Losing Gonis (Help Needed)

[Tarad.nadeau]

Hey fellow reefers. I am hoping someone may have some insight on my tank. We have had setup about 3 years (this larger tank I transferred everything over about 7 months ago when our old tank started to fail).

We have historically had awesome luck with Gonis, but in the last couple months have lost 2 and now one of the larger ones I have had I just noticed tonight that it was starting to have some recession. This was an aquacultured one we purchased at the CT Frag Farmers Market 1.5 years ago. We recently just lost the other one ina slightly different color bough the same time and same vendor. Extension has been great and honestly they all looked good until they didn’t.

Parameters:
Ph -7.8 (night) to 8.1 range - this should have been similar all around
Alk -9.5 (seems to always be about the same although I dont have a trident yet for monitoring)
Calc - 430
Mag - 1350
Phosphate -0.04- 0.10
Nitrate - 5-10
Dosing Reef Fusion 1&2 with Red Sea doser
in sterilizer
Small bag of carbon
SG 1.025
Using Fritz’s RPM blue

Looking for any help as it is starting to get frustrating (some other corals have had random poly bailout - large hammer colony)

Lost small maxima clam last night randomly too that looked great.


Is this brown Jelly ?? Should I dip this? Hydrogen peroxide maybe in the whole rock given it is encrusting it a bit? Last one that did this I dipped with lugols solution but it is no dead.

I’ve done ICP testing and nothing really stood out too.

 

[RobupstateNY]

I would grab some more water out and send a ICP-MS test instead of a ICP ICP-OES
And see where your metal levels are at, Tin especially.
Then check your ro-di filters for exhaustion and do a large water change not sure of your tank size but 30% or so. Water change never hurts for sure. Good luck

 

[moyangjackwang]

Ah the issues with gonis - classic. I’m no expert with them but I agree an ICP would be beneficial. Since it seems to be an established tank that’s been running smoothly.

A few other questions to maybe help try to triangulate:
- has your feeding regimen changed? Including coral feeding but also fish.
- Do you do any specific trace dosing? The reef fusion you’ve been dosing, is there a new bottle etc. kind of change?
- did you start a new box of salt in terms of water changes? Batches of salt do vary depending on the brand

 

[Tarad.nadeau]

All good questions!

Perhaps feeding a bit less but i always find it if I feed more I end up with algae issues?? Same amount and type of fish food all along.

I don’t do any other trace elements but would anyone recommend doing that? I don’t remember when the issue started vs the new bottle of fusion.

I guess new salt was maybe last time but before that it had been try same box before.

 

[moyangjackwang]

hmm yeah nothing suspicious there. How’s your source water? Did your RODI cartridge get depleted perhaps?

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Could be wrong here but I believe I heard our read somewhere that gonis benefit from manganese

 

[moyangjackwang]

Could be wrong here but I believe I heard our read somewhere that gonis benefit from manganese

Yep that’s what I heard as well

 

[Kymot]

I’ve good result dosing iron concentrate from two little fishies (containing iron + manganese). I have 7 gonis and they are doing well (knock on wood ). Been doing this for 2-3 minths now. Also my tank always have high PO4 like 0.2 or higher. Gonis are finicky sometime you just dont know.

 

[SueAbu]

I’ve good result dosing iron concentrate from two little fishies (containing iron + manganese). I have 7 gonis and they are doing well (knock on wood ). Been doing this for 2-3 minths now. Also my tank always have high PO4 like 0.2 or higher. Gonis are finicky sometime you just dont know.

Ditto. I've been dosing manganese and iron, also. I've also had some random polyp bailout, so I second the idea of looking at your metals. I found I'm over on lithium and something else. (Maine ground water)

I've also found (and I can't tell if this is your issue) that there may be some unfortunate interaction between the short and long tentacle gonis. The long tentacle seem to prevail. I've started trying to group them separately.

Good luck and keep us posted?

 

[Tarad.nadeau]

I’ve good result dosing iron concentrate from two little fishies (containing iron + manganese). I have 7 gonis and they are doing well (knock on wood ). Been doing this for 2-3 minths now. Also my tank always have high PO4 like 0.2 or higher. Gonis are finicky sometime you just dont know.

What are you using for dosing of that trace ?

 

[Tarad.nadeau]

I’ve good result dosing iron concentrate from two little fishies (containing iron + manganese). I have 7 gonis and they are doing well (knock on wood ). Been doing this for 2-3 minths now. Also my tank always have high PO4 like 0.2 or higher. Gonis are finicky sometime you just dont know

Ditto. I've been dosing manganese and iron, also. I've also had some random polyp bailout, so I second the idea of looking at your metals. I found I'm over on lithium and something else. (Maine ground water)

I've also found (and I can't tell if this is your issue) that there may be some unfortunate interaction between the short and long tentacle gonis. The long tentacle seem to prevail. I've started trying to group them separately.

Good luck and keep us posted?

what have you been using for dosing?

 

[SueAbu]

Brightwell ferrous whatever and a powdered manganese that I'm still using the first batch I mixed last year. I only dose 2ml per day in a 95 gallon tank with 30-40 Gonis. I'll see if I can find a link to the powder. I also use Captiv8 Isol8 MT 2 drops per 95 gal to dose other minor traces.

 

[shrimpchips]

What salt are you using? I was using an Aqua Forest salt mix which seems fine for a year+ but I must have hit a bad box or two because my Gonis, LPS, SPS and clam all went downhill over the course of a few months. Gonis receded and died, LPS had polyp bailout of seemingly healthy colonies with no sign of brown jelly, clam just closed up and withered away over a month. Levels of the main parameters were fine, no current leakage, pumps/magnets rusting or other potential culprits. I finally went and just bought some different salt (Tropic Marin), and within one or two large water changes everything seemed to be happy again. Seemed easier (and cheaper) than trying to supplement one or two things at a time with additives of unknown composition and continuously test with ICP.

 

[SueAbu]

What salt are you using? I was using an Aqua Forest salt mix which seems fine for a year+ but I must have hit a bad box or two because my Gonis, LPS, SPS and clam all went downhill over the course of a few months. Gonis receded and died, LPS had polyp bailout of seemingly healthy colonies with no sign of brown jelly, clam just closed up and withered away over a month. Levels of the main parameters were fine, no current leakage, pumps/magnets rusting or other potential culprits. I finally went and just bought some different salt (Tropic Marin), and within one or two large water changes everything seemed to be happy again. Seemed easier (and cheaper) than trying to supplement one or two things at a time with additives of unknown composition and continuously test with ICP.

Does it have elements beyond the usual suspects? Does it have manganese? (Not magnesium)

 

[SueAbu]

I’ve good result dosing iron concentrate from two little fishies (containing iron + manganese). I have 7 gonis and they are doing well (knock on wood ). Been doing this for 2-3 minths now. Also my tank always have high PO4 like 0.2 or higher. Gonis are finicky sometime you just dont know.

I'm going to look into this next time I run out of stuff. Anyone want a full bottle of manganese powder, minus 2 tbs? Lol

 

[SueAbu]

View attachment 236194View attachment 236195Hey fellow reefers. I am hoping someone may have some insight on my tank. We have had setup about 3 years (this larger tank I transferred everything over about 7 months ago when our old tank started to fail).

We have historically had awesome luck with Gonis, but in the last couple months have lost 2 and now one of the larger ones I have had I just noticed tonight that it was starting to have some recession. This was an aquacultured one we purchased at the CT Frag Farmers Market 1.5 years ago. We recently just lost the other one ina slightly different color bough the same time and same vendor. Extension has been great and honestly they all looked good until they didn’t.

Parameters:
Ph -7.8 (night) to 8.1 range - this should have been similar all around
Alk -9.5 (seems to always be about the same although I dont have a trident yet for monitoring)
Calc - 430
Mag - 1350
Phosphate -0.04- 0.10
Nitrate - 5-10
Dosing Reef Fusion 1&2 with Red Sea doser
in sterilizer
Small bag of carbon
SG 1.025
Using Fritz’s RPM blue

Looking for any help as it is starting to get frustrating (some other corals have had random poly bailout - large hammer colony)

Lost small maxima clam last night randomly too that looked great.


Is this brown Jelly ?? Should I dip this? Hydrogen peroxide maybe in the whole rock given it is encrusting it a bit? Last one that did this I dipped with lugols solution but it is no dead.

I’ve done ICP testing and nothing really stood out too.

After all this talk about parameters, I turned the flashlight on my Goni tonight and found a HUGE hydroid stinging the poo out of the side that was dying. Sometimes it has nothing to do with parameters, elements or dosing.... *Sigh*