Dead acans

[dnreef]

I recently had a problem with my acans dying off on me and I am not sure why. All of my other LPS seem to be doing quite well. I also had this problem with one of my favia frags although it has stabilized lately. The last picture show my favias, one of which is doing quite well next to the other that isn't. I am posting my water parameters as of today.

Temp 77
Sg 1.026
ph 8.8
Ammo 0.25
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 15
Phos 0
Ca 450
kH 8.5
Mg 1350

My water parameters have been pretty stable for a few months with the only significant change being a spike in temperature. My tank was running in the low to mid 80 degree temp range when my acans started dying off. Any thoughts.

 

[seascape]

temp could have been part of the probem also seems like your ph is a liitle high,are you spot feeding them and if you are what are you feeding them.RJ

 

[thesauce]

I've had similar experiences with acans. Spot feeding will help, dosing strontium has really helped as well.

 

[jcurry]

My bet would be on the Potter's angel.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

+1

 

[AlohaTropics]

Midnight snack for the Angel...yum.

 

[mr_X]

what about detrius accumilating on the sand bed? i have noticed that when i have disrupted the area near the colonies, and some of the detrius fell onto the polyps (not alot, just a light dusting) they started to die shortly after.
how is the flow where they are? is it too low to blow detrius off of the polyps?

i doubt it's the angel. a fish is not going to eat something just at night, and lay off of it during the day.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Angels do have a habit of nipping.

 

[masterswimmer]

I think the acans might be experiencing some stress and the angels detect it. Your pH is very high, not slightly. The acans might be the ones stressing from the high pH more than the other LPS.

JMO
swimmer

BTW, you also have ammonia, which you shouldn't have. That wouldn't effect the coral, but your fish will suffer if it stays there or spikes.

 

[AlohaTropics]

Acans are some of the hardest things to kill. I think the Angel might be eating it at night when its tentacles are extended. Just a hunch. Also, is your ammonia test right? If your cycled correctly you shouldn't have an Ammonia reading and then 0 for your nitrite.

 

[dnreef]

Thanks for all the answers so far. I don't think it's the Potter's Angel. I have yet to see him nip at any coral so far. I do have some peppermint shrimp in the tank and I saw them eating on of the dead acans. I am of the thought that some of the animals we associate with eating corals are just taking advantage of another stressed animal in their system. Ie, I don't think the angel or shrimp would touch these acans if they weren't already stressed and unhealthy.

Seascape, With regard to temp, I am beginning to think this might be the biggest culprit. The spike in temp was the one thing that coincided with the acans dying. I'm not sure why my pH is up so high. It usually reads 8.4 (is that too high also?). I would spot feed my corals whatever I fed the fish, mysis, various frozen foods such as carnivore diet and a blend that chemchef made. I also does with Ions from Aquavitro (Seachem) this also contains strontium and boron.

Mr X, I've often gotten some detritus on the acans after moving things around or blowing the live rock. I never gave much thought to this. It's something to keep an eye on.

Master Swimmer and Aloha, what causes the pH to get excessively high? As for the ammonia, that reading I get off of my test kit has been constant for months. The fish in this tank are as active and ravenous as I've ever seen. I'm beginning to think it might be time for a new kit.

Thanks again

 

[masterswimmer]

Master Swimmer and Aloha, what causes the pH to get excessively high? As for the ammonia, that reading I get off of my test kit has been constant for months. The fish in this tank are as active and ravenous as I've ever seen. I'm beginning to think it might be time for a new kit.

Thanks again

New kit. Your ammonia should always be zero after your cycle is complete. If you're getting reading of even trace amounts of ammonia on a consistant basis then you should absolutely try a new kit. Salifert is high on the list of my recommendations.

Russ

 

[KathyC]

Other than Ions from Aquavitro - what else are you dosing into the tank?

How high was the temp spike and how long did it last..and when was it?

 

[dnreef]

Other than Ions from Aquavitro - what else are you dosing into the tank?

How high was the temp spike and how long did it last..and when was it?

I also dose with B-Ionic (2 parts). About 3 weeks ago the temp in my tank got up to 84 - 85 degrees during the day and pretty much stayed there up until the middle of last week. The acans started dying about 2 weeks ago and pretty much were done by last week. This also started to happen to one of my favias but not the other. The last picture I have shows a pretty healthy and fat looking favia right next to another that pretty much shriveled up. In the past week the shriveled favia has stabilized and now its starting to thicken up again. I've also managed to keep the temp from kicking up too high during the day in the past week.

My tank is in my basement and up until a few weeks ago I never had a problem with the room getting too hot. This is the first time I run MH and I see now why some people use chillers. I may have to do the same thing. I didn't realize how much heat they could generate. My basement was always the coolest room in the house until this year.