New Dendro not looking good...

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Got a single dendro polyp on Sunday Jan. 10th and I'm worried that something is not right. At the LFS it was open and looked immaculate. This is my first non-photosynthetic coral but the tank is well established (~17 years old).

Initially I thought it was just not opening because it was stressed from the move, but upon further inspection it appears to be loosing tissue. Flesh on the stalk is recently missing and sorta peeling away in a few spots and the head doesn't look right either. Here's a pic.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q234/tomalwin/IMG_2969.jpg


Is this a normal settling in thing or is something wrong? Someone with dendro experience please help me out.

Thanks,
Tom
__________________

[Aqua_boy]

Dendronepthya is a soft coral that requires continuous feeding and a specialized tank with dedicated flow patterns and feeding. It is all but doomed in most home aquariums. Dendrophyllia is pretty much an over grown tubastrea(sun coral) that is pretty simple to care for concidering it's not photosynthetic. These can eat surprisingly large pcs of meaty foods. I've had luck using cyclopeeze to get them to open up and prepare to eat, then I feed either mysis, clams, or silversides.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Thanks for the response and information. It's a dendrophyllia. I do know the basics on them. I wouldn't purchase a coral (or other organism) without researching them first. However, it is my first dendro and I've only had it for a few days so I am looking to the experienced dendro keepers for help/advice.

My question is whether there is something wrong with the above pictured coral. If there is something wrong what should I be doing to correct the problem.

Thanks,
Tom

[stunreefer]

Hey Tom,

Unfortunately there is most definitely something wrong with your polyp. Was there tissue necrosis prior to putting it in your tank around the base? Considering you just picked it up Sunday that is really, really rapid necrosis for this genus... are you having issues with other coral in your tank?

There is a species of nudibranch that will wipe these out fairly quickly - hard to tell from the pic but there is a couple things that resemeble them: top edge, center of the polyp, the "frilly" yellow looking thing, and one just below to the right. Are those moving or is that tissue receeding and folding over itself?

At this point I would dip it in TMPCC or some other pest removal dip... it will stress it but if it is infested something needs to happen, and fast.

The polyp really looks like something (fish, invert) tore it up, but since there is also recession along the stalk I don't think that's the case...

[chubby190]

I don't have much experience so take what I say in stride... My local fish expert explained to me that if the SG of the water is drastically different from what is in the tank you buy your corals from it can cause necrosis. The cells of the animal are fill with water of a certain SG when the SG you put them in is different it causes some cells to burst when they can't equalize the osmotic pressure quickly enough.

The explanation made sense to me, perhaps the tank you bought your dendro from had a higher or lower SG and it caused a shock?

Just my two cents.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Hey Tom,

Unfortunately there is most definitely something wrong with your polyp. Was there tissue necrosis prior to putting it in your tank around the base? Considering you just picked it up Sunday that is really, really rapid necrosis for this genus... are you having issues with other coral in your tank?

There is a species of nudibranch that will wipe these out fairly quickly - hard to tell from the pic but there is a couple things that resemeble them: top edge, center of the polyp, the "frilly" yellow looking thing, and one just below to the right. Are those moving or is that tissue receeding and folding over itself?

At this point I would dip it in TMPCC or some other pest removal dip... it will stress it but if it is infested something needs to happen, and fast.

The polyp really looks like something (fish, invert) tore it up, but since there is also recession along the stalk I don't think that's the case...

I thought the necrosis seemed fast as well. I have an established tank with many different corals, none of which are having issues. I didn't notice the "frilly" things moving. They looked like mesenterial filaments that mushroom anemones puke up when stressed.

I contacted the LFS where I purchased it and they are replacing it. I returned it this evening. While talking with them I found out that it was a freshly cut frag that likely had some prior damage and the stress of moving it brought about this reaction. The replacement polyp is on hold there for a few weeks to ensure it is fully healed.

Do you think a Lugol's dip would be wise for its replacement? It is the only coral "dip" I own of have used.

Thank you all for your input. I'll post a picture of the replacement once it's settled in.

Tom

[Nemo Niblets]

Those exact same yellow flakes (If they aren't moving, just swaying in the current) would happen to my dendro. It closed up for a while, the flakes slowly went away, and then it opened up. I wouldn't try to feed it much for a while. Mine is perfectly fine now, it did that same thing around 3 times. Just leave it in the same spot and give it stable conditions, and hope that it's okay.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Thanks for the reply Niblets. Things took a turn for the worse between last night and this morning. It's mouth was gaping to ~1/3 the polyp size (down to the skeleton) and the edges were beginning to peel away. I brought the coral back to the LFS and will be getting a free replacement in a few weeks (once the frags are healed and healthy). Gotta love a good relationship with a LFS.

[Nemo Niblets]

That looks pretty bad, it's likely the temperature swing.

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Hey Tom,

Unfortunately there is most definitely something wrong with your polyp. Was there tissue necrosis prior to putting it in your tank around the base? Considering you just picked it up Sunday that is really, really rapid necrosis for this genus... are you having issues with other coral in your tank?

There is a species of nudibranch that will wipe these out fairly quickly - hard to tell from the pic but there is a couple things that resemeble them: top edge, center of the polyp, the "frilly" yellow looking thing, and one just below to the right. Are those moving or is that tissue receeding and folding over itself?

At this point I would dip it in TMPCC or some other pest removal dip... it will stress it but if it is infested something needs to happen, and fast.

The polyp really looks like something (fish, invert) tore it up, but since there is also recession along the stalk I don't think that's the case...

It's not a nudibranch, it's some sort of species of worm. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1727761

I don't know if, in this instance, the dendro is being killed by the same thing that wiped out my colony. I am pretty certain that these worms were the culprit in my case. From the sound of it and from looking at the coral, it does look somewhat similar. You might do good to dip the coral in some de-wormer (Praziquantel or Levamisole if you can find it). If the same thing happens to your new dendro, then I think it is pretty clear that it is some sort of infestation.

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Also, you should consider that dendros are a very hardy coral, IME. If you have other corals in your tank that are doing fine, then it is unlikely that it was something environmental that caused this.

[LeslieH]

There are a lot of parasitic worms out there, hard to tell which kind it is. The only thing I'm sure of is that it's not a polychaete in your photos aninja.

[Nemo Niblets]

Also, you should consider that dendros are a very hardy coral, IME. If you have other corals in your tank that are doing fine, then it is unlikely that it was something environmental that caused this.

When my temp dropped, all of my corals were fine :hmm4:

Theres lots of things that could have happened...