RTN or Flatworms

[spaulr]

It's been a while since I posted because I haven't added anything to my tank, or broken anything while tinkering and needed help :lol: .

I posted about this before, but the Blue polyp motipora (LHS next to clown) I have recovered and then grew like crazy attaching itself in a few places. This is pic from Jan, but its even bigger now.

So, the point - It looks like I have RTN again. The coral is now DEAD in a few places and the RTN is spreading fast. In some places it looks like the RTN spreads like the red bands in a candy cane.

I'm temped to break the 2 branches that are connected to the rock work creating 2 new colonies, then trying to frag out the original colony on the plug. I haven't added anything but a few Astrea snails to the tank in the past 6 months. Granted I did not inspect the snails thoroughly. The other corals seem uneffected and have never had this problem.

Any other ideas? Lugols? And if I do frag it what are the best tools - I need to do this tomorrow at latest, so clean garage tools or scissors will have to do for cutting.

 

[Len]

If you don't see any flatworms, it's probably RTN. When this happens, I always frag at least one piece and put it far away from the original colony. I also do Lugol's dip when possible. Flatworms also tend to pop off the colony after a Lugol's dip, so it certainly doesn't hurt to try.

 

[spaulr]

Len-

Do we know what causes RTN in certain corals? Water quality, sudden parameter change, etc? I guess I'll frag it, move the parent colony, and hope for the best. Thanks for getting back to me.

 

[SnowManSnow]

A very short fw dip will also show up and flatworms u may have.

 

[Anonymous]

I have used crazy glue along the edges of the receding tissue with success in the past, this of course assuming that it's RTN.

 

[spaulr]

Do flatworms just appear out of the blue - over time. this coral exhibited the same behavior in the past, but recovered. My other SPS corals are growing better than ever and look fantastic. Close proximity too.

 

[spaulr]

It was not flatworms and the backside of the coral (you couldn't see) was decimated.

Man I haven't been that stressed in a while. Doing coral propogation/saving with henckle scissors is NOT recommended. No choice though. I was able to get 6 frags well away from the receding tissue. I also have 2 big colonies that had attached themselves to the rockwork.

Coral is pretty amazing in that the polyps were out like nothing happened about 30 minutes after I fragged them. I just hope they settle and grow.

 

[Anonymous]

To the best of my knowledge, there are not monti eating flatworms.