Torch Melting

[nycfishy]

About 3 weeks ago a bought a nice size torch along with some other frags for my tank. Within 5 days the torch was gone, just a skeleton. Rest of the frags (some zoa's, an acan, and clove coral are doing great)


This Weekend I bought another torch and couple of other frags, just a single head torch this time. By Monday it was all shriveled up and had lots of dead flesh, moved it to another area of tank a bit higher up (was attached to rock on bottom) and by Tuesday it was gone...just some dead flesh my peppermint shrimp was having a feast on. Everything else is doing well and growing


Tank is 1 RSM130d, tunze skimmer, LED lights, and running GFO/Carbon in external reactor.
temp is 78
salinity 1.025
phosphate .12 ppm
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 2 (might be 20 and I recorded wrong)
Ca- 425
mg- 1360
kH- 9
CUC- hermits, peppermints and assorted snails
fish chromis, clown pair, and 2 firefish


any ideas?

 

[jay79]

I would say it's the shrimp they can pick at coral you may want to take a close look at them are some times confused with camel shrimp which will eat coral

 

[nycfishy]

how can I tell the between the two?

 

[Rookie2reef]

Im having a similar problem and I have a pepermint shrimp too

 

[jay79]

Best bet is do a google search to compare the two but I would try to get them out in the mean time put them in the sump for now

 

[dacaptain78]

FWIW I had peppermint shrimp, not camel shrimp, eat acans on two separate occasions. I will never put those shrimp in my tanks ever again unless I plan to feed it to something else.

 

[nycfishy]

no sump....how do I catch him.
pretty sure he's a peppermint

 

[jay79]

Gotta set a trap the soda bottle trap works look it up

 

[nycfishy]

Here is a picture of him. Can you guys confirm peppermint.
and can one shrimp really eat that much. That first torch was a really nice size and it was gone in a few days.

 

[jay79]

Def a peppermint, he was prob picking at the torch and not eating it enough to kill it

 

[carlpica]

Torches are finicky, as are most euphyllia in my experience. Could have been flow or lighting issue as well. What was the placement? Also sometimes skeletons can get damaged in transit. If you see one at an LFS that you like it's probably a good idea to see if they can hold it for a few weeks before you take it home. I don't think the shrimp would kill it that quickly (although prolonged irritation can eventually kill them), it was probably just feasting on the dead/dying flesh. Do you have other LPS in the tank?