Help Please!! Colt coral dead??!

[steevylover2003]

I accidentally left my lights on overnight and came home to the after picture of my colt coral-- it still looks like that this morning and i dont know what to do!! please help!

Before---
After---

[amcarrig]

It's really hard to tell from your pictures what's wrong with your colt coral. It could be dying or it could just be sloughing (when a coral "sheds" a layer of mucus to rid its "skin" of detritus and bacteria). Leaving lights on overnight wouldn't kill a coral unless the light was too strong for it. Now, I'm assuming that your tank water is ok and that you don't have too much or too little light for that coral?

[geekdafied]

Did you ever correct your cyano problem?

[coral reefer]

It could be a result of stress from the amount of PAR to it and its Zooxanthellae. It could be a result of the temperature of your water increasing, due to the lights being left on for an extended period of time. Also, Colt and Kenyon Tree Corals require moderate water flow to avoid a symptom called "collapse" which often leads to the corals demise! I also like to dose with iodine for my corals and inverts especially!

[steevylover2003]

I have coralife metal hallide HQI lighting system.. is that too strong?? the temp in the aquarium did increase by about 4 degrees when i got back... i dose with calcium is there anything i can do to help it re-coupe ???

[steevylover2003]

oh and yes the cyno problem was in a different tank.. this is a pretty new tank and the water is perfect i test quite often because i am very parranoid.. but the water and salinity are all good ....

[coral reefer]

Originally Posted by steevylover2003

I have coralife metal hallide HQI lighting system.. is that too strong?? the temp in the aquarium did increase by about 4 degrees when i got back... i dose with calcium is there anything i can do to help it re-coupe ???

No, that light isn't too strong for the Colt IMO! The duration that your lights remained on could have stressed your Colt by causing a supersaturated amount of oxygen through the photosynthetic process of its Zooxanthellae in the tissue of your Colt.
I don't know if their is really anything that can be done other than wait it out and try to keep everything optimal and go with an 8 hour or so lighting duration. I would also dose iodine, especially with calcareous shelled inverts, and soft corals!
best of luck...

[amcarrig]

Originally Posted by steevylover2003

oh and yes the cyno problem was in a different tank.. this is a pretty new tank and the water is perfect i test quite often because i am very parranoid.. but the water and salinity are all good ....

How new is "pretty new" and what are you testing for that's "all good?" Also, are you adding calcium because your water tests low?

[Tangster]

Does not look dead to me colts will melt away I think it may be a tad tweaked up ? Just allow it a few days to go through the sloughing stage Colts will do that when they are out of sorts or have been touched or moved . Also I'd not go adding Iodine and any other junk to the water as that may just make it worse .