Lobo Dying

[Jjd531]

Hello, I have a lobo which is dying, its about 1/3 skeleton now. Its been at the bottom of my tank on the sand bed. Part of it dipped into the sand it it started skeletalizing on the bottom right corner of it, I figured it would grow back and just died from being submerged under the sand. It has progressively gotten worse over the course of a few days. It did get stung by a frogspawn but but not even where the flesh started receding and dying. I have a ton of other lps doing great, I have some Trachyphyillia near it as well, which, not to toot my own horn are doing amazing. Could it be a lighting or flow issue? I have it in a spot with decent flow, or possibly something from the sand? I've heard blastos can be sensitive to sand; not sure if the same applies to lobos but I'd assume not, since that is typical placement from my understanding. I could give it a dip too but that might just stress it out. And of course, I have a picture.

 

[fishguy242]

hi,i would suggest,dip,blow off w turkey baster any dead tissue ,put back in moderate flow.best wishes

 

[45ZoaGarden]

What are the parameters?
I don’t think it would recede like that from a bit of sand.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

I would recommend you do an Iodine dip pronto, if you don't have any on hand most LFS's have it. Dip for maybe 15-20 minutes or as the directions say and blow off rotting tissue gently with a turkey baster.
I have noticed that Lobos don't like being on the sand. They are rock dwellers in nature and almost never come in contact with it, like blastos.
Also, it looks to me like a Symphyllia. The single, conjoined polyp and the structure of the skeleton leads me to believe so. Same care as a Lobo but they can be a bit more finicky.
Good luck with the colony!

 

[Jjd531]

What are the parameters?
I don’t think it would recede like that from a bit of sand.

Calcium about 520, Alkinity 170? And phosphates .08. The tank is also currently running Fallow, the fish are under quarantine but I've kept up with coral feeding to maintain nutrients.

 

[Jjd531]

I would recommend you do an Iodine dip pronto, if you don't have any on hand most LFS's have it. Dip for maybe 15-20 minutes or as the directions say and blow off rotting tissue gently with a turkey baster.
I have noticed that Lobos don't like being on the sand. They are rock dwellers in nature and almost never come in contact with it, like blastos.
Also, it looks to me like a Symphyllia. The single, conjoined polyp and the structure of the skeleton leads me to believe so. Same care as a Lobo but they can be a bit more finicky.
Good luck with the colony!

Will definitely try a dip and see if I cant get any dead flesh off and if it'll bounce back. Its actually decayed further from yesterday and this might sound a little hopeful, but it looks 'stable' in that there's not any flesh hanging off it today like its falling apart. I have since moved it up into my rock as well, its getting roughly the same flow but a little more light.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Calcium about 520, Alkinity 170? And phosphates .08. The tank is also currently running Fallow, the fish are under quarantine but I've kept up with coral feeding to maintain nutrients.

Calcium is a bit high. Alk is a tad high as well. What is mg, nitrates, ph, and sg?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

How old is the tank?

 

[Jjd531]

How old is the tank?

Long story short my old reef crashed due to power outage and the only thing to survive was my sump which was up for about 2 years, I also seeded it with live rock from lfs and live sand. This tank itself has been set with the old sump since about July 20th

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Long story short my old reef crashed due to power outage and the only thing to survive was my sump which was up for about 2 years, I also seeded it with live rock from lfs and live sand. This tank itself has been set with the old sump since about July 20th

That’s still pretty young for a lobo... even though it was seeded with the lr, there is a significant amount of die off when you bring them over. I usually suggest 6 months for lps and 8-10 for sensitive species. Yes, it can be done but for the super temperamental ones, slight swings can be really hard on these guys.

 

[Jjd531]

Calcium is a bit high. Alk is a tad high as well. What is mg, nitrates, ph, and sg?

My sg is probably .24 that's what is after top off at least. The rest im unsure of but I do dose MG as well as ph 8.3 buffer weekly. It would have been nice to cycle it longer but the sump was filled with sand as well as an HOB in it. But everything that survived the crash needed to be rehomed immediately. OH I forgot I broke down an established 10 gallon reef with rock and sand and added that to the tank as well when I set everything back up fresh. I'm home all day today and am gonna keep an eye on the other half of the lobo while I do tank maintance, 7 other tanks that need some love today, but if its looking any poorer and not 'stabilized' as previously described I’m gonna dip it. Here's an updated pic as well, as you can see I'm down to half flesh but the tissue does not look ragged or decayed like it did where it was dying yesterday as if it was all gonna blow off.

 

[Uncle99]

Your chemistry must be solid, thinking salinity will not cut it in this hobby, salinity is the basis for all other major elements, it, must remain on point, at all times.
Alk is secondary importance, again, got to be stable.
When all 8 parameters are in check and remain stable with little flux, all corals thrive.
Sounds like your doing a bunch of things.
PH buffers should never ever be used, it would be only temporary and will upset everything.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Your chemistry must be solid, thinking salinity will not cut it in this hobby, salinity is the basis for all other major elements, it, must remain on point, at all times.
Alk is secondary importance, again, got to be stable.
When all 8 parameters are in check and remain stable with little flux, all corals thrive.
Sounds like your doing a bunch of things.
PH buffers should never ever be used, it would be only temporary and will upset everything.

Exactly. This is especially bad for a temperamental coral like a lobo. I think it’s too late to save it imho

 

[Jjd531]

Exactly. This is especially bad for a temperamental coral like a lobo. I think it’s too late to save it imho

I've since ran through all my parameters and everything is in order, I don't have numbers off the top of my head, but Mg was a little high but that really shouldn't be an issue, its still holding onto some flesh, hoping it'll stay put.

 

[407_Reefer]

Did it end up making it?