R.I.P. - Bubble Coral

[Vandur]

Well, over the past few weeks my bubble coral has been looking worse and worse in my tank. Yesterday it looked like the final piece of "live" flesh on it died, so I removed it form the tank and dropped it in a glass bowl. Today, I emptied the bowl, and much to my surprise, there were about two dozen bristle worms in it.... Is this normal?

 

Also, I noticed a yellow and black stripped creature with many "string" like arms in the middle of the bubble a few weeks ago (wasn't a star or anything I could readily ID). Could that have had something to do with it?

 

All of my other corals seem to be doing well, tank params are normal.. and even my other Bubble coral looks good. Wish I could figure out what killed the darn thing. After a few weeks of hand feeding, I am kind'a irk'd that it gave up on me.

 

~V

[tinyreef]

where did you have it in your tank? i didn't see it among the pics.

 

you mentioned some algae issues, too much po4 would've inhibited the bubble (stonys).

 

i think those detrivores are after the fact/deed.

 

your porcelain crab raises an eyebrow with me though. the 'bubbles' of a bubble coral are delicate and if damaged can lead to a cascade failure of the animal (i.e. infection/injury). i'm picturing the crab crawling where it ain't supposed to. i don't believe the bubble's stingers affect it much (not sure tho).

 

btw what did you feed it?

[Vandur]

Tinyreef,

 

Position:

It was originally under a small over hang underneith my skimmer return.. So it had a little current, but not so much as to bash it around. At first I thought that this placement might have been an issue so I moved it towards the top/center of the tank (under indirect lighting).

 

Hair Algae:

Algae issues have almost gone away finally, but I have been using buffers and diligent water changes to help speed the process along (Phosphates readings are 0 ppm, Nitrate is barely showing up and Nitrites are 0 ppm).

 

Crab:

I hadn't thought of the crab as being an issue with it, he normally hangs out on the my large Toadstool or in the middle of one of my GSP beds.. though he does move around quite often, so he might be the cause..

 

Feeding:

DT's Phytoplankton - Every two day's.

Frozen Shrimp - Every other day (the bubble was getting fed daily though).

 

Dosing:

Tropic Marin Bio Calcium - Daily.

Reef Iodide - Once a week.

 

I'm just not sure what the cause of it's death was. It really depresses me though. This bubble was the first coral I bought in May of 2001 and had survived a heat wave (shorted heater) and a dry spell (shattered front glass).

 

~V