Sea Apple crisis!!

Can you post a pic of the sea apple in its current state? Can you get a shot of the bugs on it or try?

 

Good to hear! If you have a refugium or plan to add one, you may be able to keep the fish fed without having to buy additional live foods

 

I don't have a refugium, nor do I have any plans on exactly what I am going to do yet. I'll be fishing around on here and other sites to see what others have successfully done for their mandarins.

 

Just a question you said you wanted to wait for the year mark. How old is your tank?

 

(Pics are uploading, by the way)

The tank had been set up for... I honestly cannot remember. About 13 months prior to me getting my hands on it. It was sitting in our living room for 6 months with nothing but water, live sand, and live rock in it. Of course, we never turned off the filter because I was planning on starting it up.

I started it up again in February. (Just looked that up and it seems like much longer ago...)

 

From side:


Tried to get a close-up


His other side:


The new gal


Can't wait to watch her belly plump up.


And these two pictures are as detailed and as close as I could get to the pods...





What do you all think?

ETA:
The Sea Apple doesn't look as bad in these pictures as he really is. When he sits himself up is when I can see where the pods(?) are eating away at his skin, almost to the point of to where it looks like lesions.

 

I've never seen that before.

How often do you see it poop? How often are you giving it phyto? Do you you just dump it in the tank or do you target feed? If you're using live phyto instead of dead phyto, do you squirt the cold phyto with a turkey baster on it or do you mix it with some warm tank water first? Are you using freeze dried phyto instead of liquid phyto? What brand of phyto do you use? My initial thought is that it's not getting enough food which is why I asked how often it poops.

Another possibility is it's not getting enough Calcium and Alkalinity. There is a myth perpetuated on the Internet that soft corals and many inverts don't need Calcium and Alk. Well, the reality is that many soft corals make a skeleton out of Calcium Carbonate spicules or plates. Sea apples do house a VERY LIMITED skeleton of sorts made out of Calcium Carbonate plates(which is why we have them in the fossil record.....no skeleton=no fossils).

BTW, their skeletal plates are kind of cool. They look just like the breakfast cereal Honeycombs. http://images2.makefive.com/images/200826/aa07a413e4521cc4.jpg

 

not to worry

Your sea apple looks fine, the "bugs" may be cleaning the skin of the sea apple. The dips and wrinkles are normal

Here is my take on sea apples

I am by no means an expert on anything! I have had three sea apples (still do) for many years)

Here is what I have learned/recommend if you want to keep them healthy:


Sea apples will not tolerate water temperate above 76 degrees for more than a few hours (a chiller is a must)

I keep my tank between 72 and 75 degrees.

You must feed them phytoplankton (good quality) every day After the daylight light are off. I have not found Marine Snow to be of food value to sea aplles.

Sea apples feed at dawn/dusk and night, if you see them feeding during daylight hours, they are not getting enough food (occasional feeding, or feeding arms out for a short time in daylight is OK)

Be wary of “reef safe” wrasses. They re not always safe for invertebrates!!

Nitrates should never exceed 15 ppm

It is a myth that you cannot move them. Every once in a while mine decide to “walk” to some ridiculous place in the tank. Here is what I have found to work: Turn off the filters and pumps. Carefully pull them away from the problem area. They attach themselves with a lot of power, so do not be alarmed if it seems like you are ripping them apart! Remove from the “bottom” first, never pull the sides or top). Place them in an area where they get good moderate water flow and gently hold them against the sand or rock where you want them. They will attach quickly. Once they attach, turn on the pumps and filter

Power heads inside the tank, must have sponge filter around the intakes.

Do not be alarmed if they start to take on weird shapes, they are fine as long as they are not folding in on themselves.

Sea apples should feel firm and plump to the touch. If they start to flatten, or feel “mushy” they are in trouble and should be removed from the take immediately!

All in all, despite the effort, I love them, just got an Australian sea apple that is so beautiful! I love them and find them worth the effort

FYI, I have a 28 gallon nanocube!