SPS Predators !!!

[Creek]

My favorite SPS a acropora of some kind (purple polyps and fast growing) has been ravaged this last week. I first noticed a white patch minus its polyps with a limpet I thought was the culprit close at hand. I was told I should move the coral and blow it down vigorously with a turkey baster as sometimes a clear worm feeds on sps. I did that and still for the next few mornings I found more damage, i.e. more white skeleton showing minus polyps. I waited till lights out last night and caught a peppermint shrimp going to town on the coral. It was pecking at it rapidly and appeared to be feeding. I don't know if it started the attack or just was cleaning up on the wounded coral someone else had started on. I hope when they are done with this one they don't move on to the rest of my Sps. It is very frustrating as it was my favorite and seemed to be thriving till about a week ago. Any thoughts on sps predators?

[Doug1]

Creek do you have a copy of Eric Bornemans Aquarium Corals,selection husbandry and natural history? It outlines white band disease. thats one posssibility, there are others,
Your peppermint shrimp may be scavenging dead or dying tissue, Tho I have seen the thory advanced they are arent safe with coral polyps. Personal exp with Acropora or otheer scleractinians is limited. No probs with octocorals that I have seen. but then no hard fast rules. I really recommend the aforementioned volume as a great overview

[Alice]

You could try fragging the coral to see if you can save some of it. Cut above the damaged area with wire cutters and glue the pieces to a rock with some superglue.

[Creek]

Thanks Doug and Alice!~ The damage is from the tips down so fraging it is probably not an option. I think, imho, that the damage is do to a predator. Do you think I should remove the coral? It is only 35 % ruined so far. Everything else seems fine LPS and SPS, but I am worried as one green acropora has the same characteristics as the purple and could be next on the feed chain(or disease for that matter). Heart breaking hobby sometimes.

[Doug1]

Hmmmm I think at this point I would try removing the infected tips and doing an iodine dip

[reefaddict]

It is more likely infection than predidation.

The peppermints were just feeding on the debis


Check out this great thread on Coral Bleaching & Disease

[Creek]

Reefaddict- thanks for the link. The thread was very informative. I believe that I may have a microscopic parasite as related in one of the posts as my water parameters are very stable and the flow around the coral are cotrolled by a wavepro on maxijet 600- 1200s and are quit varied. There was no change or event that led to the healthy coral having polyps disappear. I mentioned a limpet on the coral that was directly on the white patch I first noticed. I read in Sprungs Reef Aquaria 1 that some are predatory and leave white patches that look like white band disease. I feel that it is being fed upon as during the day some of the polyps slowly open in the white spots. It seems to have slowed but know golden algae diatoms like I clean from my glass with the Tunze daily are on the white patches (lightly). With the disease mentioned in the book and the thread there is a high mucus density and strong aromatic smell or color change in tissue to a darker or pinkish . None of this was observed. I feel by what is being said in the threads that other corals would be effected already. I have my doubts this coral will make it as people with way more experience than me have had low success turning rtn around.