Please look at my torch.

[shootist]

Ive had this torch for about 6 months,it has always done great with good polyp extension and has grown 4 new heads. In the last week it has been going steady downhill,not opening much. Tonight I came home and 2 of the heads have(I believe) brown jelly and on a third there are not polyps at all. In addition right below the torch we have noticed this long white tube or root looking thing and Im wondering if it has somehow dug into the skeleton on my torch? Ive combed the lps boards and havent found anything similar to it,though I have seen the brown jelly. I plan to frag off the three heads tonight after its asleep and have a closer look at the root thing. Should I dip the coral after I frag it? With Sea Chem reef dip?Or perhaps an iodine dip? I havent really seen a good cure for brown jelly other than fragging and water changes. All my numbers still look good so I dont think its a water issue. I did install a new powerhead several weeks ago so after I frag the torch Im going to try and move it to a spot with a little less flow. Or could it be that worm thing? Thanks for looking.http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/153269torch.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/153269torch2.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/153269torch3.jpg

[Bcollins111900]

I would frag it up and then dip it. I have had this problem in the past and the method I suggested has worked for me. I use iodine to dip my corals.

[shootist]

I pulled the torch out to frag it and the worm thing was running all the way up into the torch. Upon further inspection I noticed that there is a web looking structure between 2 of the three groups of heads. I removed the three heads on the far right and the web/cocoon looking sturcture is still between the other two groups of heads,ive attached a pic,it has a hole in it and looks soft but is actually as hard as the skeleton that it rests on.Any ideads? Ive never heard of a worm that would burrow into a torch?http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/153269torch5.jpg

[hollback]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10754776#post10754776 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shootist
...I noticed that there is a web looking structure between 2 of the three groups of heads. ...Any ideads?

Harmless common sponge.

[shootist]

No definitely not a sponge. I scraped all of the material out from between the remaining heads. The consistency of it was krispy crunchy,and Ive never seen a sponge with a long tail trailing off of it. The first day after scraping and fragging the torch it didnt come out very much,but today it was getting a lot better polyp extension than it has lately. So whatever the thing is it was definitely killing my torch,cost me 3 heads and as far as I can tell it is still in my tank somewhere,