Leather corals and brain coral - attack attack?

[JonnyIce]

Dangit am I sad today...my beautiful (and expensive) warpaint trach is no longer with us as well as my not-as-beautiful green lobo. They started to bubble up and deteriorate...possible the brown jelly stuff? Anyway, when I asked the guy I had gotten the trach from a while back, he said it could've been my sarcophyton toadstool leather that killed them. I had never made the connection, but the same "disease" had happened to a frag of green favia I had and then my leather closed up...and this time my leather closed up as well...but apparently they do this after releasing their toxic "net" of sorts? Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[cmor1701d]

Unless it's a small tank and/or the leather is very close to other coral I don't think chemical warfare is at play here. Leathers tend to shed when necessary (debris buildup, algae growth) and then open up again. Though they do play at chemical warefare it is with very close neighbors. Good flow, turnover and a good skimmer help in that regard.

 

[Awibrandy]

Sorry to read about your brains Jonny!

Sounds more like the "Brown Jelly" decease to me then warfare between the leather coral and the brains. Your leather may be reacting to the toxins being released by the lps die off.

 

[anthony27]

I agree with awildia treat the tank and I am sorry for your loos I would be up to if my brain coral too the road less traveled down to the bright white light of excoskeltondom. I know thousand island fragged the lobos he had so you could look into that but all in all I am very sorry

 

[JonnyIce]

appreciate the input everyone. that damned skimmer is frustrating me (as noted in another thread)...I'm thinking I may have to give up on it and get a different one...I have the tunze9002 and I just cant get it to work correctly...problem is with the biocube i BELIEVE my only other option is a sapphire?

 

[JonnyJ]

sapphire is out of business but you may be able to catch a used one. Anyways the trick with the tunze seems to be getting it mounted correctly and keeping your water levels stable.

 

[knugenx]

could they have stung each other...I know lobos can do damage to the corals around them.

 

[Awibrandy]

could they have stung each other...I know lobos can do damage to the corals around them.

Interesting question Karman! I have been wondering this myself, perhaps someone can chime in.....

Can/will lobos & wellsos sting each other? Should we be placing them away from each other? I ask because many times I group corals together, such as my frogspawns are next to each other, my torches are next to each other, as well as my hammers, blastos are with blastos, acans are with acans so on, and so on....

So can brains be together, or do they need distance between them?

 

[marrone]

Can/will lobos & wellsos sting each other?

Yes they can. If they're close enough one will reach out and attack the other coral with its stingers. It will and can kill the other coral. So you need to give Lobos some space around other corals. The good thing is they don't reach out that far but they will kill what they can reach.

 

[Awibrandy]

Just to make sure my feable brain is grasping this correctly:

A lobophyllia can, and will attack a wellsolophyllia, and vice a versa!!! Time to go move my 2 a little further apart.

 

[marrone]

My Wellsi gotta a little too close to my lobo and my lobo reached out and attacked my Wellsi, which resulted in some of it being dissolved. I then separated them and they were fine.

 

[cmor1701d]

Yep, they should be kept far enouhg apart that the stingers can't reach each other.

 

[JonnyIce]

forgive me for this...but what does the stinger look like on these brains? is it the brain stuff that comes out of their mouth...or is that excrement?

 

[knugenx]

their stingers are "ribbon-like" and come out of their flesh from anywhere, most likely the sides near the other corals...and they attach that ribbon to the coral...it looks as if they are sucking the juice of the other coral.

I a lobo that attacked anything within a 1" radius, even a zoa poylp.