Problem on the Brain

[waterfaller1]

Hello..i am having an ongoing problem with my wellsophyllia..hope you experts can help!I have had the brain for over a year...and the last several months...a brown hairy algae has managed to get in the INSIDE of the brain,and extends out of the mouths...which now stay partially open.My tang even picks at it.The brain still expands nicely,but no longer shows it's feeders like it used to.Any of you ever seen this,or know what to do?Any type of dip that would kill the algae but not the coral??
Here it is...see the algae on the left.

[moggyhill]

Neat, I have never seen that before. Can you pick the algae off by hand?

[Blastomussaman]

Is the algae right out of the mouth? If so, take it out. If not, it could be that the skeleton is exposed and the algae have overtaken it. If this is the case, you have to rid the algae for the flesh to grow back, otherwise, the algae will eventually kill your brain. Rid by careful brushing or cutting (drastic measures).

Your tang is not helping with its constant nipping either.

Try to feed it regularly to help compete against the algae.

[waterfaller1]

Yes,the algae is definately on the skeleton..it extends out of all the mouths.Do you think a pair of tweezers would work?This bites..I really love this coral..it has always been the centerpiece of my tankAs for feeding it...it does'nt send out it's feeders anymore during the day like it used to...maybe I should check at night.
EDIT:Ok I did what you said..and it even seemed to respond.I took it out into a bowl of tank water,and took out as much as I could.
I have an idea too..what do you think??Do you think the brain would outlive the algae without light?In other words...say I placed the brain in the sump for a few days...would it live and the algae die..without light?Or...what if I placed the brain under a cave for a little while??
Thanks so much for your help..I sure hope I can save it!

[waterfaller1]

Here's a cool pic of it...this is from last year

[waterfaller1]

Here it is when I first got it...notice how much brighter it was...it took the upgrade in lighting pretty hard...and really has only recently started to regain it's original colors.

[moggyhill]

algae is so tough that it would probably outlive the coral. I would continue as you are doing and every few days pick out the algae.

[Blastomussaman]

There is a reason why they are called pest algae! They are like cockroaches! If you put the deteriorating brain in the sump w/o light, you will kill it even faster than the algae.

Good job with picking off the algae, but don't do it everyday. You want to keep the coral healthy with minimal disturbance. Put it in a low flow area and try to feed it. Normally even in the daytime they will respond. You can stimulate it with some clam juice or the like. If this doesn't work, turn off your powerheads and just put small pieces of seafood on its mouth and wait till it sinks in. It may take a while, but it will work. Watch your fishes though, they might pick on it. Worse case, put an open container with holes in it to guard it from fishes. Believe me, your tang and shrimps will take the food faster than your brain so keep it away.

For the brain to win the battle against the algae, the only way is getting enough food and light and eventually the flesh will cover the skeleton enough and block the algae from getting any light.

From the pic it looks to be starved.

Good luck!

[waterfaller1]

Thanks for your help!Here is an interesting update;
Yesterday I placed the brain in a bowl of tankwater,to which I added 40 drops of Lugol's.I picked out all the rest of the algae I could get to...left it in there for about 20 minutes.After placing it back in the tank,it expelled long streams of clear slime for a few hours.I thought that was it...and it was done for.Well,after it finished sliming,it started to puff up...and looks much better!This morning it looks great!I am going to attempt to feed it a little more forcefully today.I like your idea about placing something over it to keep the fish and shrimp away.I have been trying to think of something that would work.too bad a strawberry basket would'nt fit....something like it would be perfect,but bigger.I am hopeful it will turn around.