Should I remove dying corals?

[Keekee]

Guys,

I have a finger corals which is dying and I think there is no chance of surviving. Question is should I remove it from my tank or it doesn't matter for leaving it there and let it turn inself into some dirt?

Does it harm the water quality?

Reason of dying is NO3 is too high. I am still working on it.

[Strangelove]

If it's definately dying it HAS to come out. Dying tissue, be it plant or animal, makes ammonia. If ammonia is your problem, you don't need more decay than you have.

[reefhead]

I will second the opinon of stranglove

cheers,
JOe

[ReefHawk]

You might try and do some water changes..like 15% every other day for a week, of course you said you are working on the Nitrate. Could you possibly take a cutting from the dude? Although what was said about the dying tissue and water quality is true, stepping up the water changes would help that situation. Just a thought.

I hate to give up sometimes is all. I have some cabbage corals which have been moved and absued and look really bad, yet I leave as I know they will recover in time.

[Keekee]

Thank you guys.

I have removed the died coral.

Doing a 5% water change every other day and increases the sand bed from 2 to 4 inches. Hopefully the NO3 will go away.

[ravenmore]

Actually, I don't necessarily agree. If your tank is well established it should be able to handle the decaying animal matter. Obviously keep an eye on the water quality.

Some corals make a comeback from even an apparently dead skeleton. I had a pear bubble that died. I left the skeleton in there and yesterday I noticed about a dozen little polyps still alive around the perimeter of the skeleton, even extending little feeding tentacles. Hopefully they'll grow into a new coral. I've had two candy cane coral polyps that died from contact with ricordia mushrooms and have the same thing going on with them as with the above mentioned bubble coral. Eric Borneman had a gonipora, of all things, that came back from an apparently dead skeleton in one of his tanks. So, you might want to leave it in there depending on some variables. Keep an eye on the water quality and make sure it's not an animal that, when it dies, releases some kind of toxic compound into the water. (I can't think of any corals that do this, but there might be some).

-Mike

[Great Reefer Man]

Aren't finger corals "leather's"? If so, maybe it was just doing its shrivaled up grey thing that leathers do. I know they can definitly look like death warmed over!!!!!! But, they always come out of it bigger and better!

I wonder how many leather corals get killed just because the owner dosent know any better? hmmmmmmm....


Dennis

[jayreefer]

I have a suffering coral srory as well i Have a hydrophora(bright green) appears to have had white spots(bleaching) from the beginning ( i got it in the bargain bin) I hate being on a budget anyways i thought i would try it out ans see if i could save it so the bleachin dying part is growing should i frag a good part to try and save that much or let it sit????? any ideas appreciated