Green Star Polyps Question?

[Highland Reefer]

I was given some Green Star Polyps a couple of months ago. They are starting to spread nicely around a hammer coral. I know they spread a lot, but do they cause problems with the other corals?

[mogurnda]

I was given some Green Star Polyps a couple of months ago. They are starting to spread nicely around a hammer coral. I know they spread a lot, but do they cause problems with the other corals?

GSP will nettle just about anything they are next to, and they are really hard to get off the rock once they have grown onto it. In the past, I have applied kalk paste to keep it within boundaries, but it's better to keep it off your main rockwork entirely.

[Highland Reefer]

GSP will nettle just about anything they are next to, and they are really hard to get off the rock once they have grown onto it. In the past, I have applied kalk paste to keep it within boundaries, but it's better to keep it off your main rockwork entirely.

 

 

 

Whaaaa!

[mogurnda]

Time for me to go to bed before I bum anyone else out.

[jason the filter freak]

Mine is doing a pretty good job of destroying mushrooms around it, thats why its on my sand bed, no attachment going to happen. It has also be come host to a ton of small filter feeding worm like creatures that send out sweepers at night.

[rioreef]

It will get out of hand. I have flattend out some putty and covered.

 

Observations on my corals that seem to keep at bay.

 

Torch.

Pocillopora (it does not grow up onto the coral, even where with the bottom portion of the coral does not have any polyps)

Hydnopora

Encrusting Gorgonian (grows over the purple matt of the GSP)

 

Leave it on the sand bed and you can easily maintain it.

[gmubeach]

I banished mine to the back of my nano:)

[tranceFusion]

I had a small frag of GSP and I set it on a piece of rock.. came back a week later and it was already matting over the rock.. Now I can't get rid of the crap! I have just been stabbing the polyps with my exacto knife to kill them, and trying to scrape the mat up, but they just keep popping up..

[davjbeas]

I scraped the GSP in my main tank with a wire brush. And joes juiced what came back. If i see more polyps I will joes juice again. I am trying to grow it on the side glass of the aquarium where I can razor scrape away growth getting too close to the live rock.

 

David B.

[Highland Reefer]

Thanks for all the info. I put it on my rock and it is now attached and spreading. Looks like I have some work in store for me.

 

[Highland Reefer]

Now I am really confused. I have been doing some interesting reading on the net about GSP and I came across this articel at: http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;#entry1907330

 

Common Name(s) : Green Star Polyp, Starburst polyp.

 

Scientific Name : Clavularia viridis

 

Family : Briareidae

 

Location : Central pacific, Asia.

 

Temperament : Peacefull.

 

Tank Placement : Middle-top.

 

Water Flow : Moderate-strong.

 

Light : Moderate-high.

 

Care : Green star polyps are a very easy coral to look after and are a good choice for the novice aquarist's indroduction to coral keeping. The require moderate to strong lighting and moderate to strong water flow. If the water flow is too weak, they will not thrive. Green star polyps spread over the rock they are on in the form of a purple mat which the polpys are attached to. They are a peacefull coral that will not sting nearby corals, but, they are easily stung by others so be carefull when placing them. Normal reef conditions with an s.g. of 1.023-1.026 and a temperature of 72-78F will be fine. It is common for them to close at night and they fluoresce beautifully under moonlights before they close.

 

Editors notes: This coral will react to poor carbonate/alkalinity and poor salinity levels by closing up its polyps. And as peaceful as Green Star Polyps are, they can over-grow delicate hard corals and decorative clams if left un-trimmed.

 

Feeding : This coral gets most of its food from the zooxanthellae algea within it, therefore being photosynthetic. They can also benifit from feedings of plankton for corals.

 

Propagation : This coral can be 'fragged' by cutting the purple mat with polyps on it away from the rock and glueing it onto another piece of rock.

 

Comments : This coral will close under stress, so do not be alarmed that when bought, the polyps 'dissapear'. It is one of my favorite corals and i would reccomend it to anyone.

[mogurnda]

Now I am really confused. I have been doing some interesting reading on the net about GSP and I came across this articel at: http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;#entry1907330

 

Common Name(s) : Green Star Polyp, Starburst polyp.

 

Scientific Name : Clavularia viridis

 

Family : Briareidae

 

Location : Central pacific, Asia.

 

Temperament : Peacefull.

 

Tank Placement : Middle-top.

 

Water Flow : Moderate-strong.

 

Light : Moderate-high.

 

Care : Green star polyps are a very easy coral to look after and are a good choice for the novice aquarist's indroduction to coral keeping. The require moderate to strong lighting and moderate to strong water flow. If the water flow is too weak, they will not thrive. Green star polyps spread over the rock they are on in the form of a purple mat which the polpys are attached to. They are a peacefull coral that will not sting nearby corals, but, they are easily stung by others so be carefull when placing them. Normal reef conditions with an s.g. of 1.023-1.026 and a temperature of 72-78F will be fine. It is common for them to close at night and they fluoresce beautifully under moonlights before they close.

 

Editors notes: This coral will react to poor carbonate/alkalinity and poor salinity levels by closing up its polyps. And as peaceful as Green Star Polyps are, they can over-grow delicate hard corals and decorative clams if left un-trimmed.

 

Feeding : This coral gets most of its food from the zooxanthellae algea within it, therefore being photosynthetic. They can also benifit from feedings of plankton for corals.

 

Propagation : This coral can be 'fragged' by cutting the purple mat with polyps on it away from the rock and glueing it onto another piece of rock.

 

Comments : This coral will close under stress, so do not be alarmed that when bought, the polyps 'dissapear'. It is one of my favorite corals and i would reccomend it to anyone.

Based on this article, I would suspect anything this guy writes. The old name for GSP is Pachyclavularia, but it is now classified as Briareum. Clavularia is the genus name for clove polyps, something totally different. I don't think anyone who has kept GSP would describe them as "peaceful."

 

There's a lot of information on the internet. SOme of it is correct.

[jhn]

I agree with mogurnda, GSP's are definitely not peaceful. I keep some on a rock island kept away from the main rockwork.

[Highland Reefer]

Thanks for the imput. I am fully aware that there is a lot of bad information out there on the net. I am glad I joined WAMAS, it definitely helps to have all your alls good input to help keep me staight.

 

[lanman]

Putting a bit of kalk on each polyp that grows where you don't want it will keep it under control; can even kill it back if you hit a bunch of them. Best kept on a rock of its own, out on the sand bed.

 

 

bob

[Highland Reefer]

I just got out my old "Aqaurium Corals" by Eric Borneman, 2001. At that time they were classified with the Pachyclavularia, but he does Identifiy sources that says they may be a Briareum. Borneman goes on to say that the green star polyps do not possess any significant numbers of tetacular nematocysts, but they can overgrow neighboring corals. He says they possess significant terpenoid and diterpenoid compounds which presumably are deterrents to predators. Again, this was stated 7 years ago by Bornemen.

 

I wondering since everybody is saying they cause problems with neighboring corals, if the Terpenoids or Diterpenoids do cause problems for other corals?

[dschflier]

I keep mine on a seperate rock which I can trim as needed. I think they are really nice pieces but once they get out of hand they can be a real pain. The nice thing is you can use the triming to fill in bald spots as you get older.

[Highland Reefer]

I think they will come in handy.

[treesprite]

I have a small frag of it which is on it's own on the sand. Someone posted a picture a while back of a tank that was nothing but a tank of GSP - that did it for me - I immediately decided that if I ever got it I was going to keep it away from things.

[lancer99]

Based on this article, I would suspect anything this guy writes. The old name for GSP is Pachyclavularia, but it is now classified as Briareum. Clavularia is the genus name for clove polyps, something totally different. I don't think anyone who has kept GSP would describe them as "peaceful."

 

There's a lot of information on the internet. SOme of it is correct.

Maybe....despite the simularity in names, there isn't necessarily any relationship between Clavularia and Pachyclavularia, no more than in Nepthea and Nepenthes, neither of which would be happy growing in each other's environments.

 

My favorite generic name is Notocactus...despite the name, it *is* a cactus.

 

From what I know, the whole Star polyps/encrusting Briareum/Pachyclavularium thing is up for debate....Phil Alderslade seems to be the only scientist who is interested in soft coral identification.

 

FWIW,

-R

[Highland Reefer]

Maybe....despite the simularity in names, there isn't necessarily any relationship between Clavularia and Pachyclavularia, no more than in Nepthea and Nepenthes, neither of which would be happy growing in each other's environments.

 

My favorite generic name is Notocactus...despite the name, it *is* a cactus.

 

From what I know, the whole Star polyps/encrusting Briareum/Pachyclavularium thing is up for debate....Phil Alderslade seems to be the only scientist who is interested in soft coral identification.

 

FWIW,

-R

 

 

 

Taxonomy is wonderful and does lead to some interesting debates.

 

Phil Alderslade is quite a character

 

Edited March 16, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[lanman]

I just got out my old "Aqaurium Corals" by Eric Borneman, 2001. At that time they were classified with the Pachyclavularia, but he does Identifiy sources that says they may be a Briareum. Borneman goes on to say that the green star polyps do not possess any significant numbers of tetacular nematocysts, but they can overgrow neighboring corals. He says they possess significant terpenoid and diterpenoid compounds which presumably are deterrents to predators. Again, this was stated 7 years ago by Bornemen.

 

I wondering since everybody is saying they cause problems with neighboring corals, if the Terpenoids or Diterpenoids do cause problems for other corals?

 

In my experience, they don't directly harm other corals... I have a pink sinularia that is completely surrounded by GSP at the base; but it doesn't 'stick' to the sinularia - I can peel it off in sheets.

 

bob

[Highland Reefer]

 

In my experience, they don't directly harm other corals... I have a pink sinularia that is completely surrounded by GSP at the base; but it doesn't 'stick' to the sinularia - I can peel it off in sheets.

 

bob

 

My GSP have not bothered my hammer yet, which is not glued down, and are headed towards some frags of Montipora. I can move the frags since I have yet to glue them down. Despite the warnings from everybody, I think I will have some fun and let them go a bit. They are still on two rocks, with a ways to go. I always seem to get into trouble when I do this. Nice to see someone else my age on this forum. I'm starting to feel like an antique around here.

[bk_market]

so GSP can only spread on the rock but if i leave it seperate on one side on the sandbed then it only grow to the rock that it come with without spreading?

 

I have poccilipora in my tank even though i keep it seperate it spawn all over my tank.

[lanman]

so GSP can only spread on the rock but if i leave it seperate on one side on the sandbed then it only grow to the rock that it come with without spreading?

 

I have poccilipora in my tank even though i keep it seperate it spawn all over my tank.

 

Never had it spawn like that - however, it will continue to spread across the sand bed. Once in a while you need to trim off the excess.

 

bob