Devil's Hand problem?

[Hop]

I got a Devil's Hand about a month ago. After day two it started extending and it looks as though it has grown quite a bit in size. Two days ago I noticed that there were two fingers in the back that had turned brown. Since then the two fingers have died and are just handing on my tissue now.

Is there cause for concern, or is this possibly due to shipping damage or a predator of some type? The rest of the coral seems to be doing well.

Here is a picture if it helps. The two that I am talking about are barely visible on the bottom, left, behind the coral. Sorry they are in an odd spot and I can't manage a better pic.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/65219dvlhnd051306_1.JPG

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[tinyreef]

not too good at lobos but i think i know what you're talking about as i currently have a similar issue. the flesh kinda just rots away, crumbling away when you blow on it but the rest of the coral seems fine, right?

could be a parasite/coralivore but in my instance i think it's something else. in my instance it's salt creep.

where my coral's located, it's suspectible to an occasional drop of salt crystal from splash/return pipe. corals aren't meant to touch salt crystals in raw form so it's basically like acid from what i've seen.

is your coral located close to a tank wall? if so, is there any salt buildup on the underside of the tank frame? (you may have to feel around underneath, no hanky panky)

another thought is that it's a rot of some sort. i'd clean the coral and maybe even slice a small sliver of flesh away in case it's already topically infected and then increase flow around the coral. might limit the coral mucus which may promote bacteria or whatever's eating away at the coral. hth

[Hop]

Nope, no way for salt creep to hit it...

here is a better pic
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/65219dvlhnd051306_2.JPG

How would one clean it up? And if it get's worse how would one cut off the affected portion? I know, I'm still a rookie at corals:)

[tinyreef]

well, the salt creep was worth a mention at least. :lol:

cleaning it would require you to either remove the coral or siphon the affected areas.

if you remove it, i'd do the cleaning and cutting in a container full of the tank water. a good idea is to do it during a waterchange that way the coral isn't too shocked by different water than it's already used to.

to siphon you can use an air-hose or a turkey baster to suck out the afflicted parts. kinda like a mini-water vacuum cleaner.

to cut the affected areas you can either use kitchen shears or exacto knife.

i like kitchen shears as they're easy to grip and very sharp, making clean cuts quickly.

exacto might be better for your situation if the area is too awkward to access with a scissor/shears. but the exacto cut typically is more difficult, you'll probably use more of a shaving motion in the end if you use the exacto. hth

[Scuba_Dave]

If they get crowded or blocked from the light they will also drop fingers

[Hop]

Thanks Scuba_Dave, that seems to be the general consensus on my tanks thread. I'm going to give it some time and see what happens. I was also told that they do this to propagate themselves... Maybe I'll have some more to spread around the tank, I really like this softie:)

[clkwrk]

if it's not mush then don't worry it will drop its baby anytime :D

I get that also when crab eats on mine . The are thats falling off looks dreaded but after it drops they grow a new.

[crrichey]

You and your sucessful corals ;)

[clkwrk]

:lol: Its husbandry and suficent equipment :D


Btw I have observed this for the last 4+ years with my devils hand. Mine is also dropping a few soon . I will get a pic for you.

[crrichey]

You say sufficient, I say overkill, whatever ;)

I would like to see a couple pics!

[Hop]

Thanks guys! I've been monitoring it and so far, so good. A few fingers on the back don't seem to extend, but the rest of it seems to be doing well and growing pretty fast on the front:)