Is my candy cane coral healthy?

[Giggletons]

Just got back from a month-long trip, and the family took care of my tank while I was away. Came home to some pretty rough water parameters - Alk, Cal, and MG were all really low. My corals looked pretty stressed out, but I've been doing some big water changes to try and get everything back on track.

Most of my other corals seem to be bouncing back just fine, but my Trumpet/Candy cane is looking a bit off. It hasn't grown much, and the green "head" is actually receding. I didn't pay super close attention to it before I left, but it looks like there's way more stem showing than there used to be, and not as much of the head.

There's also this weird growth sticking up in the middle, and it looks like it's tearing the coral apart. I'm not sure if I should try to remove that middle growth or just wait it out and keep an eye on my water parameters.

[Giggletons]

I'm having a similar issue with my corals after a recent water parameter dip. I'd love to hear from anyone who's experienced this.

[brixo]

I'd recommend identifying the middle growth first to determine if it's part of the candy cane or not. If it's not, I'd remove it to prevent any potential harm. Additionally, I'd start target feeding the candy cane with its preferred food to encourage growth, if you haven't already been doing so.

[zenoxa]

That purple growth in the middle of your Trumpet/Candy cane looks suspiciously like a Vermetid snail to me. They're notorious for causing irritation to corals. Worth checking out this article for more info: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/index.php

[BankoLite]

I'd get rid of that thing, doesn't look like it belongs to the coral. Just keep the water parameters stable and in check, that's key. Once it's happy and expanding its outer ring, the tentacles will come back - just a matter of time.

[Giggletons]

I removed the center thing, it was hard like rock but I got it all out. Tank parameters are almost back in check, still a bit low on Ca+ but getting there. The coral's doing better over the past 2 days, the 2 heads on the left are starting to split which is a good sign. I've been feeding it Reef Roids every other day, want to get some rods or PE Mysis too. The top colored part has moved down a bit and its colors are looking better.

Now I've got a different problem - my male clown fish is stressed out from all the water changes. He's always hiding in the rockwork, not like him at all. He's eating fine though, comes out when I feed him. I've checked him over and can't see any ich or brook, so I'm just gonna go back to weekly water changes and see if he settles down.

[brixo]

Just got back from a month-long trip, and the family took care of my tank while I was away. Came home to some pretty rough water parameters - Alk, Cal, and MG were all really low. My corals looked pretty stressed out, but I've been doing some big water changes to try and get everything back on track.

Most of my other corals seem to be bouncing back just fine, but my Trumpet/Candy cane is looking a bit off. It hasn't grown much, and the green "head" is actually receding. I didn't pay super close attention to it before I left, but it looks like there's way more stem showing than there used to be, and not as much of the head.

There's also this weird growth sticking up in the middle, and it looks like it's tearing the coral apart. I'm not sure if I should try to remove that middle growth or just wait it out and keep an eye on my water parameters.

Vermetid snails are notorious for their ability to burrow into rock, which is why they can sometimes be found in live rock from the ocean.