Reef Discussion

[Synodontis]

Can anyone help with our green tree? There is a black coating spreading over the trunk and up towards the branches. This has spread a huge amount overnight and looks to be "choking" the tree. Not the greatest pic but its the best we could do with a point and shoot lol.

Thanks guys,
K&J

 

[jashay]

hi mate,

I have seen this in my tank before but it cleared on its own, it wasnt on or near coral though. Im not sure whether it was good or badk bit I didn't really have a prob with it. the one I had nearly looked like the solid/hard purple corraline but black like yours. dont know what happened or if it was bad but it did dissapear after a while. if you are concerned you could pull it out and removeit.

has the coral showed signs of stress with the blak stucff close to it? or is the coral still happy?

 

[Synodontis]

The coral was pretty much happy, just looked was being strangled by this black stuff. We took it out and the black stuff just scraped off it. We had it on our big finger leather coral once before, but no as big as this outbreak. Underneath it, the leather felt calcified, hard, not the usual soft firm texture of a leather. The trunk that was covered wasn't slimy either, the branches did, but not the base.

We've put it back in the tank, he's looking like a leather does when you've taken it out of water, but he's definatley not a happy camper at the moment :(. We'll keep an eye on him and hopefully he's feeling better in the morning. :)

 

[MagicJ]

Ken, is this a sinularia??

When you scrapped it off how did it smell? Did it come off easily like a cyno?

 

[Synodontis]

MagicJ - after a google search, yes it is a Sinularia. The black "film" for a better word, most came off very easy with a rub with fingers. Around the base it was a harder crust almost. The water in the bucket I used to scrap it off has turned reddish brown as the film has dissolved. Any idea's mate?

 

[Synodontis]

Oh sorry, it had no smell to it. Never really had a cyno outbreak so I'm not sure. Cyno is usually red isn't it?
Couldnt edit the post above.

 

[MagicJ]

If it doesn't smell rotten, and it came off easily I would suspect that it is a cynobacteria, especially given the rapid growth. I used to get red cyno growing on my leather but it can come in green, blue, black or red.

Keep a close eye on it because if it is cyno then it is likely to reoccur - check you water parameters, especially phosphate.

 

[Synodontis]

Cool, thanks mate. :)

 

[MagicJ]

BTW, it might not be a bad time to take a cutting just in case something bad happens to your colony. Just get your scissors and cut a branch off - wedge it between a couple of rocks and it will soon attach.

And, you still have time to enter it in the frag competition!!

 

[jashay]

if it is cyno then it is more than likely a phosphate prob. that was one of the major probs I had with my tank (with the cyno) and once I got the media for the filter to remove phosphates it hasnt looked back. the phosphate removing media which I cant think of the name is great stuff and works really well in keeping hair algae in check too.

there is also a liquid additive called phosbuster which my mate at the LFS reckons works a treat. I havent used it before as I had probs when using liquid additives, which I am really cautious with now. but the phosbuster liquid is around $20 mark. the media I got for the filter (which I swear is a form of zeolite) was a bit more, think it was around $30-$40.

jamie :D

 

[Synodontis]

Thanks jashay, I dont know what it is but phos is OK. Haven't got the lights on yet but if what I'm see now in the shadow's is right, he has the same nearly the same amount on him overnight! :(

 

[jashay]

ahh k cool, thats good if phosphates are down.

are you using ASW ? if so then there could be diatoms in the water which could be causing these blooms. that was another thing I was dealing with when my tank went down.

 

[Agent M]

I would definitely increase the water flow on this guy. Looks like you have it on the substrate which I am guessing is not a high flow area in your tank? Also the hard stuff at the base you are noticing is most likely from previous shedding. Sometimes the base area doesn't come off as well as the rest of the coral and over time it builds up. I would not do too much scraping or handling with your fingers as it produces slime on the coral. Better to put it into a bucket and blast it off with a powerhead.