What happened to my FrogSpawn?!

Perhaps the word "toxic" is being used a little loosely? I'm simply referring to the upshoot in DOCs, which, depending on how much decaying tissue is actually left in relation to the size of one's system and their biological filter, has the potential to create a toxic level of ammonia.

 

the thing that matters is you both present great advice and/or precautions when you have a decaying/dying coral in your tank.

Everyone's tank, water chemistry, and inhabitants are so varied that there are many grey areas, such as the one we're discussing here. Touching on what Sidd said, I think it's possible for life to propogate from a dead coral skeleton left long enough in the right water conditions. In a large enough system the negative effects of a dying or decaying coral can be negligable. However, those same traces of dead tissue contained in a dead or dying coral skeleton can cause an issue in a tank small enough to be affected

So, bottom line, you both win my appreciation and karma.

 

Meaning? How long have you had them?

 

Exactly... and Thank You.

Also, I am sorry for your loss. The Frogspawn is one beautiful coral.

 

I agree with you then ;D

Corals are around 99+% water, so there isn't much tissue to begin with. In a small enough system and/or in a system with inadequate biological filtration (i.e. LR), this could be a problem. Ammonia like you said.

When I read 'toxic' I think things like chemical warfare toxins released by leathers or by anemone's or slugs when they die sometimes.


So... good points Rhino.

 

Ohh I now see where I was misunderstood. I meant that the decaying matter would turn into ammonia.

 

I've had one piece for a little over a yr. It started off as one head and now it has 5 heads i think. Never looked close enough to count em.
The other one that i have is only one small head that popped up a couple weeks after it's mother colony (only one head) died off. This little one is about the size of a quarter.
I've never target fed either of the two. I do use phytomax, essential elements and coralvite. About 2 weeks ago I started feeding the entire tank cyclop ease every 3 days. (not target feeding)
I have it directly under a ledge in the DT not getting much light. because, when I first got the coral over a yr ago, I was experimenting with placement and noticed that it did best in a very shaded area. However, the small quarter sized head is in an area with a fair amount of flow and not in a shaded area. Again, I'm experimenting with placement and it has been doing well in that area for about a month now.
I'm running 2x96W PC and 2x40W T8 Actinics presently.
I want to upgrade. I have my MH fixture to be mounted.

 

Glad to see we're all in agreement.

k+1 for everybody.

Cheers

 

Just to add and help differentiate the terminology here.

Toxins are proteinous entities (think anthrax toxin, tetanus toxin, etc.), some are even smaller subunits of proteins such as peptides etc. Generally speaking toxins are the biological byproduct of an organism of some sort. They mostly have a receptor or some sort on a target cell, and is designed by nature to destroy. Comparatively, their origins mimic antibiotics in that way. (All antibiotics are also biological byproducts, think of the antibiotic penicillin from the ascomycete fungi Penicillium. Same principle). Toxins are very, very bad. And a skimmer will help greatly to pull these from the water column as they are mostly hydrophobic molecules.

'Toxic' has more of an adjective function. A cell can become toxic just by the presence of too much glutamate in the cytoplasm leading to cell destruction or someone taking a most excellent hairy turd in an aquarium will definitely lead to a toxic condition in the ecos. Too much vitamin A in a person's diet is toxic, and furthermore, too much H2O (overhydration) leading to a hypotonic state can be deadly fast, in a very irreversible way. It is basically a situation where the probability of death outweighs the viability by x%. Thus, decomposing tissue releasing mercaptans and other proteins, and molecules will just simply be a toxic condition by one's standard or another. And a toxic condition is bad, you just need to clean this crap up, and watch your chemistry.

I hope this helps a bit in clarifying. When in doubt, err on the side of caution. That way, you're never negligent!

 

It all come down to water volume & circulation period. I have been around the fishing industry for most of my life & have setup & maintained lobster tanks with thousands & thousands of gallons. I have seen 1 dead lobster, take out 100, due to poor circulation & complete system failure, due to not having enough water volume.

We can all pretty much agree smaller tanks are harder to maintain, than larger ones. Why? because of less room for error. Something that dies off in a 20gal could be toxic, but someone with a 120gal is fine & never seen a problem. Kinda like peeing in the ocean. lol...

As for the word toxic. It's pretty much something that has an ill affect on something else. What copper is to inverts, or even too much of something as simple as salt or food will be toxic to your tank.