Chalice sudden loss of tissue, why?
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What changed?
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I wish I had some words of wisdom but the only time this happened to me was light related. I had recently upgraded my lights and increased intensity. After I removed 10g of water I had the bright idea to kalk paste some blue close polyps. Well, I got distracted and left the tank at the much lower level for quite a while. The chalice slimed up and ended up losing all of it's flesh within a short period of time. Any chance something like that happened in your system?
Corals react negatively to their environment for a variety of reasons. If you can’t easily diagnose it; I recommend testing everything twice, double checking your calibration, and remember your parameters as numbers rather than adjectives (I.e. “my dissolves nitrates are 2.5ppm” is more helpful in diagnosing than “my nitrates are good”). This approach usually can lead to some new insight to the root of the problem.
My typical plan of attack is:
•Temp (including daily fluctuation)
•Salinity
•Lights (Intensity and duration, broken bulbs)
•Flow (sometimes pumps stop working or decrease power)
•Pest inspection (nudis, flatworms, other predators)
•Tank mates bothering them excessively (hermits, shrimps, fish...)
•Alk
•Calc (rarely this)
•Nitrate
•Phosphate (rarely this)
•New decoration, substrate, rocks, or other sources of contamination (excessive screws that have fallen into the water, ‘Fish-safe’ rather than ‘reef safe’ sand due to improper marketing, ...)
If it’s a new tank or had recent deaths (including algae death); the following can be important.
•Ammonia
•Nitrite
And if you’re dosing anything additional, these should also be included in testing.
These won’t solve everything; however, I haven’t had an issue yet with a source that couldn’t be explained after investigating. Unfortunately, many corals, once subjected to a poor environment, don’t have the strength to recover on their own nor with human intervention.
Life can be hard on us sometimes. We all wish you the best.
My typical plan of attack is:
•Temp (including daily fluctuation)
•Salinity
•Lights (Intensity and duration, broken bulbs)
•Flow (sometimes pumps stop working or decrease power)
•Pest inspection (nudis, flatworms, other predators)
•Tank mates bothering them excessively (hermits, shrimps, fish...)
•Alk
•Calc (rarely this)
•Nitrate
•Phosphate (rarely this)
•New decoration, substrate, rocks, or other sources of contamination (excessive screws that have fallen into the water, ‘Fish-safe’ rather than ‘reef safe’ sand due to improper marketing, ...)
If it’s a new tank or had recent deaths (including algae death); the following can be important.
•Ammonia
•Nitrite
And if you’re dosing anything additional, these should also be included in testing.
These won’t solve everything; however, I haven’t had an issue yet with a source that couldn’t be explained after investigating. Unfortunately, many corals, once subjected to a poor environment, don’t have the strength to recover on their own nor with human intervention.
Life can be hard on us sometimes. We all wish you the best.
So my ph all and cal and mag all stable no swings. But I looked in my sump and a metal hinge cover from the Red Sea has fallen into the sump. No rust or anything showing it broke down- could not have been in sump more than a week, but maybe that caused it? I do auto water changes daily so maybe that saved all the rest?
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My very FIRST check is always ALK
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It could have leached something toxin in the water. Can you post a pic of it?
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Trident tests my parameters multiple times a day. Alk is a solid 8.25 Ca 425 Mag 1298. pH is always low at 7.65-7.85 depending on time of day according to APEX which tests low. Hannah checker always measures it higher- but it is consistent. No changes in tank except the hinge cover apparently falling into the sump. 
Also, salinity is 1.025 consistent. And display temp is 79F and undetectable ammonia and nitrates and phosphates are kept low at 3.85ppm and 0.07 respectively. Chalices typically like a dirtier tank and it had been fine for 8 months . When I dipped it I did not see anything on it, but I might have missed something tiny.
. When I dipped it I did not see anything on it, but I might have missed something tiny.
RTN is often due to a bacterial infection. This may have followed an injury due to fish nibbling/collision, maintenance or possibly allelopathic interactions with neighboring coral(s), etc. Very hard to know for sure, predict or treat, according to many sources.
Two questions-
Do you target feed this coral?, and
Did you recently change your lighting?
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Two questions-
Do you target feed this coral?, and
Did you recently change your lighting?
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No lighting change. But maybe a fish or something? Idk - and yes target feed and broadcast feed.
Should I worry about other corals? if bacterial? Treatment?
It’s probably not a pest; the chances are small, more so for chalices than others.
However, when dipping, most pests are very tiny. Additionally, they often aren’t killed by the dip, only weakened. I recommend using a pipette; and about halfway through your dip, using it to gently blast all crevices and surfaces of a corals to dislodge any pests.
Otherwise, it is puzzling. Continue the good work in the investigation. Perhaps it could be related to the metal that fell in. I’ve seen a few weird things over the years, called suppliers, and was able to confirm such diagnoses. But more often than not, it’s much simpler than that.
However, when dipping, most pests are very tiny. Additionally, they often aren’t killed by the dip, only weakened. I recommend using a pipette; and about halfway through your dip, using it to gently blast all crevices and surfaces of a corals to dislodge any pests.
Otherwise, it is puzzling. Continue the good work in the investigation. Perhaps it could be related to the metal that fell in. I’ve seen a few weird things over the years, called suppliers, and was able to confirm such diagnoses. But more often than not, it’s much simpler than that.
It is possible to likely, that the hinge cover was nickel plated. So, I looked up nickel as a toxin to cnidarians, which include corals. It appears to be quite toxic. That said, I’m wondering why no other coral appeared to be affected, if toxicity was the issue. Also, what volume of water was in the system, as it was just one small hinge cover. I’m still thinking it more likely to be bacterial.
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Investigating lethal and sublethal effects of the trace metals cadmium, cobalt, lead, nickel and zinc on the anemone Aiptasia pulchella, a cnidarian representative for ecotoxicology in tropical marine environments
The zooxanthellate sea anemone Aiptasia pulchella is found throughout the tropical and subtropical oceans of the Indo-Pacific and is easily maintained in aquaria, posing potential suitability as a standard tropical marine test organism for use in ecotoxicology. To gain an understanding of the...
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I am fairly sure it was only in the sump a short time since I had cleaned the sump last week and it was not in there. So, thinking maybe a week at most. Total system volume for that system is 70 gallons. Thanks.It is possible to likely, that the hinge cover was nickel plated. So, I looked up nickel as a toxin to cnidarians, which include corals. It appears to be quite toxic. That said, I’m wondering why no other coral appeared to be affected, if toxicity was the issue. Also, what volume of water was in the system, as it was just one small hinge cover. I’m still thinking it more likely to be bacterial.
Investigating lethal and sublethal effects of the trace metals cadmium, cobalt, lead, nickel and zinc on the anemone Aiptasia pulchella, a cnidarian representative for ecotoxicology in tropical marine environments
The zooxanthellate sea anemone Aiptasia pulchella is found throughout the tropical and subtropical oceans of the Indo-Pacific and is easily maintained in aquaria, posing potential suitability as a standard tropical marine test organism for use in ecotoxicology. To gain an understanding of the...
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