well i came home from vacation to find my montipora bleeched, completely. what is the best way to try and revive it?

thanks in advance and i will have a picture tomorrow

Sorry to hear that I hope that was the only casualty. Advice not sure

im hoping i can save it. it still ooks healthy,....just white lol

Sorry to hear about your monti. First, I am sure you already know is to figure out why it bleeched. how long have you had this coral? I would place the coral in the lower portion of your tank with the same amount of current it had before and just Keep a close eye on it for any changes. Usually if it was stress, say due from temp, then the new growth will display its normal color. As a precaution I would not place it near any other corals, just in case it is a disease. My buddy had a similar problem, his ended up to be an unknow disease that wiped out all his montis and a good portion of his acros. He later found out it was from a frag he purchased and without quaritine the specimen he placed it in his tank. But knowing how you care for your animals and the fact you were away on vacation I am sure its stress and your coral will return to its natural state. Keep us posted on the cause and results.

thanks alot jeremy. the coral is about two months old, maybe three.. i moved it to the bottom of the tank like you suggested. i hope to have a picture of it tomorrow. i left my USB cable for my camera out in pheonix lol.. i would say and hope it has to do with temp and it will be ok. it got pretty cold in here while we were gone and the person watching them basicly threw food into the tank and left. didnt check anything i had wrote down. but the montipora is the only thing that looks infected so i guess im not to bad off. thanks for the info...

I look forward to seeing the pic. What type of monti is it? I'm glad to hear that this was the only coral effected, maybe it just missed you. LOL

it is a green montipora dig here is a picture of it before

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i126/wwest2/DSCN1426.jpg

i know i sure did miss it :) lol. i was driving myself crazy not being around my tank lol

Wes,

For what it is worth, my orange digitata that was bleached and had about 1 polyp opening in now getting some color back and extending more every day. I'm keeping my water quality high and feeding phyto and Cyclopeze.

Are you still seeing the polyps today?

WOW,now that's a nice Monti. I really hopes it turns around for you. Did the whole coral bleach?

cool thanks. i spot feed with Cyclopseze a few times a week so maybe that will bring it back.. i have to go to staples tomorrow to buy a cord lol so ill post a picture tomorrow of it.. thanks again everyone.. means alot.

PSH, yea about the same as i did yesterday.. if it makes any sence it kinda seems thicker? today. before it looked at smooth as a white rock with holes in it but today it looks poofy? sorry its hard to find words good enuff for everyone to explain lol..

Jr, yea the hole thing is bleech and i mean the whitest white i have ever seen. a friend of mine here in town has a peace i fragged from mine that is just about ready to frag so i might be stopping in to see him this week. lol

I have 3 frags from this one (thanks to my tomato clown) so if you are in need just let me know.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/PonderosaSnakeHouse/Saltwater/PICT1643.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/PonderosaSnakeHouse/Saltwater/PICT1648.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/PonderosaSnakeHouse/Saltwater/PICT1657.jpg

thanks, ill let you know :)

Oh and a finger on this one is looking kind of fragable. LOL
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/PonderosaSnakeHouse/Saltwater/PICT1620.jpg

very cool. i love fraging it really helps on the budget for the hobbie :) lol

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i126/wwest2/Corals/montibleeched.jpg

here is a picture of the bleeched monti.. kinda depressing looking

Mine looked like that and here is a pix from about a week ago.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f198/CarmieJo/DSC_0007e.jpg
My lights are out now but I will try to remember to take another tomorrow because I can see even more improvement.

Here is a picture I took tonight:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f198/CarmieJo/DSC_0002.jpg
It is a little hard to compare because I can't make it any bigger than this.

I have also had my monti ( capricornis ) start to bleach. It seems like it is slowly spreading. What happens if it starts to show signs of algae growth?

Wesley, sorry to hear about your monty, I am sure you will figure it out!

Is that the one you gave me a frag from?

yea its the same peace. its ok thought i strongly feel it will come back. i just need to research the best methods of helping it along. ive been alittle busy since it happened..

oh yea and the leather you gave me is doing great! its probably about three times the size it was when i received it.. i must say though it is hard to get a picture of it.. lol

I have also had my monti ( capricornis ) start to bleach. It seems like it is slowly spreading. What happens if it starts to show signs of algae growth?

what type of algae growth is it? and anyway of getting a picture posted?

This is the best shot I could get. Brown algea is just starting to settle on the bleached part. Should I direct more flow over it?

642

wow im not sure. the part that is bleeching is at the bottom right? I've heard that some of them change color as life goes on but im not sure if that counts. That is a completly diferent color change.. if know one steps in to help on this thread in a few hours i would suggest started a thread on it. Since its not bleech completly there might be something you can do to prevent it from bleech all the way. i would also check local corals to see if they are acting up as well. As Jeremy noted in i think the fourth reply down it could possibly be a desease. as well as something esle..

i wish i could help you more...

All of my other corals are doing fine. In fact my birdsnest is sprouting all kinds of limbs. I guess I will have to wait and see. The green monti cap next to it did the same thing about a week after I got it and after two months it stated to show signs of color. I definitly need more flow and will be getting some soon. Thanks for the reply.

An update on my montipora, I was doing my tank maintenance tonight and i was checking all my corals. Well to my amazment my montipora is showing color at the base, its not alot of color but its a start. You can clearly see the green tint coming back to life. And the polyps are still coming out everyday right on time. i truely hope this means its saved :) thanks again for everyones help... Happy Reefing!!

Cabbagehead: I know this sound barbaric and I know some might disagree with me but I would just cut a centemeter inwards and place the capricornis monti mount it to a seperate rock in a different part of the tank away from other sps. If it is bleeching then it will come back to normal color, if it is a desease it may die and you cut your losses, but at least you may have saved the rest of your monti. Before you react on anything, what corals are around this monti? I have had a brain that had 9 inch sweaper tenticles that left similar marks on my encrusting monti. I only bring this up because of the algea forming, this is usually only do to die off. Which in my experience is a result of warfare or disease.

Wesley, great to hear about your coral. It seams that it did miss you. Can you tell if the green colored polyps are new growth or existing?

The only thing close to this monti is some yellow zoa polyps. Wesley sorry for hijacking this thread. Glad to hear your monti is doing well.

no problem at all. highjack away :)

cabbagehead,

Have you checked for the Montipora eating nudebranchs? That's what I found on two of my Monties. They are really small and cause a bleached effect by eating the tissue. Here's the only pic I have of them.

http://www.theculturedreef.com/BadNudibranch-2.jpg

I first found this one and got it out of there. About a week later a different coral started to bleach and literally over night this is what it looked like.

http://www.theculturedreef.com/MontiporaCap-YellowPurple%20Blch.jpg

Over the next couple of days I picked off twelve more Nudebranchs. That was about a month ago. The coral is now recovering.

I'm not sure this is what you are experiencing but wanted you to be aware.

Wow Dick! That's an amazing photo! I can't believe the things you see!

Cabbagehead - I agree with JR...I would frag off the bleached part and hope that the rest of the monti stays healthy.

Thanks Christi. I have two things going for me. First, (You know about this one) 59 years in the hobby "observing" things. Second, I learned a long time ago a six inch round hand held magnifying glass makes everything jump out at you. I have a picture on my computer (somewhere) of me using it to photograph my clams through the glass. I'll see if I can easily find it and post on this thread. I recommend everyone have one.

I found the photo. Here I am holding it in front of my clams shooting a pic to see how it would look.

http://www.theculturedreef.com/CroceaClams-magnified.jpg

Interesting. I use the magnifying glass everyday looking for slight changes in coral polyps, or, pods are very interesting at a size you can actually see their features and countless other things. Get one. I think you will not only be pleased but, learn more, too.

that's a great suggestion Dick! That should be "Tip of the Week"!

I think I'm just going to take some water and stuff into the lab on a day I'm not so busy and make some photographs of the microscopic creatures...

nice job Amp, magnify me babbbe!:peep:

and RB, im first in line for checking out your slides, i love that stuff! even better coming from your labs

that's a great suggestion Dick! That should be "Tip of the Week"! I think I'm just going to take some water and stuff into the lab on a day I'm not so busy and make some photographs of the microscopic creatures...Thanks, RB. It's been a very useful tool for me. When I wrote that response you came to mind and I considered suggesting you do the microscopic thing but wasn't sure you had access to one. I'd love to see your photos.

I remembered, after posting, that my wife, as a new bride 19 years ago, suggested I get the magnifying glass. So, I have her to thank for that and many, many other wonderful things in my life she's responsible for.nice job Amp, magnify me babbbe!Thanks, V.

awesome, that is a great suggestion.. i think im going to try that as well.. :)

and RB, im first in line for checking out your slides, i love that stuff! even better coming from your labs

yeah...I'd really like to do this. I just need to find some time where I can actually "play" in the lab. At the moment, I feel as if I could use 30 hours in my day!

Christi, wait until you get the BIG ONE set up and running. :agree:

I checked for Nudebranchs last night. I did not find any. I broke off the bleached part of the monti-cap and placed it in my fuge. The left over piece seems to be doing well and is not showing any signs of disease. I say "disease" because after doing some research I think this is what I have. I don't know how I got it or why it is not affecting the green monti-cap right next to it but I am hoping it was just a small outbreak. Thanks to all for your help.