Tissue Loss on Duncan What kind of Iodine?

[Kayman]

Two months ago I noticed some tissue loss at the base of my duncan colony, it has 25ish heads on it currently. The loss is on one side and has moved up towards where the heads start to branch off. When I first noticed it was covered in some pretty thick algae, I cleaned it off and dipped it for about 10 minutes, three days in a row with Coral RX. Then did another dip after giving it a day off. It seems to have started after I moved and after my clown goby started hanging out in it. For awhile the coral wasn't happy with him being in there so it would stay closed up most of the time. This lasted a good week or so. For the last month and a half I would say the Duncan has been doing fine and eating plenty and is even okay with the clown goby hanging out in it. The tissue loss seems to be continuing up the colony though slowly. For awhile I thought it has stopped and was healing but doesn't look like it anymore. I would say the tissue loss is maybe an inch up the base and a little under half an inch wide and is a dark color, not white under it. It does seem to attract some algae still so I find myself cleaning it off during water changes.

 

I am wanting to try dipping in iodine but am a bit confused as to what kind to us for this. Is there a good kind I can pick up at CVS or Walgreens or should I purchase some brand of lugol's solution online? I'll try and get a picture after work but am looking for something I can pick up on my way home this evening. Thanks!

[Thrassian Atoll]

I think you just need to fine one that is around the 10-12% solution.  Some of them are really low like 2%.

[Kayman]

So this would be good?

 

https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-povidone-iodine-10/ID=prod6337892-product?ext=gooPLA_-_All_Products&pla&adtype=pla&kpid=sku6280832&sst=f15cc6e0-4389-4b04-81d1-f909fd189180&reactjs=true

[Thrassian Atoll]

Yeah, that would work.  I think lugols is 12% so I would treat the stuff from Walgreens like you would use the lugols.

[Kayman]

Okay, sounds good. Thanks for the help!

[Kayman]

I'm going to do the dip tomorrow so I got two pics of it in the tank. You can see where the tissue has receeded on the left side and on the right what it looked like all the way around a few months ago.

 

Do you think doing a few dios can save it, or should I think about dragging some clusters off to be safe?

[Kayman]

Here is a better picture. Any ideas what is going on?

[SaltyBuddha]

My trumpet coral did this when I first got it. Read that it is normal when they start to grow out. The flesh can always grow back down the skeleton. Since then it has started to take over some of the old skeleton but the heads are happy regardless and splitting.

 

Following to see what people say.

[Thrassian Atoll]

My candy cane has been in the same boat for the past week.  Skeleton flesh has receded a little and the heads are a little deflated.  I hope it works for you.  I might have to pick myself up some iodine.

[brandon429]

Dip not

 

True coral infections are so rare I'll never dip and won't need to.

 

That's tissue recession bc it's hungrier than your feed setup

 

They're among the fastest mass adding lps in right conditions

 

Caulastrea candy corals do this same thing guaranteed, as our long term manual export and feed willingness usually translates into sustaining just the polyp mass alone with full skeletons leading up.

 

Feed each head blenderized mysis three times a week sustain for three months, adjust water change work accordingly

 

Bring that back through weight lifting not through medication.

T

 

guaranteed you typed that candy cane reference identical time ha that's awesome.

 

These corals need mysis zoomba. Increase feed in feed out saves the day and all that stepped up water change work is anyone's best orp+ day. It's the extra work we do to boost heterotrophic feeding that will put on mass, not lose it

 

Watch out for frag atrophy. 

[Kayman]

I actually feed my LPS already at least 3 times a week I would say. I feed frozen LRS Reef Frenzy to my fish 3 times a week and always have extra for the corals. I'll bump up the feeding a bit more though I guess. 

 

I would say it's been well fed since I've had it though since it's gone from 2 heads to 43 separate mouths now in a year and a half. I did do an 15min dip when I took that picture, you for sure wouldn't recommend anymore?

[brandon429]

its true I would never dip anything, I just deal with the hitchhikers directly. I never dip as disease prevention, we just feed and water change aggressively. The only way I know to address coral challenges is to mimic what we would do if you gave me that frag and I wanted it in my vase reef. it would get the 3/3 sustained, every polyp, without fail then the mass would come back (though due to differences tank to tank, might not cover the whole skeleton. a good inch or two below polyp is fine standard imo ) I truly have a pic online from 06 of a Duncan glued to my bowl with receded flesh. 9 mos later, reversed, bonded to glass and feeding is how that occurred.

 

For sure coral pathogens exist but we just never have to factor them in the busy, busy reef so I don't dip. we keep our picos so clean and so exchanged we can get away with massive feeding vs the sparse feeding large tankers have to do so their export systems aren't overwhelmed

imo if you simply increase and sustain for three mos target feeding, and + manual water changes, that's how a pico reefer would regenerate that for sure. to dip would not be our go

 

polyp diseases up top like brown jelly would be an indicator for that potentially.  bottom recession is negative nitrogen balance, in the polyp not in your water, due to underfeeding I strongly feel.

 

 

[Thrassian Atoll]

I haven't been feeding mine, and mine went downhill when I stripped the water too fast and too much with new media.  I am going to start target feeding it though and so how my water quality does.  I am trying to bring my nitrates and phosphates back up a little.

[Thrassian Atoll]

Before

 

Now 

 

[brandon429]

It'll come back good wow that's enviable color and puff

[Thrassian Atoll]

15 minutes ago, brandon429 said:

It'll come back good wow that's enviable color and puff

 

Yeah, it looked amazing.  So puffy and neon.

[Kayman]

Wow those are some really nice looking candy canes, hope they come back for you! 

 

Alright brandon429, I'll give the extra feeding a try and will make sure each polyp gets it's fill! I've never really had any algae problems besides bryopsis and I beat that so I'm sure the tank can handle some more food. Thanks for the help!

[brandon429]

 

 

 

Natalia illustrates Dunan control in this tiny bowl so well via that feeding method

 

we simply take a coral, and set it down inside a bowl that is fed this heavy at times and then prune the coral out to make room, its nearly totally opposite style of reefing compared to larger tanks of metered portions~

 

all that means is, amplify feeding tricks in a large tank in my opinion. how ever much food your system gets, grind it up and inject it all into a few heads of Duncan, the rest bleeds off into the system

 

work around the whole tank, even a patch of zo's gets your whole tank's feeding complement directed slowly at them for the good boost, easiest positive mass adjustment one could make imo

 

dipping makes the reefkeeper feel better, not the coral. If they weren’t dipped, but still added to a well fed pico, they would do fine.

 

none of it goes topwater, the food you already feed. all of it should be rebound squirts from hitting an open Duncan mouth at 5 am for the dedicated regererator  

 

 

[Lula_Mae]

I'm a pico reefer who's a fan of Lugol's dips.  I've had it help bring back corals that were too recessed to be fed.  But there are many ways to reef.