding response. Maybe all hope isn't lost??

Should I do a water change? Put some fresh carbon on? Any ideas on how I can save this little guy?

[cloak]

My guess would be the peppermint shrimp. These things are definitely not the Angels I once thought they were. I've had them decimate both a chalice coral and a Favia first hand, so picking on something like a Fungia is not that far off IMO. Definitely keep your eye on it. GL.

[moatdaddy]

if it does die, do not throw it away. plate corals spawn babies on the parent after death sometimes. I am sure a google search or someone else can confirm this. i had one, always tried to feed it and i rose my nitrates until i killed it. This was years ago. Anyway mine did not spawn, but others have.

[Ejazzle]

I would get the peppermint shrimp out. I've had them eat all my acans and my favorite hammer! Also plates don't like a lot of light or a lot of flow. The also do not like high magnesium. Keep feeding it.

[Dkuhlmann]

Originally Posted by moatdaddy

if it does die, do not throw it away. plate corals spawn babies on the parent after death sometimes. I am sure a google search or someone else can confirm this. i had one, always tried to feed it and i rose my nitrates until i killed it. This was years ago. Anyway mine did not spawn, but others have.

I guess you didn't read all of the replies. Go back and read #6

[Squibege]

This is what it looks like today. What the actual F?!?

At least it's not dead lol

[Nina51]

when i looked at the picture with the "white" on one side of it, it looked like sand got kicked up on it. are you saying that the white part is actually skeleton?? if so, i can't imagine how it would come back overnight!

i have this exact same coral. i've moved it numerous times and it's never been affected. what are you feeding it? i will occasionally give mine a pea-sized piece of raw shrimp or scallop or i'll sprinkle a few pellets on the tentacles. cool to watch it move the food up to its mouth.

[Squibege]

Originally Posted by Nina51

when i looked at the picture with the "white" on one side of it, it looked like sand got kicked up on it. are you saying that the white part is actually skeleton?? if so, i can't imagine how it would come back overnight!

i have this exact same coral. i've moved it numerous times and it's never been affected. what are you feeding it? i will occasionally give mine a pea-sized piece of raw shrimp or scallop or i'll sprinkle a few pellets on the tentacles. cool to watch it move the food up to its mouth.

Not sand. Skeleton. Could see all the little ridges and it was rock hard.

I feed mysis/ brine shrimp mixed with some 'coral food' I got from my LFS. It's pellet-like with a mix of vitamins, etc. The whole tank gets the same stuff too

[Squibege]

I have no idea how this is a 24h difference either