NYfan78 January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 I just got live rock last weekend and found these two attached. Any idea what they are?
Coral Hind January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 First is Aiptasia Second is Green Star Polyps or GSP for short.
BowieReefer84 January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 The first one is aptasia... Second is gsp. If that is the only rock with aptasia I would remove it from your tank. They are a pest, but not the worst.
Matt LeBaron January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 They propagate very quickly and given just a tiny bit of time can really take over large portions of your tank. Your best bet is to get one of the treatments for it. You can get Aptasi-x or a couple of other treatments. You basically squirt it with the treatment and it will kill them. Don't try and scrub it off, squish it, cut it off, etc. As they can grow from pieces, so you could just cause it to spread quicker. The treatments for aptasia all work well in my experience and are a good way to kill them. You'll see more over time, it's just one of those things that just about every aquarist sees. I tend to find some new one in my Refugium every 1-2 months, pull out my aptasia-x, kill the little guy and move on.
Der ABT January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 pest...they multiply like nothing else and will sting things including your hand (though not very bad) best way to get rid of them if you have just that one is either manual removal with tweezers (though that one would be hard to get at) or using aiptasia-X or a Kalk slurry (basically pickling lime and water thats you cover the aiptasia with) which is basically what aiptasia X is.....turn of the water flow in the tank and cover the aiptasia with the stuff for 15-20 min. if you need help/instruction let me know
onux20 January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 Also recommend isolating the GSP. They spread to everything they touch and can take over your tank. Recommend putting them on their own rock island isloated from the walls of the tank and other live rock. Ron
Coral Hind January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 ^ I agree. GSP is a great coral for beginners but it can become a weed and take over the tank.
Der ABT January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 Chizzle the piece with the GSP attached off the rock...use some superglue gel (i prefer the gel version and sometimes you can find it at the dollar store)to attach to another rock... if you end up killing it let me know id be happy to give you some more that you can attach to a rock for free...its a really cool thing but grows very fast over everything...purple base with bright green polyps (look like leaves)
NYfan78 January 25, 2012 Author January 25, 2012 I DONT HAVE A CHIZZLE :(. ID LOVE TO GET SOME FROM YOU AND SHOW ME HOW TO ATTACH THEM TO A ROCK. I HAVE A ROCK THATS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SAND THAT WOULD BE PERFECT!
Chad January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 chisel, screwdriver, knife, razor blade, anything that you can use to cleanly break the soft live rock under the polyp will work fine.
Origami January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 Scott, take off the caps lock.... Yes, that's aiptasia in the first picture. They're a real pest. Get rid of it. You'll find lots of information on the web about reefers battling it. The second is, indeed, GSP - just a few polyps. But they do multiply and can take over available surfaces from your corals. If you want to remove it use anything sturdy to carve it out of the rock. You can do this with a pair of wire cutters, a screwdriver, a chisel, or even a knife blade. Coral rock is pretty soft.
Coral Hind January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 If you don't want to mess your rock work up then just nuke the GSP when you kill the aiptasia. Then get a free frag of the GSP from another member to place on your isolated rock that you have.
NYfan78 January 25, 2012 Author January 25, 2012 Sorry Tom, we have to use caps in our program we use at work and just dont think about changing it lol. So does any members in MD have a GSP frag they want to donate to a newbie?
Origami January 25, 2012 January 25, 2012 If not someone from MD, Scott, then I can bring some to you at the next meeting. I have some growing in my frag tank (it was a gift from a neighbor - it's doing really well, if you catch my drift).
NYfan78 January 26, 2012 Author January 26, 2012 Well i bought the stuff and treated both of them. I hope i did it right and it works.
darkcirca January 28, 2012 January 28, 2012 I'm not in MD, but I have GSP as well if you want a piece (and kenya tree too). I highly recommend isolating it from other rocks.. or you'll be in for it later. I'm trying to rid several rocks in my tank from it because I made that mistake.
Marc Weaver January 28, 2012 January 28, 2012 I have tons of GSP, pulsing xenia, and some pink palys you can have. I live about a half hour from you in Boonsboro, MD. PM me if you want some. Marc
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