Can anything grow over blue clove polyps?

[Formulator]

I have a pretty massive BCP problem. Basically any rock surface not already occupied by coral is being covered by the clove polyps. I’m in the process of restocking after a crash and still have more frags to glue. Can I just glue them right on top of the BCP or do I need to clear them out?

 

[Naturalreef]

You will need to clear them out as they are invasive. Do a search on here for blue clove polyps. There is a remedy

That’s why I will never put Zoa’s, montipora or clove polyps on main rock structures. They grow fast and will cover your prized coral.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If the tank is not too big, you might want to take this opportunity to swap your rocks completely and glue the frags on new rocks.

I had to do that earlier this year, but it was only a 15 gallon tank, the more rocks you have the less appealing this might be. But those things are blue evil.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a pretty massive BCP problem. Basically any rock surface not already occupied by coral is being covered by the clove polyps. I’m in the process of restocking after a crash and still have more frags to glue. Can I just glue them right on top of the BCP or do I need to clear them out?

I love these cloves. Unfortunately they often win the take-over contest. You can apply dabs of gel superglue or pipette with kal paste over their heads and they fall down

 

[Formulator]

I love these cloves. Unfortunately they often win the take-over contest. You can apply dabs of gel superglue or pipette with kal paste over their heads and they fall down

Ya, I use aiptasia-x (kalk) to control some, but they are EVERYWHERE. Will something like cyphastrea encrust over them or do the cloves have any bite to their bark?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ya, I use aiptasia-x (kalk) to control some, but they are EVERYWHERE. Will something like cyphastrea encrust over them or do the cloves have any bite to their bark?

I wouldnt say bite but can be aggressive and survive as well as aptasia. encrust may work and aptasiaX I wouldnt have expected to have effect

 

[Formulator]

I wouldnt say bite but can be aggressive and survive as well as aptasia. encrust may work and aptasiaX I wouldnt have expected to have effect

I thought aiptasia-x was mostly just kalk paste in a fancy bottle. But after researching I quickly found this is not the case… Not sure where I picked that up. Anyways, it does seem to work for both cloves and GSP if I leave it sit with flow off for about 15 mins.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

If the clove polyps get too out of hand:

The only solutions I've heard for blue clove polyps aren't reef safe (they might kill off other things in the tank), but the most common treatment I've heard is Fenbendazole. Someone else used Lugol's Iodine, but they also lost some corals from that. Some people say kalk paste or super glue may work, but I haven't seen many people reporting success with it. The links below may help:

Invasive purple clove polyps

Does anyone know how to kill off invasive clove polyps? They’re starting to spread and envelop my acans and I don’t want them swallowing my garden.

www.reef2reef.com

Eliminating Blue Clove Polyps with Fenbendazole

A few years ago, I purchased a rock that had some beautiful Space Monster zoas on it. It also had some Blue Clove Polyp on it as well. I saw the BCP, I knew it was there, I really didn't worry about it at all because I had no idea what it could become. Fast forward....its now everywhere. Its...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[MoshJosh]

Might be a one off, but I once had a large Halloween hermit crab destroy a frag of blue clove polyps. . . I would be curious to see if introducing Halloween hermits might help get rid of BCP. . . again this could have just been a one off/fluke.

That said read what ISpeakForTheSeas posted

 

[Northern Flicker]

In my opinion, nuke your rock. You can do it one at a time so as not to mess with your biome too much.

Bleach, rinse, sun dry, rinse in RO, then back to the tank.

BCP s are a nightmare and I wouldn't try to live with them. Nows a good time while you are resetting anyways.

 

[Formulator]

If the clove polyps get too out of hand:

I’ve read about fenben, but it scares me. I really don’t mind the cloves filling in space between corals, but if they prevent coral growth I may have to resort to the extreme measures…

 

[Dburr1014]

I tried fenbendazole to clear out some vermetid Snails in a container. It didn't work but after rinsing the rock with fresh salt water and placing it back in the tank next to BCP, they all died. That was probably the happiest day of my reefing life.
Credit to they must have been Downstream from The Rock.

 

[Formulator]

I tried fenbendazole to clear out some vermetid Snails in a container. It didn't work but after rinsing the rock with fresh salt water and placing it back in the tank next to BCP, they all died. That was probably the happiest day of my reefing life.
Credit to they must have been Downstream from The Rock.

Interesting! I wonder if I could just soak a few big rocks and put them back in. Maybe a safer approach? I have tons of snails, hermits, and an urchin I’d rather not have to rehome. I heard it can take a long time to remove all the fenben to where it is safe to put them back.

 

[Dburr1014]

There is a thread on here that said they bought food flake with the fenben and fed the fish. Eventually it will kill the BCP.
That is a much safer way if you can't take the rock out.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I have them in my tank. Kalk paste will kill them, just turn off the flow for a few minutes and let it sit.

 

[Dburr1014]

I've tried Kalk paste, h2o2, boiling tank water, scrubbing, and combination of them, all made a dent.
Problem is, like aptaisia, if you leave one they come back.

Since my fenben incident this past February, I do not have any BCP at all.