brown jelly disease

[NJ_ychung1]

what exactly is brown jelly disease and what corals are prone to it? i have 3 heads of hammer coral that i am suspecting to be down with this but i don't know enough about it.

polyp seems to be retracted and all three polys just look like brownish greenish jelly. the neon green hammer heads haven't been seen in a while. could this be the dreaded BJD

 

[calaxa]

It's an opportunistic protozoa. The Euphyllia species (Frogspawn, Hammer, Torch, Galaxia, Bubble/Fox) are prone to hit, though other LPS can get it too I think (candy cane I think can). It usually occurs when there is an injury (sting, fall, etc.). The protozoa will attack and eat at the polyps. Death to the colony will come very quickly. The brown jelly is actually the flesh of the polyp being eaten away. It will be very slimy and will blow off with little effort (almost like cyano). Other polyps on the coral can be normal (usual) or distressed (means this polyp is probably next to get eaten). If you take coral out of tank, it will smell like it is rotting, which it is. Resembles same smell as a dead anemone if you ever had that pleasure. The coral may even do massive polyp ejections as a last ditch effort to save itself.

The cure:

Siphon off as much jelly as you can
perform Iodine/Lugol Dips until the coral is better

Or:

Frag off the healthy portion and place dying half in QT. Dying half can receive first treatment

 

[Patriot76]

ok, i JUST traded a xenia with NJ_ychung1 (his type of xenia for my type). the xenia i picked up from him is acclimating now. should i not put this into my tank???????????

 

[NJ_ychung1]

bill. it's not brown jelly disease as there is no slime coming off of the hammer. it's just the polyps seem retracted too long and most of the flesh seams to have lost it's neon green color. there is no emission of jelly from the polyp. plus, i have a healthy colony of frogspawn and it doesn't seem to be affected by whatever it is is bothering the hammer. i was curious to find out whether or not the polyp retraction could be a result of brown jelly but it does not sound like it.... for what its worth.

good luck with the frags.

 

[calaxa]

Softies are not affected by it. The coral has to be damaged somehow in order to get it. I think a healthy Euphyllia cannot get attacked by the protozoa.