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I'm looking for a little help from the experienced here. I bought a mostly bleached, partially receding favia brain from my lfs at a rediculously low price. The bleaching was from temperature stress(i think), and the receding was from some aptasia(again, i think) and maybe the temp issues too. Both issues have been taken care of, and the coral seems to have stabilized. I was wondering, other than feeding and good water quality on my part, is there anything I can do for him to speed his recovery?

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Not really. You're basically doing all that you can do. The important things to remember are just to minimize stress in everyway possible, ie: eliminated fluctuations in temperature and other water levels. Make sure your calc/alk/pH are all stable and normal and that you dont have any animals that might pester it. Corals can take up to many weeks to recover from a bleaching incident, so I'd say the most important thing for you to do is remain patient, and keep track of it's recovery. Other than the apparent things, I dont know of any other ways to speed up a bleaching recovery. Best of luck though!

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Thanks Liana, anything to do if it continues to receed? I don't think it will be a problem, cause today it was actually a little fuller(not puffy, but not skin and bones like before) looking, and I haven't noticed it receeding anymore, but the information might prove usefull. I guess fragmentation is used in emergency last ditch effort, right?

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

If it looks like it is still receeding, I would consider doing an Iodine dip using Lugols solution. The dip will keep any bacteria causing the receeding down and allow the tissue to heal.

If it starts to receed fairly fast, I would get out the xacto knife and the dremel and start fragging. I would do a lugols dip on each frag you get and place it back in the tank in the same location/light/flow as it orignially was

Daily feedings will have it back to normal and healthy again in probably a month or so.

Good luck Matt

Kent makes an awesome Lugol's dip that I like to use when QTing new corals, it's a handy thing to have around. I'd consider investing in some.

And yeah, frag the hell of the guy if he's really going downhill...and throw the frags in all different tanks. ONE of them is bound to recover.

Make sure to take pictures so you can track his progress.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Thanks guys, that's good info. We have kent's lugols solution at the store, so I will pick that up just in case. I think it's stopped receeding from what I've observed. I took a couple pictures of it last night. It's still got some nasty slime type algae on it from the store please ignore.

And yeah, frag the hell of the guy if he's really going downhill...and throw the frags in all different tanks. ONE of them is bound to recover.

That's assuming I had more than one tank, huh liana. I really don't think it will come to that. It's already started getting some color back.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Here's a bit of an update:

The color has slowly started coming back, but is still nowhere near it's former beauty. Also, being a low light creature, and having possibly decided that my tank has a bit too much light on it for most LPS to be comfy, I'm quite happy with the way this brain is currently looking. If you look close enough, you can even see some blue starting to sneak back into it.



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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Looking good Matty...and about the lighting being too much for lower light LPS, or even softies....I kept lower light LPS and very low light softies in my 13g tank with a 175w halide over it and also 2 X 32w PC's. Its all an adjustment phase and could take a couple months. Also remember that the color temps you selected on the bulbs could also be making the corals look different color wise

Looking good Matty

Especially after the slime algae is gone

Also remember that the color temps you selected on the bulbs could also be making the corals look different color wise

You think the 2 actinic, 1 6700K, 1 10000K mix would provide good color, or should I have gone with something else?

13g tank with a 175w halide over it and also 2 X 32w PC's.

Tha's a lotta wattage.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients