Don't give up on RTNs!

broke1 · #1 12/04/2007, 09:58 PM

This little guy RTN'd on me right after I got it. I put it in the back of the frag tank and just forgot about it. You can see by the look of it, it has been there for a while. I can't even remember what it is. I always thought RTNs were a complete loss, I guess a polyp or two made it.

rkl303 · #2 12/04/2007, 10:45 PM

I don't see anything...unless my eyes are playing a trick on me.

broke1 · #3 12/04/2007, 10:55 PM

Green and yellow at the bottom of the frag just above the plug.

fishfanatic06 · #4 12/04/2007, 11:05 PM

Hmmm.... I honestly would just throw it out, but that's just me.

broke1 · #5 12/04/2007, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fishfanatic06
Hmmm.... I honestly would just throw it out, but that's just me.

It's alive so I'll see what it does. It may never turn out to be anything, but it has taught me to just put any lost causes in the back corner and forget about them for a while.

KEstep · #6 12/04/2007, 11:25 PM

I had a brain coral die all the way off except for about a dime size piece of skin... The original size was a little bigger than my fist. It came ALL the way back in two years and is even bigger than before. If there is tissue there is a chance.

xtm · #7 12/05/2007, 12:30 AM

Agreed. It's a tedious and lengthy process but the feeling of accomplishment is unbeatable.. lol

I have a small frag of unknown green acro that got encrusted by GSP's... it was almost too late when I saw it. There were literally 3 polyps left. I plucked it out, scraped the GSP and about 5 months later (that will be today) it has already made a full comeback and has started to branch! Well worth the effort, IMO.

flatwormdie · #8 12/05/2007, 12:46 AM

not to get off track but when STN or RTN happens dosen't it pollute the tank and create a nitrate spike?

broke1 · #9 12/05/2007, 12:52 AM

Maybe on a much grander scale, but this little guy didn't effect 400 gallons of water much.

I'd just like to see which coral this was. I've lost around 5 since starting this tank and honestly don't even know what this was anymore.

ClownReef® · #10 12/05/2007, 10:11 AM

Id toss it out... Hope really is the last thing lost..hehe..

dvmsn · #11 12/05/2007, 10:17 AM

I also agree wit tossing it out. RTN and Stn both seem to be contagious. IME it is best to sacrifice a couple of corals when this starts happening, then to lose a whole lot more down the road.

broke1 · #12 12/05/2007, 10:36 AM

This happened two months ago, is it still contagious?

ClownReef® · #13 12/05/2007, 10:39 AM

I dont think RTN/STN are contagious at all. Im a true believer that it happens when stress is brought upon a coral. A change in its environment that triggers stress, there for, causing the coral to RTN/STN. Its not a bug or a virus..its simply IMO, caused by a rapid change on the coral's living conditions. (i.e parameters, flow, light..etc).

dvmsn · #14 12/05/2007, 11:43 AM

I agree that it is brought on by stress. The jury is still out on the pathology. It is just my opinion, but it does spread and better safe than sorry

broke1 · #15 12/05/2007, 11:55 AM

My question would then be, " is this pass the point that it could spread?"

It has been in my frag tank which is tied into the main system for a couple months now and nothing happened to any of the other corals in there.

acrylic_300 · #16 12/05/2007, 03:11 PM

Keep it....it will be more resistant to disease if it makes it.

ClownReef® · #17 12/05/2007, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by broke1
My question would then be, " is this pass the point that it could spread?"

It has been in my frag tank which is tied into the main system for a couple months now and nothing happened to any of the other corals in there.

There is nothing to spread. There never was. Its not contagious. Its not a virus. All it is, its a dead frag.

Quote:

Originally posted by acrylic_300
Keep it....it will be more resistant to disease if it makes it.

The odds of that frag making it are one in a billion (thats million with a B) :P

Im sorry, but i'd just toss it out.

hockeyismylife · #18 12/05/2007, 05:12 PM

i would keep it i had my purple acro die off but 2 little dots and they have really come back.

em805 · #19 12/05/2007, 06:38 PM

I have a tort that I experienced almost the exact same thing, heck it even looked like your picture. I had 2 polyps there a couple of weeks ago and now the base is forming and there are 2 more polyps. I wouldn't toss anything just yet, I really think that watever caused it to RTN in the first place is probably now solved or it has adjusted

. IMO, were there is a single polyp there is a future colony.

As a side note, I had my pink/green procilliopora spawn in my tank and now there is tones of colonies sprouting everywere. So much so that I've had to pull out some of the rocks and literally scrape the colonies off with a flat head screwdriver--leaving nothing but white powder behind. a week later the darn things always come back. I guess sps isn't as fragile as I first imagined especially under conditions it has acclimated to. Keep us posted with pics bud, and GL.

dvmsn · #20 12/05/2007, 06:47 PM

Quote:

There is nothing to spread. There never was. Its not contagious.

That is a very bold assertion. What proof do yo have for that statement?

We don't have any idea what actually causes rtn/stn. In my experience and the experience of many others, it does seem to hop from coral to coral. I can't say any more that it is a virus, then you can say it is not. But I can say anecdotally, that when it starts happening it goes from one to the next.

There are to far many threads where an owner started having an problem after introducing a new coral for me to believe that it is totally coincidental.

ClownReef® · #21 12/05/2007, 06:58 PM

What proof do i have? other than personal testing?

I did the experiment. I put an RTNing coral right next to a healthy colony. VEEERY close. Nothing happened.

I put the same 2 colonies right next to a powerhead hoping the "cooties" would jump to the healthy one.. Nothing happened.

So, as far as i know..it is not contagious..it is not a virus/bug/cootie/parasite. Its caused by a sudden change in the environment of a stressed coral.

broke1 · #22 12/05/2007, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dvmsn
That is a very bold assertion. What proof do yo have for that statement?

We don't have any idea what actually causes rtn/stn. In my experience and the experience of many others, it does seem to hop from coral to coral. I can't say any more that it is a virus, then you can say it is not. But I can say anecdotally, that when it starts happening it goes from one to the next.

There are to far many threads where an owner started having an problem after introducing a new coral for me to believe that it is totally coincidental.

I can't and won't argue the above statements, to a certain degree I agree and really don't know enough to argue it even if I wanted to. I just started this post to show that a frag that I thought had no tissue left at all seems to have grown to the point it is starting to rebuild the coral.

Throwing it out seems ridiculous to me, it's obviously alive and I'm going to guess whatever stress there was that caused an entire frag to RTN is gone. Whatever may have caused the demise of the original frag is either gone or the coral has adapted and is starting to spread out with new growth.

Would it be better to leave it grow over the original skeleton or clip off the top and let it form a new piece on it's own?

I really would like to see if I can grow this back.

ClownReef® · #23 12/05/2007, 07:15 PM

From what i can see from the picture you provided...it looks like nothing but a dead coral skeleton with algea growing around it. Maybe you can see something i dont. You wont lose anything by leaving it and seeing what happens. Please keep us updated.

Best

broke1 · #24 12/05/2007, 07:37 PM

I wish I had a better lense for my camera. This is about as good as I can get.

ClownReef® · #25 12/05/2007, 07:55 PM

If its been a while and it stopped receding there is a good chance it will make it. Good luck.