Rainbow Digi - Squishy growth? (1 Viewer)

[Varig]

Hey guys - Does anyone know what this squishy growth is on the bottom of this rainbow digi? It started small enough and pure white that I thought it was just skeleton growth. Then it got some fuzziness on it, so I thought, "Oh, that's just polyps starting." But it never filled in with color, so I pulled the frag out last night just to have a little closer look at it, and it's soft/squishy. It doesn't deflate, but you can squish it.

Is it a pineapple sponge? That was my best guess. If so, should I leave it attached to a coral or not?

Thanks!
David

 

[superman]

Sponge most likely

 

[mrbill]

I agree, remove it.

 

[nox.rupaw]

yellow sponge? remove it.
White/grey sponges will die if exposed to the air, but yellow doesnt. Also yellow sponges are very invasive. They will grow over and smother even the most aggressive coral.

in the short run, yellow sponge doesn't matter but if your tanks' up and running for a few years, it will take over most of your rock work.

 

[Varig]

Okay perfect. I assume just scrape it off? Or anything more fancy that needs to be done to make sure it’s gone? Another peroxide dip or anything?

 

[nox.rupaw]

nah, you can just pull it or scrape it off.

 

[Varig]

Perfect. Will do. Thanks guys.

 

[Varig]

Okay so a follow up to this old thread. I pulled off the sponge as you told me (it just fell right off) and under it was brown as I recall. I didn’t think much of it, assumed the sponge had killed that part of the coral but that it would grow back.

Well, 6 months later and I’m wondering if there is some sort of infection that is spreading because of the brown?



Whatever it is it’s not a fast advancing thing like when I read about brown band disease etc. But it definitely looks to be getting bigger, not smaller.

And my purple stylo has maybe something similar?



The stylo I thought was maybe more light related, but now I’m not sure. It seems to be spreading around to the more front of the coral as well.


Any thoughts? It would be easy enough to pull the corals and give them a dip, but I’m not sure what I would dip with. Lugal’s? Antibiotics?

I’ve also been debating lighting changes to fill in the shadows. Maybe a combination? Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[BlindSwordsman]

There is something called 'rainbow' digi monti? I know they have a 'grafted' digi monti, but 'rainbow'?? .. Just wondering, but .. In any case, not sure what the deal is with your digi, my guess is it has some sort of STN? Maybe because I'm looking at the photos on my phone, not on my desktop, I don't see the photos very well. But, for the stylo, I'm guessing the flesh of the stylo is becoming some sort of brown mucus that would come off and show white skeleton underneath? .. If so, to me, it is no good news. For that scenario, I think the best solution is to frag and dip whichever parts that are still healthy enough to try to save those with whatever solution you want to use to disinfect it? That is my personal opinion.

 

[RSnodgrass]

If sponge is involved it could be boring sponge.

If you snap the skeleton you will find holes drilled through it after dissolving the sponge in bleach.

Either way trim and toss the oddities. I'd also suggest trimming a bit further back then you might think from the bad spot.

Digi is easy to come by... might be easier to get a new frag it forward from someone.

Alternatively, lets see what life is finding a way!

 

[Varig]

Got it. Fair enough. I have been wondering if that was the proper course of action. Cut the losses and see if I can get some healthy sections. That’s what I’ll do.

And I dunno re: naming. It was sold to me in a frag pack as a rainbow digi. I’m very much not an expert. You’re right though, there actually won’t be much left of that one if I cut it off to a “good” section. Is there any observation (microscopic or otherwise) I could do to learn more about what is going on with it? Alternative, since it’s all on one side, would there be a reason to try covering that side all in superglue to try to smother it out and allow the healthy tissue on the other side to cover it?

 

[RSnodgrass]

Worth a shot...

 

[Varig]

Fair enough. As mentioned, it’s basically try it or throw out the entire coral. I actually have another frag of it, so perhaps I will put that one in the DT and bring this was back to QT with a nice dollop of superglue. See what happens. Worst case I kill it, which seems to be where it’s heading anyway.

Thanks guys!

 

[BlindSwordsman]

Looking at the photos again on my big screen, I think they are dying off and the algae probably grows where the flesh used to be. Your rock doesn't look very clean and I don't base my opinion on any scientific fact, but maybe your tank is not ready for SPS yet? It might not be an issue with the corals, but it could be an issue with the tank? If the other frag is doing all right in the other tank, bringing it over might not be a good idea? ... (Darn! Gotta go to deal with the issues at work lingering from last week! Mondays and rainy days! ). Good luck!

 

[Varig]

100% possible. You’re correct, there is still algae in the tank, but it’s actively growing coralline algae, which I take to understand is a good sign that the tank is at least maturing to the point of being ready to handle calcifying coral. *shrug*

For what’s it’s worth, the monti cap, cyphastrea, psammacora, leptoseris are all growing very well. Clearly those are different species, but clearly very different than a softy.

I’m still dreaming of a day free from algae, we’ll see.

 

[BlindSwordsman]

I could be wrong about your tank and other things. .... But I think birdsnest, stylo, ... usually can take a wrong turn faster than others if something is off.

 

[Varig]

Fair enough. Good things to keep in mind for sure. I realize the tank is only 13 months old, so I'm sure there is still a lot of maturing left to happen.

Also, for what it's worth, despite being told they were "rainbow digitata" I did a little googling, I would say based on the colors that they are maybe bubblegum digitata. Again, *shrug*

 

[asifiqbal2]

They are labeled so many ways Rainbow, bubblegum, forest fire
Just chop it a little behind where sponge is growing if you are concerned about the sponge. Monti grows tremendously fast

 

[Varig]

Blast from the past here . That frag is still alive. It hasn’t grown substantially, but it’s still alive. Soooo, good?

 

[asifiqbal2]

Yup , sometimes they get pissed and do nothing and just sit there. Then one day they will take off again