Dying Torch Coral

Hi,

I got a torch coral about 2 weeks ago (my first coral). It has 2 stalks and now the tissue on one stalk is slowly retracting while the other looks perfectly fine. Any suggestions?

Deron

 

was the one head bumped or damaged in any way?

 

Nope. Its been in the same spot in the aquarium in the same spot since I brought it home. I don't think it was damaged in any way.

 

Today, the dying head has some sort of translucent threads coming off of it as well. What should I do if the head dies completely??

 

You could cut the dying head off if you are sure it is dying and not just reacting to something.

 

Somtimes this happens with torches, When I got mine it had 4 heads, 2 died off within a couple weeks of being in the tank, the other three heads are great and HUGE and even have two of them splitting. When it was happening to mine I freaked but after doing some reading found it seemed kinda common for them

 

What lights is it under?

How high/low is it in the tank?

What's the flow around it?



They need very little light and very light flow. Very.

 

I had a torch in a tank being fed by subtle, natural sunlight and it was doing well. I placed it in another tank under metal halides but it's shaded by LV it's not looking as healthy as it did before. Should I put it back under the natural sun light?

 

Do a dip with Coral Revive by Two Little Fishies. Your torch may not make it, many times they get stressed from shipping and develop a brown gel infection. It sucks, but it is fairly common with torches and hammers. I would say a good 40% of them die this way.

 

You can try and use airline tubing to siphon off the dead/necrotic tissue. Then try a giving the coral a bath with a Lugols Iodine solution like TM Pro Coral Cure or similar product. The iodine will act as an antiseptic and hopefully kill prevent the spread of the tissue necrosis.