aiptasia? Or melting coral?

[ReefNoob5281]

Hello All.

I am very new to salt Water aquariums. I have had this tank set up now for 3 months or so. The tank just has soft corals in it and i did go to my LFS today to check my DKH levels as i did neglect the tank for a month due to family issues and the DKH is 7 which i am now sorting out.

The main question is, Is this Aiptasia on my jasmine polyp or is it just the jasmine polyp melting a little I understand as well that it is getting blasted by the flow of the tank and tilting to one side (rookie error on coral placement) and I would move it but it seems to have made its way through the rock work and popping out in different little crevices and cracks in the rock work so im scared to move it incase i kill the polyps that have rooted through (if they do root like that)

I have also noticed one of these little things on a zoa growing on the opposite side of the tank but it was really hard to get a picture of to show.

Apologise if this thread is in the wrong place.

 

[shakacuz]

can you get pictures under white lighting? i am seeing bubble algae, hair algae, and possibly feather dusters. but a picture under white light will help confirm. also, if you can, turn the flow off and make sure you are focused on the area you'd like for us to review for you.

 

[Uncle99]

It’s possible, but just too too blue for positive.
If so, likely making the coral unhappy in that area.
Go a white pic?

 

[ReefNoob5281]

Yeah sorry it was on night schedule when I noticed. but just switched the lights on quickly to take these snaps for you now

Thankyou.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Yeah sorry it was on night schedule when I noticed. but just switched the lights on quickly to take these snaps for you now

Thankyou.

Looks like colonial hydroids...

 

[ReefNoob5281]

Looks like colonial hydroids...

are they ok in the tank or should i get rid of them as soon as?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

are they ok in the tank or should i get rid of them as soon as?

Get rid of them by any means necessary.

 

[ReefNoob5281]

ok thankyou was just looking at a previous post about them on R2R and seems like there is a couple of methods to get rid of them.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

ok thankyou was just looking at a previous post about them on R2R and seems like there is a couple of methods to get rid of them.

Remove the rock they are on from the tank.
Chip off any rock that the hydroids are attached to, or remove the coral you want to keep and ditch the rock.

 

[ReefNoob5281]

The only issue i have with this is if i was to take out the rock it is on then i would have no hard scape left as it is just one centre piece of rock probably a big rookie move on my behalf i might try the super glue method and report back with results. wish me luck!!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The only issue i have with this is if i was to take out the rock it is on then i would have no hard scape left as it is just one centre piece of rock probably a big rookie move on my behalf i might try the super glue method and report back with results. wish me luck!!

If the rock can be removed from the tank, use a chisel and hammer and chip off the hydroids - kind of like skinning the outer part of the rock. Then put it back in the tank (after rinsing in old tank water). IME, H2O2 does not work well for this pest and you're better off nipping it in the bud than risking a teardown later. Of all the aquariums I've had set up over the years, the one that got infested with colonial hydroids is the only one I had to completely break down...

 

[ReefNoob5281]

If the rock can be removed from the tank, use a chisel and hammer and chip off the hydroids - kind of like skinning the outer part of the rock. Then put it back in the tank (after rinsing in old tank water). IME, H2O2 does not work well for this pest and you're better off nipping it in the bud than risking a teardown later. Of all the aquariums I've had set up over the years, the one that got infested with colonial hydroids is the only one I had to completely break down...

ok thankyou for the information i shall do this tonight i might even be able to just take the frag off that they are on but i was just worried it may hurt the coral if i was too do that but if i feel like i cant do that then i will take the rock out as you have said and sort the problem out that way thankyou!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

ok thankyou for the information i shall do this tonight i might even be able to just take the frag off that they are on but i was just worried it may hurt the coral if i was too do that but if i feel like i cant do that then i will take the rock out as you have said and sort the problem out that way thankyou!

If you remove the frag and don't see any more on the rest of the rock, you're probably in good shape. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can remove the coral from the frag plug/rock itself and glue onto a new plug/rock. This way you don't have to ditch the entire coral.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Fwiw, cloves are pretty hardy and you should be able to peel them off the rock...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

*another option is to smother the hydroids with kalk paste (or something like aiptasia-x). Not a 100% guarantee it will kill them all but could buy you some time.

 

[ReefNoob5281]

*another option is to smother the hydroids with kalk paste (or something like aiptasia-x). Not a 100% guarantee it will kill them all but could buy you some time.

i might give this one a try first as i dont really feel confident removing the frag plug or anything like that as i am so new to all this i would feel so bad if the coral died.