Merulina ampliata, bubble tumor or spawning??

[tycham]

Hi I posted this on the SPS forum, but thought I'd repost here in case this has something to do with self propogation. This coral has been id'd by folks on line as either a merulina ampliata or a merulina scabricula....In the last weekor so it has developed a bubble on the outer edge of its skeleton...it is a fleshy bubble that pulsates with water flow....is this a spawning behavior or is it a disease or something else??


The flaky white stuff is from a shedding leather.


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/19210DSC_0002.jpg


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/19210DSC_0003.jpg Thanks for your input in advance, Romayne

[rick rottet]

couldn't say for sure.
it looks like healthy tissue. (i.e. it is the same color and pattern as the surrounding tissue). if it was mine, i would just watch it. if it did start to look cheesy, discolored or necrotic, or started to disintegrate, i would cut it out. otherwise, i would just watch and see what happens.
JMO

[Stoney Mahony]

Yeah,My meurilina puffs up all over when it is real happy. You sure it's not just tissue espansion? Squirt it with a a turkey baster or something and see if the tissue sucks in, tight to the skeleton. I would also look at maybe the shedding of the leather to have something to do with it, Place the meurilina so that it will not get any of the scraps settling on it. Mine loves a medium flow, and it looks alot like yours but it's a small colony about 4.5" tall x 3.5" wide. Good luck!