Help with Leather Coral with hole in its skin

[Mal]

I have a leather coral that looks like a hand with fingers. I have had this coral for 8 months. It is as large as my hand, and shaped like a hand. It is flat, with fingers sticking out all arround the edges.

There is a hole [break] in the skin in the palm of the leather coral about 1 inch from the center. Sometimes sediment would settle on the palm of the coral. I would usually blow it of with a turkey baster. This is the spot where the hole has developed. Other than the hole. the coral looks good and acts fine.

Can you give me any advice on this problem? Will the spot heal? What can I do to help the Leather coral heal, or is there something else going on?

Thanks for the help.

Mal

 

[AF Founder]

Mal,

More important than the hole is whether the coral is extending its polyps. If it is not, then you better look into your water quality.

 

[Mal]

Hi Terry,

I am not sure if it is fully extending its polyps. They are as extended as ever since I have had it. It has lost of little goose bumps on on it. Some of the bumps have little white flower like tips. However, that is all it has ever had.

Re water quality: nitrates about 15-20ppm. Nirtites are 0, Amonia 0, PH was staying about 8.0, Calcium ranges from 380 to 420. Salinity about 1.026. Lots of light on the tank [765 watts on 125 gallon].

Any other thoughts?

Mal

 

[AF Founder]

Hi Terry,

I am not sure if it is fully extending its polyps. They are as extended as ever since I have had it. It has lost of little goose bumps on on it. Some of the bumps have little white flower like tips. However, that is all it has ever had.

Re water quality: nitrates about 15-20ppm. Nirtites are 0, Amonia 0, PH was staying about 8.0, Calcium ranges from 380 to 420. Salinity about 1.026. Lots of light on the tank [765 watts on 125 gallon].

Any other thoughts?

Mal

Your Nitrates are high, and that opens the possibility that your orthphosphates are high too. High phosphates are a serious problem. I suggest you do significant water changes, and decrease feeding and increase skimming.

 

[Mal]

Hi Terry,

I have phosphate remover in the tank and they are 0 by the test. I do a 20-25% water change every two weeks. The nitrates will not come down. I was advised [on this bbs] to take the corse aragonite out of the tank and replace with a DSB of fine sand. I have replaced about 60% of the substrate over 5-6 weeks. I have replaced all that I can get to without tearing the tank down. The nitrates have come down some now. I have put on two filters for nitrates and started a refregium with micro algae.

I have a large skimmer on the tank and it works. How do I increase? It runs all the time. I feed small amounts about 2-3 times per week. I have been putting in seachem reef plus to feed the corals. I am also adding seachem calcium and alkaline buffers per directions.

Given all this, do you have any other ideas about what to do about the hole in the leather?

Thanks

Mal

 

[AF Founder]

Mal,

I have seen this many times, and it doesn't necessarily mean that the coral is on the decline. It could be caused by a predator that is not easily visible, and it could also be a nuitrition problem, and even that it's not getting enough light.

 

[caecosystems]

This is very common with leather corals. The leather you describe sounds like a Lobophytum. You may take a look at your water flow in the tank if you have a problem with detritus settling on your corals. Is there discoloration in the hole or is it a light color? If discoloration then it may be infected. In that case you could give it a bath in Lugol's Iodine (5 drops in 5 gallons of tank water for about 15 minutes). If no discoloration then leave it alone, it will heal on its own. Increase the circulation around the area. Be careful not to direct too much flow on the leather, just enough to keep detritus from settling on it. Good reefing.

 

[rrdodge1283]

Inspect the rocks around the coral for tiny white starfish, these are thick in nature no biger than a pencil eraser and not very uniform as to the star pattern. These are preditory starfish and dig into the soft corals and cause limbs to die. Had same problems and found starfish on liverock.

 

[Mal]

Thanks

I will check into that.

Mal

 

[rrdodge1283]

The star fish in question is the Asterina star it is a prediator be advised that is the name.

 

[Mal]

Do you have a photo of them by chance?

 

[rrdodge1283]

Photo, lets see if it works, I pick them up with hands or tweezers. They burrow in the flesh and eat, once in you, have to diescect they dead limb to find very hard (Size realavance photo) "These are dried out ones". "They did not shrink at all!

 

[rrdodge1283]

Opp'S Wrong Pict! Heres the Correct Photo, Sorry About That

 

[Mal]

rrdodge1283

I have them all over my other reef tank and I have not had a problem in there. You say they kill soft corals? I did not know that.

Mal

 

[rrdodge1283]

Lost many limbs on my green sinularia, have brown finger leather and it did not attack it yet but I am doing my best to rid Aquarium of these. I have them under control I will try to find articale which is in seascope page. Will get Photo of main tank. and try to get other photo if limbs rots. Do not pannic! is the wound healing? is the limbs above finger leather detiriorating?

 

[Mal]

Actually, my leather is better now. The hole is closed and healed over. It looks as good as new. I did a few water changes and not much else. Who knows why it had the blemish. As you can see, my first post was a while ago.

As far as the starfish, I have a 50 gallon reef tank (not the same tank as the one with the leather) and it has many of those stars in it. They are all over the glass and back wall of the tank. I have not had any noticable problems from them. But I did not look either.

 

[Passionfish]

My leather has 2 ares where the very surface seems slightly denuded (light yellow rather than beige in color) and the polyps are not extended. Could flat worms be the culprit as I see some on the leather? What about pressure, since these areas were up against the side until I movd the piece over a bit?

 

[Passionfish]

I meant areas not ares, soory