Dying Caulastrea Coral Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation
Dying Blastomussa Coral Rehabilitation
Dying Australophyllia Rehabilitation
Dying Acropora Coral Rehabilitation
Under construction! (2012-ACRO001)
Dying Acanthastrea Coral Rehabilitation
This coral is still with me, which is over 11 years since I rescued it. During that time, it has had quite the identity crisis. When I first rescued it, I wrote on an old blog, “Many large polyp stony corals are difficult, if not impossible, to identify without examination of a coral’s skeleton. Thankfully, the genus Trachyphyllia is not, as it only has one species: geoffroyi.” HAHAHA, oh how much we have learned since then! So, not only did this dying Acanthastrea coral go through an amazing rehabilitation, but it also fell into a few different genera along the way.
Assessing Dying Coral Health:
When I found this coral at a Local Fish Store (LFS) in November, 2010, I believed it was a Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, mostly due to its hourglass shape (and lack of good reference material on coral septa patterns at the time).
Although it is pure speculation, I believed the coral’s condition was due to rapidly deteriorating water conditions. The freshly exposed skeleton showing bright in white suggested something drastic changed, and the fairly uniform amount of exposed skeleton suggested the source of the problem surrounded the coral. The good coloration (albeit slightly bleached) indicated that lighting and some infections were not likely. But, the tight skin against the skeleton along with the gaping mouths suggested the coral was probably not eating and possibly acting defensively to reduce its exposure to poor water quality. (For more information, see Assessing Coral Health: An Introduction.)
Quarantined Acanthastrea Coral:
Poor water conditions could have meant allelopathy (chemical warfare between corals), high nitrates/ phosphates, unbalanced alkalinity/ calcium/ magnesium, et cetera. To treat this coral I purchased for $10, I decided the best course of action was just a good aquarium. After completing my coral examination and dip, I cut the coral’s septa (the teethy-ridges). I have found that if a large polyp coral was to suddenly inflate in excessive flow, the flesh will easily rip on the septa. With a sick coral, one small tissue tear can continue to rip or become infected and quickly lead to the demise of the coral. To prevent this, I carefully trimmed back the septa and removed all sharp points. The coral could then expand with little difficulty. Additionally, corals seem to have more ease in growing back over the existing skeleton this way.
Acanthastrea Coral in Grow-out:
Only a few weeks later (21 November 2011), the coral was inflating and starting to grow over the exposed skeleton.
I regularly fed it pellet food, as highly processed food seems to be easier to digest for injured corals. Notice the orange ring developing! (30 January 2011)
The progression in only a couple weeks was rapid. The coral nearly covered all previously exposed skeleton, by only 24 February 2011 (about four months after I purchased it). However, by this point, I was starting to question my initial assessment of Trachyphyllia geoffroyi. It was starting to look more like a Lobophyllia, but it was still more hourglass-shaped.
Previously Dying Acanthastrea Coral, Fully Rehabilitated:
By October 2011, I realized I was probably wrong about the genus. It was splitting more like a Lobophyllia. But at that point, I really didn’t care, as the coral was fully healed (less than a year later!)
Not just Surviving, but Thriving!
Although this coral’s recovery was impressive under daylight conditions, under actinics it became a showstopper!
Around 2016, several studies and articles starting making me rethink the classification on this coral. Rather than Lobophyllia pachysepta, it seemed to fit more within Acanthastrea (Huang, et al., 2016).
Here’s the previously dying Acanthastrea colony in 2021, which was still large despite a few fraggings over the years!
Conclusion:
From nearly dead to thriving in less than a year… to over 11 years later… this coral continues to awe and confuse me! This dying Acanthastrea coral’s rehabilitation also went from Trachyphyllia geoffroyi to Lobophyllia pachysepta to Acanthastrea pachysepta, or at least so I think!
References
- Huang, Danwei, Roberto Arrigoni, Francesca Benzoni, et al., “Taxonomic Classification of the Reef Coral Family Lobophylliidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2016, 178, 436-481.
- Arrigoni, Roberto, Francesca Benzoni, Danwei Huang, et al., “When Forms Meet Genes: Revision of the Scleractinian Genera Micromussa and Homophyllia (Lobophylliidae) with a Description of Two New Species and One New Genus”. Contributions to Zoology 85.4 (2016): 387-422.
Coral Inspection, Dips, and Quarantine
A blog on coral rehabilitation is quite useless without a discussion on basic coral evaluation; a proper coral inspection, dip, and quarantine procedure deserves recognition. While there are many differing views on how and what to quarantine, this is my approach. If it seems a bit neurotic and obsessive, well, that’s because I’m taking in some of the most sick corals in the hobby. Hopefully learning from the worst case can help for the best. Find what works for you, and stick with it.
The Preparation:
Before bringing home dying coral, I have an established reef aquarium that I keep running continuously with no fish (this helps prevent Cryptocaryon irritans infestations or other outbreaks in my aquariums). Contrary to popular belief, long-term survivability of a reef tank without fish is quite easy (I’m measuring success in terms of years without fish). Lighting must also be adequate for what you intend to keep. A good skimmer should not be overlooked as well. If the tank will be a hospital tank, then a carbon reactor is essential to help remove coral mucus. Basically, this aquarium system does not have to be fancy or have all the frills. It just has to work. I’ve had many different quarantine setups over the years, and the best were always the ones that were the easiest to maintain. Honestly, most of my quarantine tanks just received the “hand-me-downs” from my other tanks. The coral rehabilitation system fish room shown was circa 2012.
The Acquisition:
I obtain my corals from everywhere, but I only recommend purchasing them from reputable vendors/hobbyists. Each of my coral acquisitions is worked out individually with the owner (e.g., sometimes I pay, trade, or make other arrangements) on a case-by-case basis. Regardless of the source, I inspect every coral visually for pests, nuisance algae, or hitchhikers prior to purchase to assess probability of survival. Depending on the coral species, I may look for pest-specific parasites (e.g., Acropora-eating flatworm bite marks (AEFW), red bugs on Acropora, Montipora-eating nudibranchs). Once the coral arrives home I acclimate it into the quarantine tank.
Coral Dips and Inspections:
Acclimation:
Acclimations are short (approximately 15 minutes for temperature adjustment), unless I have a specific reason for a prolonged drip. These corals are often damaged through poor water conditions in their previous home, so it is typically best to remove them from the cause as quickly as safely possible. If they were damaged from other causes (e.g., high light, stinging), then a short acclimation is not as important. After the coral is acclimated, I open the bag and put the coral in one cup of tank water in a separate container. For this part, I absolutely love my Magnetic Stirrer Coral Dip Station and my DIY face shield.
Coral Inspection and Diagnosis:
At this point, I perform a more thorough inspection to provide me with a usable “diagnosis” (again, I’m not a medical professional, but having an idea of what is wrong is still critical.) This “diagnosis” helps me determine how to treat the coral. For example, if the coral is bleached, I try to look for other markers to determine why (e.g., high light, extremely low light, poor water quality, disease), so I can arrange the most appropriate treatment (e.g., correct husbandry, additional feedings, disease treatment). The flowchart below depicts my typical “triage,” where I try to determine the most appropriate reaction as quickly as possible. This process helps when I bring home a cooler full of dying corals; I have to prioritize treatments and move fast.
The coral is then removed from the plug/base, and all dead skeleton is removed as much as possible. I find this especially critical for rescue corals. In my experience, corals have an easier time growing new skeleton rather than growing over old, especially if the old skeleton has sharp edges. If the coral was placed in strong current, the coral’s tissue could catch on a sharp edge of its old skeleton and rip. In cases where removing all excess rock/ skeleton would harm the coral further (example below – the coral’s tissue was not stable enough to cut the skeleton with a band saw), I just trim down any sharp points.
Coral Dips:
Hydrogen Peroxide Coral Dip:
First, all LPS coral receive a dip in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and tank water. This helps kill off some nuisance algae and some pests. Hydrogen peroxide isn’t great for the coral tissue itself (prevents calcification), but it isn’t immediate death either. I just use the normal 3% pharmacy-grade type, as the high-strength hydrogen peroxide is very dangerous (can cause blindness in humans). The ratio I use depends on the coral’s condition, but a 10:1 tank water:hydrogen peroxide (3%) is fairly safe on LPS corals for about 20 seconds. In severe cases, I go up to 4:1 for 60 seconds, but I rarely recommend this.
CoralRx, Iodine, and Other Dips:
Second, all corals except smooth-skinned Acropora (they die frequently) are treated with one milliliter of CoralRx mixed with the one cup of tank water (or scaled to the size of the coral). Smooth-skinned Acropora are instead treated with Lugol’s Iodine mixed to manufacturer’s instructions. There are other suitable coral dips, but CoralRx is what I prefer (no real reason – it works, and I haven’t found a reason to switch).
The small amount of water volume limits where pests can hide after the dip draws them out. While the coral is sitting in the dip, I use a pipette to gently baste the coral to blow any remaining pests out of the crevices. I also use a magnifying glass to identify the hitchhikers.
If I find any pests or evidence of them (bite marks or eggs, like this Acropora coral with AEFW), then I will do an additional pest-specific treatment. I keep all treatment medications on hand so I never find myself looking for drugs at an odd hour (hmm…that sounds bad…).
After dip time is completed, the corals are rinsed with quarantine aquarium water (NOT the bag water.)
Final Coral Preparation:
After the peroxide dip, if there is any ripped or cut tissue, I place a small amount of superglue gel along the line (as shown on the Fungia coral). This helps prevent water flow from literally ripping the tissue off the coral. Superglue gel reacts with water to form a type of plastic mesh. However, this reaction is exothermic, which means it releases heat. This can cause cell death, so extreme care should be used. That’s why I prefer wound-grade superglue gel, like Liquid Skin or Vetbond (this is pricey, especially considering when I get my regular superglue gel from the dollar store, but the medical type is worth it in these cases). I also seal any remaining skeleton or base rock in regular super glue. This way, if there are any remaining pests or algae spores, they will have a hard time getting past the glue barrier. The coral will quickly grow over the super glue, and within about a month the super glue should not be noticeable.
Coral Quarantine Tank:
Corals are then transferred to the quarantine tank where they will stay for at least 30 days. During that time I visually inspect each coral about every three days for pests/bite marks/and overall health.
During this time, it is essential to keep hermit crabs, cleaner shrimp, and the like away from the coral. These critters will go after the dying tissue and often take away healthy tissue in the process, which can quickly lead to the coral’s demise. It is especially essential to keep them away during feeding, as the process of stealing food from a coral’s mouth can be extremely damaging.
Lighting and flow should be kept low to allow the coral to acclimate. However, the flow rate must be high enough to keep the coral mucus from building up on the coral.
Coral Grow-out Tank:
After the 30 days, I go through the entire dipping process again. Also, if the corals weren’t stable enough to have the excess skeleton/ base cut, I do that at this point. The corals then go into a grow-out tank/secondary quarantine where they live for another 30 days. After those 30 days, I repeat the dipping process a third time. But, I leave the entire base of the coral or a nice fragment of the coral in the grow-out tank. This allows me to have a healthy backup in case I lose my main colony. The main colony is moved to the main display after the dipping process or fragmented for sharing.
Coral Inspection, Dips, and Quarantine Conclusion:
Yes, it takes a whopping 60 days for a coral to make it to my main display. But, through a proper process of coral inspections, dips, and quarantine, I can rest assured that I minimize pests and nuisance algae. I will not have to rip out my corals to treat for AEFW or go almost two years without Montipora corals to treat for Monti-eating Nudibranchs. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I can also sell my coral clippings knowing I’m providing a very healthy specimen to another hobbyist.
No matter where you buy a coral from, always quarantine. Do not trust anyone, even me. Everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes even a backup safety fails. You do not have to quarantine like I do, but any amount is better than nothing. I hope this post provides some insight on how to improve your procedures.
Dying Acanthastrea Coral Rehabilitation
Assessing the Coral’s Health:
This dying Acanthastrea (“Acan”) coral came out of a hobbyist’s tank that had been neglected due to an impending move. Notice the lack of tissue between the polyps. Luckily, corals in poor water conditions usually recover quickly in a mature, well-maintained aquarium. Rehabilitation should be easy with just proper, basic care. (Photo taken 9 June 2012)
Preparation for Quarantine:
Since the coral just needed a healthy environment, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do. There was some nuisance algae on it, so I cut those sections off. I gave the coral a dip in Coral Rx to check for pests just in case. Within less than a month, the polyps were already expanding out more and growing larger. (Photo taken 30 June 2012)
Quarantined Coral:
Within a month, the previously dying Acanthastrea coral looked almost like it had never had a problem. Unfortunately the remaining skeleton kept growing nuisance algae, so I kept having to remove it to facilitate its rehabilitation (white areas in the photo, taken 7 July 2012.)
Coral Grow-Out:
After a month in quarantine, I was able to re-dip the coral and place it into a grow-out tank. In a grow-out tank, I can continue to monitor the coral for any remaining issues while not exposing it to other incoming quarantined corals.
Within only two months the polyps were fully expanding and growing tissue between them (14 August 2012). Around this time I purchased a band saw, so I cut off the part of the disc that kept growing nuisance algae.
Rehabilitated Acanthastrea Coral:
Not too shabby! All this coral needed was a bit of TLC and some good water to make a full recovery within six months. (7 October 2012)
I had this coral for several years, during which time I fragged it many times to pass along to other hobbyists. For all I know, I may still have some of it, but I’ve lost track of which Acan coral it may be in my tank after a few moves and having several similar corals (what a great problem to have!)
Dying Lithophyllon Coral Rehabilitation
A local fish store (LFS) called me to ask if I wanted to try to save some of their corals. An employee had overdosed their reef tanks with a chemical used to treat flatworms (I was not told what chemical it was). When I arrived, honestly, I was shocked at how bad many of the corals were. I don’t know if these corals were dying from an overdose of some unknown chemical or if the flatworm toxins were killing them. Either way, something was poisoning these corals to death. I picked up two “chalice” corals, amongst others. These dying Lithophyllon coral mouths were gaping open, the tissue was falling off, and what tissue did remain was barely hanging on. Rehabilitation was going to be dicey. (Photo of Litho#1 taken 11 May 2013)
Dying Lithophyllon Coral Inspection and Dipping:
When I brought them home, I temperature acclimated them to my quarantine tank and prepared the dips. Like most of my rescues, I dipped the corals for pests. (Photo of Litho#2 taken 11 May 2013)
*NOTE: This post tracks the corals as “Litho#1” and “Litho#2” to show individual progress.
Coral Quarantine:
After the dips, I placed the two dying Lithophyllon corals into my quarantine tank in a low light, low flow area. I made sure that no crabs would bother the coral, especially with all the decaying tissue. Since the corals were poisoned, I made sure the quarantine tank had new carbon to help absorb anything that the corals might leach. Both corals did start to quickly recede, so I tried to stop it by smearing a bead of superglue gel along the receding edge (white lumpy band in the photos below). Rehabilitation was definitely already proving rough. (Photo of Litho#1 taken 11 May 2013)
The corals also refused to eat until about a month after I received them. I started them on fish food pellets (shown here and above) since they are quite processed. In my experience, sick corals seem to digest fish pellets better than whole foods (like mysis, etc.) This helps them recover faster. (Photo of Litho#2 taken 9 June 2013)
Coral Grow-Out:
After stopping the recession with superglue and maintaining regular feedings, the corals started to heal quickly. And how great they started looking! After 30 days in quarantine, I inspected, re-dipped, and placed them into the grow-out tank. (Photo of Litho#2 taken 4 August 2013).
Regular feedings likely helped the coral recover. (Photo of Litho#1 taken 12 October 2013)
Here is Litho#2 on 3 November 2013.
A month later (8 December 2013), Litho#2 was growing down its skeleton.
Fully Rehabilitated Lithophyllon Coral:
Nearly a year later, both previously dying Lithophyllon corals were growing rapidly. This Litho#2 is shown on 1 May 2014, when it was fully rehabilitated. Below is a close-up shot showing the corals’ beautiful patterns.
Conclusion:
I had very little hope for these dying Lithophyllon corals due to their poisoned state. However, the fast reaction of the LFS along with continued care over a year fully rehabilitated these two corals. Shown below are the before/after photos of the dying Lithophyllon coral rehabilitation. One coral was nearly immediately rehomed, and the other coral was rehomed a couple years later.
Dying Pectinia Coral Rehabilitation
A fellow hobbyist in my local reef club at the time contacted me about his dying Pectinia coral. He said no matter what he did, the tissue kept receding, and it was just a brown color. Knowing the hobbyist and his system, this was out of the ordinary. So, after much discussion, I took it in to attempt a rehabilitation of this dying Pectinia coral. (Photo taken 8 March 2014)
Inspection:
Upon inspection, I noticed that the tissue recession was slow (notice the coralline algae growing on the old skeleton). I also noticed it was covered in very tiny, moving, white dots (and majano anemones!)
I wanted to take a closer look at the “white dots,” and found that they were Ostracods – seed shrimp. This was the first coral I’ve encountered that had a massive pod population covering it during the day. Typically I’ve only seen ostracods out at night.
Although a microscope isn’t ideal for examining seed shrimp, it was still neat to see.
Treatment:
As with all my dying corals, I started the coral out with a series of dips.
During the dipping process, I trimmed off all of the excess skeleton to expose any hidden issues, reduce the likelihood of pests, and allow the coral to regrow a skeleton unencumbered.
I didn’t really believe the ostracods were the source of the problem, but dips are always wise.
Quarantine:
After three dips and a skeleton trim, the Pectinia coral was quite stressed, but it went into my quarantine tank for observation.
Continued Care:
The coral started to regain color, but the ostracods came back. Interestingly, they only covered this one coral during the day. I decided to perform the dips again.
Final Results:
After the second set of dips, I never saw the ostracods again, and the coral started to recover. By 1 May 2014, the coral was turning a beautiful blue and starting to grow. Shortly after this photo was taken, I gave the coral back to its owner. Below, you can use the slider to see rehabilitation of a dying Pectinia coral from beginning to end!
Dying Echinophyllia Coral Rehabilitation
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.
