Can SPS completely bleach from touching, are they dead?

[mvallee]

Can SPS touching cause them to completely bleach?

I had a purple stylophora and pink birdsnest that were doing good but while I was gone something bumped the birdsnest off it's spot and it came to rest on the stylophora, no more than two days and they seemed fine when I separated them other than a little bald spot on the stylo. that was two days ago and today they are both completely white, no PE on the stylo just pure white and the birdsnest is completely white other than one branch which is a very light pinkish color.
Are they dead or will they come back, should I move them lower in the tank so they get less light or anything i can do to help?

 

[reefstarter]

yep they killed each other
, that and the shadowing was enough to do them in

 

[showard]

Put them lower in the tank so they still get light but are not in their normal spots. Think of it as a "new" coral. I was given a "dead" montipora setosa and it was just a bleached white thing on a rock about 2 weeks ago. Thursday it has minor polyp extension and was a faint pink. Fast forward to today and it has full polyp extension is getting more red by the day. Unless they are COMPLETELY covered in algae they are still to be considered somewhat alive. I also has a monti spongodes that fell next to a hdyrophornia... it had maybe 2-3 tiny sad looking polyps on it. So I put it lower in the tank and algae did grow on it and the polyps went away. Slowly it started to come back and today the spongodes "skin" in growing over the algae. Give them time and proper water parameters and remove the stress and youll have about an ok chance at getting back to health. Now if this was an acropora or something that is not as hardy, same rules apply, but itll probably die.

 

[delta]

The entire coral is is white?

it may have just bleached out. As stated move them to lower lighting and give them some time. Unless you saw the coral tissue slough/die off

 

[mvallee]

Thanks, I will try that. so disappointed finally having some success and then this, one of the challenges I guess.

 

[mvallee]

just completely bleached, no skin sloughing off just completely white. The lower center stylo slightly green is how the purple looked (top left) two days ago as far as PE, I had such high hopes and the pink birdnest top right was a maroonish pink.

 

[yukyuklee]

i think they are completely dead, did you check your water param.?

 

[mvallee]

I did not, everything else looks fine just the two that were touching did this so thinking the contact between the two different types of corals, usually test on Sundays but too much going on today but definitely tomorrow. just so bizzare in two days from totally healthy looking to this.