Coral Infection? No data, ridiculous       4/3/16 Very long-lived, successful Galaxea coral suddenly losing polyps and forming clear gel around damaged area. See photo below. Best strategy? <Reading. On WWM. Re Stony Coral Health, Oculinids. Stat. Bob Fenner> Thanks! Martin Pentz

Re: Coral Infection?       4/3/16 <?! Keep reading!> OK, but should I attempt to remove the gel, or leave it in place? It isn't brown, so l don't know if it is harmful. Thanks. Martin Pentz Re: Coral Infection?       4/3/16 OK, but should I attempt to remove the gel, or leave it in place? It isn't brown, so l don't know if it is harmful. Thanks. Martin Pentz, from my iPhone <?! Keep reading.... and supply data; as you see others have. BobF> Re: Coral Infection?        4/4/16 Mixed reef. Primarily LPS, but including Acropora. NO3 <2 mg/L; PO4 0.03 ppm; dKH 8.0; Cal 400 ppm; Mg 1300 ppm. <These values are all good... do you measure RedOx?> Affected area has not enlarged, and gel has begun to dissipate. Did 30% partial change with Red Sea Coral Pro. I'm inclined to do nothing and monitor. <I consider this prudent> Galaxea about 6 years old (in my tank), has tripled in size, and is encrusting live rock and glass panels. Would be very difficult to remove. <Am wondering... if something fell on this area... a supplement? B> Martin Pentz, from my iPhone

Galaxia skeleton being eaten? No data of use         4/24/15 Hi folks, as always thanks for all of the years of help you have been to all of us. I have a Galaxia that seems to be dying on me, it's "base" is being either eaten or destroyed in some fashion. When one of its "polyps" gets knocked off I have successfully glued them to a piece of rock and it (they) are doing fine. The main body though is in rough shape. How or can I treat this? <... need to know what the root cause.... water quality... other organisms here... > The "pink" area seems to be the healthy tissue, the "rock" is where it is dying or has been eaten away ( Or I may have it totally backwards as usual). Once again, Thanks for all the help Richard M. <Try reading on WWM re Scleractinian health, Oculinids. Bob Fenner>

Galaxea, and mystery Cnidarian Crew, <SP> I first and foremost would like to thank you for the informative website, and at first I have some good news. I took in a small Galaxea colony that had completely bleached about nine days ago, it was completely transparent except for a few tentacles with had faint green color. Since then here is the color I have seen develop, it also was not exhibiting polyp extension in the old tank. I am frequently surprised at how resilient coral can be. Anyway, nearly a year ago I emailed about a strange species that appeared in my fish tank attached to a Favites colony I purchased. I thought it was likely Euphyllia of some sort, but it has exhibited non-Euphylliid behavior I am fairly certain. It underwent rapid division (started with two separate individuals and now have over 15 all differ in size largest is about 3.5 inches) It had tissue that was attached to the rock, but after the skeleton reaches about an inch in diameter it somehow detaches from the rock (including the skeleton) I know I must sound crazy, but the colony also is growing in diameter, but not especially in height. I have had Euphyllia before, and never seen this kind of growth. I will attach the current picture as well as the original I sent in and if more are needed let me know because Im not sure what this is. In hopes all is well, Bryce <Might be Euphyllia; perhaps acanthocauli... from a Fungiid: Heliofungia.  Bob Fenner>

Galaxea Coral   12/26/13
Dear Crew,
<SP>
Cheers, and good morning! I have a 20 gal reef tank. Lit with a Kessil A150W LED. In the tank I have about 15 lbs of live rock, and the sand bed is about two inches deep. I have no fish in the system, and the live stock includes: Two Thor amboinensis, one small orange Birdsnest, two types of Caulastrea sp., and the coral I am most concerned about a Galaxea.
<.... Oculinids are problematical... with other stinging-celled life; in particular in settings like here... that are small. They (colonies) need a good foot (15 cm.) of all-clear space about them>
 I checked water parameters, and everything seems okay. pH-8.3, Ca-390ppm, NH3-0, NO2-0, NO3-20ppm, KH-10.
<Stop. My usual sigh here re the simple misunderstanding amongst current well-meaning hobbyists who have been sold "nutrient removing media" Kool-Aid... Chemo-photo synthates absolutely need nitrate, phosphate... Search WWM, the Net re>
 Anyway, I do not entirely know how long everything has been this way. I just returned from college for the Christmas Break, and discovered Green Bubble Algae had taken over and killed about two CandyCane polyps, the Birdsnest had lost tissue at the base to the algae, and two branches were also dead, but the Galaxea is by far the worst. The tissue between the polyps has died. So, each polyp is still alive and during the photoperiod has great expansion, but at night it looks horrible. The tank is topped off with RODI water, and kept at about 79 degrees. It hasn't been fed in who knows how long. I have three 500 gph power beads pointed in different directions on timers to cause random flow, though when they are covered in the bubble algae they don't do a lot of good. I was planning to do two 5 gallon water changes over the course of this next week, but I am not sure if that would be enough to save the Galaxea. The die off has been slow according to my mother who has been adding water to the tank, but I've seen coral go really quickly once they get to a point, and hopefully my Galaxea isn't there. Would it be worth taking with me and putting in a new tank I set up for my dorm?
<Yes; IMO>
The lighting on that is a 30 watt Reef Bright LED. Would it be better to just take it all?
<... "to take it all"... what does this mean?>
 My hunch is that it needs to be fed, and has to have frequent water changes, but I would like some expert advise.
Sincerely,
Bryce
<... Reading, return of nutrient... Bob Fenner>
Re: Galaxea Coral   12/26/13
Crew,
I mean should I remove all livestock from the system. I am only concerned the lighting wouldn't be enough for the Birdsnest.
Bryce
<If there's time, interest, I would remove all Cnidarians... and reintroduce through time... with the least warring to most placed in turn... The Galaxea last... with mixing some water from the isolation system/s on a daily basis per the Allelopathy articles and ppt on WWM. B>

Cutting Sweeper Tentacles on a Galaxea fascicularis -- 07/21/08 Hello WWM, <Rick> I thoroughly enjoy your site! I read somewhere (some other book or web resource) that you could keep the sweeper tentacles cut on a galaxea fascicularis. <Mmm, no... regenerate> I have not been able to relocate the information. I recently purchased an excellent specimen and want to provide the best environment for it and the other occupants of my 140g mixed reef tank. Will cutting the sweepers harm this coral? <Trying to, yes> If I do cut the sweepers do I have to be careful not to let them float around the tank? <Mmm, yes> Can sweepers be cut on other corals? <Not really... aren't obvious, are largely translucent... can/do grow back> Thank you for any help you can give. Rick Hrdlicka <Leave at least a foot of space around the Oculinid... acclimate all new Cnidarian life by mixing some water for weeks twixt isolation (quarantine) and the main tank, before introduction/acclimation. Bob Fenner>

Galaxy Coral Hi Bob, Hope all is well. I picked up a Galaxy coral for my 55 reef yesterday at a "scratch and dent sale" at my LFS. He is opening well but does have a few spots that look like damage during shipping. It looks like the stony base may have 2 or 3 spots that are damaged where there are no tentacles. Will this grow back under good conditions? Are they able to regenerate some lost tissue? If one area is damaged will the whole animal die? As always, thank you for you help., Andrew >> Really like the Galaxeas (family Oculinidae)... though they are "real stingers" (keep a good space between it and other cnidarians)... And yes, under propitious circumstances the animal will overgrow bare spots... and get bigger all the way around. Bob Fenner

Copper treatment and Ammonia dilution; Galaxea problem -- 07/16/07 Hi Crew, <Hi.> I am treating my fish for ick with a product called CopperSafe <good>. My clown goby that looked real bad has cleared up and is eating, my spotted cardinal did not seem to have it, but he stopped eating, but now is eating and my royal Gramma had it, but did not seem too bad, but he died. I tested the water for ammonia and it is at least 1. <Yikes, I hope you are treating your fish in a tank without live rock/sand and invertebrates. CopperSafe is a chelated copper product. While easier to handle than ionic copper, it is still best to monitor the chelated copper level with an adequate test kit.> I am using a product called AmmoLock for ammonia and the fish seem ok. I am also making a 30% water change. Should I make more drastic water changes? <Not a fan of this and similar products in that case. While it may not hurt, I'd rather rely on large water changes to keep the ammonia down and additionally remove free stages of the parasites. Be sure to measure ammonia at least daily and act accordingly.> I got a Galaxea, see pictures (550 is current and 531 is as it was 2 weeks ago) and it is not doing well. It is in a 10 gallon with 65w pc. Does it need special feeding or more light? <<RMF lost pix...>> <Ensure the water quality is good at any time. Nitrates can be around 5, but temperature, salinity and pH should not change too much. Your lighting should be sufficient, but the small water volume might go through severe daily changes. Check that. Try feeding it just like other LPS corals. Give it some time. If its condition does not improve, it might do better in another tank. Beware this coral is quite aggressive and can sting animals almost one foot away. See http://www.wetwebmedia.com/oculinidae.htm and the linked FAQs.> I cannot find much info about it. I got it as a package deal and had no choice. I also got a very large Fungia but gave it away. Should I do the same for the Galaxea? Thanks. <Welcome and good luck with your treatment. Marco.>