Millepora rapidly losing flesh w/pics HELP!!

[eg617]

Hey guys check out these pics something is killing my Pink Millepora real quick. I noticed it just now and when I moved it to take a good shot of it with my camera I saw a small black crab that Ive never seen before runing away. All water parameters are fine, no signs of red bugs. The milles are still full of color and very hairy and with a bunch of new growth tips. All other sps is doing fine too. What do you guys think? Could it be the crab,Nudis, red bugs?

Heres some pics i just took.




And heres a pic i just took two days ago!!

[eg617]

Tank is 3 years old. Lighting 6x54 t5. CA 420, dKH 9 PH is between 8.2 to 8.4 (color card is kind of old) sg 1.024 Nitrates <5ppm, Ammonia <0.25 all done with a API test kit. My chiller is set to 78 so it flucuates from 77-79.

[aquarius77]

Did a neighbor coral maybe come in contact with it? What kind of flow is it getting? Do you see any bugs crawling around on it?

[fishdoc11]

Looks like STN and that could rapidly turn into RTN. Your safest bet IMO is to frag the coral to try and save it....or you can watch it very closely. It might reverse itself, it might not.
Chris

[atzak]

That area may be a little large, but I've had luck in the past covering an area with tissue loss with superglue gel

[Lobster]

I agree with fishdoc11. How long have you had the coral? What is the water movement like around the coral? If it is not getting enough flow around the base, it could definitely recede like that. Just a best guess though. I would at least take a couple good frags now off a coral that size.

[kev apsley]

I would definitely frag it like Fishdoc stated before it spreads too much and it becomes a lost cause

[eg617]

I had the coral about 2 months now and its been doing so well i cant believe it. The flow is real good i got a koralia 3 on one side and a mj12 with a hydor deflector on the other. No other coral is close enough to touch it and there is no bugs bugs crawling on it except 1 or 2 pods. So u guys dont think its the crab?? I hate to frag it its one of of my favorite pieces but I will to save it.

[Mikigo]

I would dip it first and then take some frags before you lose the whole colony. When they RTN, they can go fast.

[Wazzel]

I would take a few frags also. Make sure your frags are well clear of where the tissue is receeding. You do not need to frag the whole thing. Just a few "in case" pieces.

[eg617]

Which brand of dip should I buy?

[eg617]

Originally posted by atzak
That area may be a little large, but I've had luck in the past covering an area with tissue loss with superglue gel

What is the superglue suppose to do?

[kev apsley]

Originally posted by eg617
What is the superglue suppose to do?

prevent the necrosis from spreading past where the superglue was put on

[Lagger]

+1 superglue. A good preventative measure. Is that doesn't stop it, it's fragging time.

Sounds like the crabs the issue here. Need to search & destroy....

[BecomesOcean]

I vote for the crab as culprit also. If it was him and you catch and remove him, it'll prolly be fine and grow back over the affected area. That just happened to me recently.

Taking off a frag or two would be a good idea anyway, for insurance if nothing else.

[Jay4Robin]

If you saw a crab near it that was black I am sure he had a meal. If it looks like chunks were scraped out of the body of the coral and the other polyps are out it was a crab. I have had plenty of corals heal up fast. You need to look for the critter at night with a flash light. Get him out. the coral should heal up fine. I caught one in my tank last week he made a mess but the coral is fine and healing. Good luck.

[REEFRHEAD]

i say jay4robin is thinking the most clear headed here go with leaving the coral alone putting it back into its orginal spot and destroy that pesky black acro eating crab ASAP goodluck BTW take a few small branches just for insurance like BecomesOcean stated

[reefkoi]

I have a black acro crab myself, I saw it one time it was about 1" or larger!! He likes to pinch the top off of my green stylo, I suspect he is the cause of other overnight damage. Easier said than done getting rid of him in my 600, I may have to try interceptor just to kill him!
Does Interceptor usually always kill crabs? does the size of the crab matter I wonder?
Hmmm. thins could be a whole other topic, sorry to sidetrack the thread.

[Jay4Robin]

It should kill him. Along with all of your pods and other hermits and shrimps. They like to munch on soft sps.

[eg617]

First i just wannna say thanks for the help guys. I tried catching the crab last night I saw him wandering around the colony again but it was too fast. Anybody know how to make a trap?

[kev apsley]

Originally posted by eg617
First i just wannna say thanks for the help guys. I tried catching the crab last night I saw him wandering around the colony again but it was too fast. Anybody know how to make a trap?

you could wait until you see inside the colony again, pull it out and extract him with a pair of tweezers

[raddogz]

Fwiw, I though I had a crab issue with a humilus colony as the tips not the base were being scraped bare.

Not more than a few weeks later the colony still wasn't looking so hot so I yanked it out and dipped in a povidone solution and blasted with a turkey baster.

AEFW with eggs at the base. I fragged what was salvageable and chucked most of the colony in the garbage. Fwiw the only new thing that was added to the tank was some zoas from one of my other tanks. I received the zoa frag from a friend that did not know his tank was infected with AEFW.