dying Archives - Coral Ever After

Dying Echinophyllia Coral Rehabilitation

reefdup Echinophyllia, Rehabilitation January 18, 2021October 16, 2022brown coral, chalice, dying, Echinophyllia, Rehabilitation, Rescue Coral 0 Comment

A friend of mine asked about this dying Echinophyllia coral’s rehabilitation, “How did you even know there was any living tissue on that one?” That’s a really great question, because this Echinophyllia sp. (also known as a “chalice”) coral was in a really bad shape and dying.

There was a local fish store (LFS) near me back in the day that used to have massive coral runways with massive runway sumps below. If any corals died, the employees would just throw the pieces into the sump. I used to take a UV-light and run it along their sump to see if there was anything with the tiniest hint of life clinging to it. Although I didn’t get this particular coral there, a UV pen was what gave me hope. This coral might be brown under regular light, but it fluoresced a beautiful green under UV.

This dying Echinophyllia coral got its start with me on 22 May 2012. Of course, I dipped it to check for parasites and placed it in a low light, higher flow area.

Coral Quarantine:

Just a little over a week later, on 3 June 2012, the transformation was amazing. With regular target feedings, this previously dying Echinophyllia sp. coral was no longer clinging to its skeleton, showed off its orange mouth, and it developed what can only be described as “glitter” throughout its tissue (notice the specks around the mouth). I was getting excited! Its rehabilitation was coming along!

By the end of June (30 June 2012), just a little over a month later, and the Echinophyllia sp. coral had nicely filled out. It was time to transfer the coral from quarantine to the grow-out tank, so it was dipped again and inspected to ensure it was clean.

Coral Grow-out:

This photo was taken on 14 August 2012. The grow-out tank’s lights were much stronger, so this coral started out in the sand again. Even down in the sand, the coral began to develop some beautiful coloration, with blues, greens, and orange mouths.

Fully Rehabilitated:

By 19 February 2013, the coral looked as if it had been beautiful all along. There were no signs of fragging, and the coloration was fantastic. This previously dying Echinophyllia coral was rehabilitated!

After about a year-and-a-half recovery (2 November 2013), the coral was ready for a permanent home (excuse the oversaturated photo!) This coral went from essentially the “trash bin” to having a new start.

Catalaphyllia Rehabilitation

reefdup Catalaphyllia (Elegance), Rehabilitation January 17, 2021February 25, 2022catalaphyllia, Coral Restoration, dying, Dying Coral, elegance, Rehab, Rehabilitation 0 Comment

Catalaphyllia Rehabilitated Before and After

This dying elegance coral (Catalaphyllia) came in on 24 November 2012 covered in aiptasia anemones and flatworms. Although I believed the flatworms were just Waminoa (nuisance, but not parasitic), but the previous owner was convinced the flatworms were actually parasitic. At the time, reports of LPS-eating flatworms were becoming more prevalent, so I wasn’t about to take chances.

This photo shows the coral in a dip to remove the flatworms and any other unseen parasites. I had to manually remove the aiptasia (chopping off parts of the old skeleton).

Only two days later (26 November 2012), and the coral was looking much better. (Only one piece of the Elegance is shown here.) With good water quality, I was hoping the coral would grow well.

Unfortunately, even seven months later (16 June 2013), the coral had not grown. Many rehabilitated corals often have stunted growth for about six months or so (some have had stunted growth for about two years). The coloration was significantly better though, with beautiful pink tips and fluorescent blue streaks reminiscent of lightning in the center.

Shortly after this photo was taken, the coral was permanently rehomed.