Help can i save my brain?!!

[lynchmob]

I've had my brain for about 3 months its about 7-8 inches across and 4 inches high. it fed and seemed fine for about 2 months, but in the past month about 70% has died. theres still about 30% left still blowing out but no sweepers. the 30% left doesnt seem to be getting smaller either.

my water parameters are fine and i dont think its getting too much light.

i suspect the probs may have something to do with a number of possible factors:

1) aptasia in the tank
2) was near a carpet anemone
3) sand seems to build up in the skeliton no matter where i place it in the tank
4) algea bulid up on the surface.

i was wondering the best thing to do with it. leave it and hope for the best, giving it the best conditions. and i heard somewhere that if they start to bleach or dye that you can stop it speading by cutting the living part out?

please help!! thanks matt.

[Loverotties]

Welcome to TRT! I 'm not shure because I've never own one but I think that it won't grow back.But hopfully some others will chime in.

[Dagrape]

Can you post a pic?

I cut on of my brains in half and eventually the polyp repaired itself and grew around the cut skeleton.

Definetly have to keep the skeleton clean though. NO algae and no sand.

[ChilisREasy]

mine did that because not enough light...i sit it at the highest point & it jumped back to health in about 2 months

[mmn_usn]

I have a favia. I have it in moderate flow and I feed it once a week. It sits about 12-15" under the water. I got it for fairly cheap because it was dying. It is the size of a baseball with about a quarter of the skeleton occupied. Slowly but surely it is retaking the skeleton. I had a problem with mojona (sp) anenomes and Valonia on the skeleton... but other than that. I feed each individual polyps even if the sweepers are not out.

[Reefyone]

If your brain coral is Trachyphillia, I can't say anything - they are dying for me, no matter what (bought damaged, though). But symphillia, cynarina, scolymia, lobophillia and maze recovered just fine, in 2-3 months, in the gentle surroundings: low flow, away from heater, not a brightest place in the tank, until recovers or shows progress, and no mechanical damage during cleaning or after contact with the sand.

I'm using refugium in the sump for this with diffuse daylight plus low-moderate PC light. When starts recover, more might, gradually.
Once had set a shallow 4g Rubbermaid container as a separate hospital tank, with old water and LR from the main tank, it worked fine too.

The bags are with carbon and Purigen.

Only once I had seen LPS (candycane, actually) losing tissue - there was a very high pH 8.8 with other parametes within norm.

If nothing helps, you may try some kind of anti-bacterial treatment in a separate container. I tried only Melafix with Primafix (for other corals, but the symphyllia, bought in a bad shape, was present in this tank too), it started to recover, eating at last.

I'll keep fingers crossed for your coral.

[Waynesworld]

I have a welsy brain that got torn up when I mixed a batch of salt, that was not quite mixed properly and it landed on it at the bottom of the tank and burnt at last 50% of it. It took about 2-3 months, but it has recovered on the skeleton and I was feeding it mysis last night and it was eating like crazy. There is hope, just be patient, not too much flow and medium to high light worked for me. Just dont put your hands in the tank too much and dont move it around, just let it recover. Hope that helps.

[lynchmob]

thanks so much everyone i really appreciate the help, the coral has changed this week. the living part has stayed pretty much the same. but the dead skeleton has deteriorated badly and bits have broken off and go white.

theres still alot of algea on it i think and i'm not sure how to get it off, without damaging it??? i have other aquapora that have algae building up on them and i'm not sure the best way to combat it? also the sand in it never seems to stop building up on it not sue whyits no where near the bottom?

earlier this week one sweeper tenticle did come out so i fed my brain on cyclopse using a pepette and just spraying it all over. no tenticles have been out since but i have kept feeding it.




well thanks for your help its very much appriciated.

[Reefyone]

I have the Maze brain, like yours too: I took it dying, sucked away by turkey baster the necrotic tissue and basted off debris from it on a regular basis, in a few weeks started to recover. Mind, that my tanks are basic, tap water and so on, only fed by fine food.
Whitening of the skeleton was only in one case - when another coral (if I remember right, porites) dropped on the maze, and was not noticed for may be a day. You can see pictures at http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/LPS/ .
Slowly recovers, and since then I'm trying to keep it in easily observable place.

It seems to me, that if your levels or calcium are normal (and not by API or Nutrafin test kit, you can easily guess, why I'm telling this ), then you may try to move Maze in the different place, even 2-3 " away, gently bast off the surface, watch and wait.
Another option may be, but I didn't tried this, to saw off the dead portion of skeleton, like it's described in Large LPS fragging tutorials.

BTW, how did you ID it: Platygira or something else?