My Coral is dead.. .Torch

[michaellong]

I have seen many torch corals as you all have. I am very skeptical of buying ones with closing heads. Well, I was not specific and out of the 2 I purchased, one was wide open with 4 heads, and the other had 2 but 1 was retracting. This is what I do not understand. The healthy one was enormous. Did well and no worries. The one that had the retracting head actually retracted all the way, and branched into 2 heads. It is open as can be. The healthy one however had retracted both center heads. I turned off the halides hoping it would reach for light. the next day . SLIME ! ! ! I personally don't frag, but out came the surgical tools. The coral was soft and almost deteriorated as the bone cutters cut like soft chalk that was soaked in water. The other 2 heads I removed and they are fine. I wonder how a coral that was doing so well could die in 24hrs. I did testing. Ph 8.4, dkh 12, no ammonia -nitrite or nitrates. Nitrates barely registered - calcium 460PPM. I checked my reactor (calcium) and its operating fine. i wonder what did it. Then I look over my fish. I do have an 8 line wrasse, but hes very cool and calm. Mostly attacking food from me or the occasional puff of white cloud. Snagged something. ??? Did he??? Well, I would have to consider he hit both heads then? the odds? Poor. Does anyone have an idea on this loss? Any reples are appreciated. Here is a photo actually a day before.

[EMUreef]

Originally Posted by michaellong

I have seen many torch corals as you all have. I am very skeptical of buying ones with closing heads. Well, I was not specific and out of the 2 I purchased, one was wide open with 4 heads, and the other had 2 but 1 was retracting. This is what I do not understand. The healthy one was enormous. Did well and no worries. The one that had the retracting head actually retracted all the way, and branched into 2 heads. It is open as can be. The healthy one however had retracted both center heads. I turned off the halides hoping it would reach for light. the next day . SLIME ! ! ! I personally don't frag, but out came the surgical tools. The coral was soft and almost deteriorated as the bone cutters cut like soft chalk that was soaked in water. The other 2 heads I removed and they are fine. I wonder how a coral that was doing so well could die in 24hrs. I did testing. Ph 8.4, dkh 12, no ammonia -nitrite or nitrates. Nitrates barely registered - calcium 460PPM. I checked my reactor (calcium) and its operating fine. i wonder what did it. Then I look over my fish. I do have an 8 line wrasse, but hes very cool and calm. Mostly attacking food from me or the occasional puff of white cloud. Snagged something. ??? Did he??? Well, I would have to consider he hit both heads then? the odds? Poor. Does anyone have an idea on this loss? Any reples are appreciated. Here is a photo actually a day before.

For starters from the pic it looks like a frogspawn but either way same family of coral.

the only thing i think is ur alk is a bit high. The Slime you saw is whats known as brown jelly... tends to wipe LPS out rather quick.

and from the pic the coral looked a bit bleached to begin with. I had a frogspawn get stung by an elegance which caused it to get brown jelly, killed off 4 heads rather quickly.

[michaellong]

Now that you mention it - the other frogspawn I have has a lot more color. I guess I never know what the coral has been through before I recieved it. Maybe another coral touched it like you said. I do not know the name of the waving hand type coral I have above it - a rather large colony. Looks like snowflakes. they indeed are close enough to touch

[Davevg]

Could it have been splitting like the other heads? My frogspawn does this exact same thing when a head is splitting minus the sliming. Was the slime brown? If it was Brown jelly infection it would have looked brown. They will slime if irritated as well but it would be clear slime. Was it falling apart or just retracted into it’s self?