Couple things to ID

Rubberdam604 · Aug 31, 2019

We have these tiny “flowers” in the tank and would love to know what they are and if they are reef safe.

We have also noticed white bumps growing all over the live rock. I’ve looked at some other forums (nemite eggs, etc.), but they don’t really make sense. Could it be spawning vermatid snails? (We have this in abundance, sadly).

Thank you for any and all input!

Rubberdam604 · Sep 2, 2019

Anyone have any idea what these are? Much appreciated!

Auquanut · Sep 2, 2019

The tiny stars look like some kind of star polyp? Not sure about the white bumps. Can you get a closer picture?

reef lover · Sep 2, 2019

Looks like nerite eggs. And possibly clove polyps.
Does the polyps have a purple matt .?

Rubberdam604 · Sep 2, 2019

We don’t have any nerite snails, that I am aware of. We do have stomatella snails (at least, that’s what they look like). Should I just leave these bumps alone?

@reef lover, they do seem to have a purple Matt. We’ve had them for ages and they don’t seem to get any larger or spread. These potential star polyps are quite small.

motortrendz · Sep 2, 2019

I'd definitly say snail eggs and some sort of clove polyp as well.

reef lover · Sep 3, 2019

Purple matt says star polyps. Stoms broadcast spawn so its not them...look up spirorbid worms and see if they match...

Rubberdam604 · Sep 3, 2019

The dots definitely look similar to those seen in spirorbid worms, but I can’t seem to find any adults that resemble this species. We do have quite a few vermatid snails, which can look similar to the worms.

Reading about both the star polyps and clove polyps, it seems many aquarists view them as pests. One post likened clove polyps to aptaisia in terms of how quickly it can spread. Should I be trying to snuff them out?

nealio992000 · Sep 3, 2019

the flowers could be blue sympodium think they are a highly invasive clove polyp

Rubberdam604 · Sep 3, 2019

nealio992000 said:
the flowers could be blue sympodium think they are a highly invasive clove polyp

How would you go about removing them from the tank? Aiptasia X? Would you consider leaving them where they are?

nealio992000 · Sep 3, 2019

Rubberdam604 said:
How would you go about removing them from the tank? Aiptasia X? Would you consider leaving them where they are?

I'm not sure I've never dealt with them, even if they on their own island they can spread though. I'm guessing the only way to remove them would be to chuck the rocks they are on, they tend to grow over other corals and are rapid growers. I'm not sure if theres a way to peel them off

reef lover · Sep 4, 2019

If u want to remove them. Get under the purple mat and peel them off. Might take a cple times.

Rubberdam604 · Sep 7, 2019

reef lover said:
Looks like nerite eggs. And possibly clove polyps.
Does the polyps have a purple matt .?

I took a close look at the area during the night and there isn’t any matting under the polyps (aka you can see the live rock). With this information in hand, is it fair to assume they are clove polyps?

Would you recommend I try to kill them off or leave them be? They are on one section of rock. Do you think Aiptasia X would be effective?

reef lover · Sep 8, 2019

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

Rubberdam604 · Sep 8, 2019

reef lover said:
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

I found and went through that article yesterday! It was very illuminating, but I fear that I wouldn't be able to use fenbendazole. I only have the one tank, and it's loaded with leather corals. From what I read, the drug would likely wipe out these corals. As such, I'm trying to find an effective alternative.

reef lover · Sep 9, 2019

Im not sure aptasia x will work...maybe others have tried...
If you dont need the rock you could toss it or take it out and do a bleach treatment on it which will wipe out the polyps as well as any beneficial life on the rock. Or you could epoxy over them.

Rubberdam604 · Sep 9, 2019

reef lover said:
Im not sure aptasia x will work...maybe others have tried...
If you dont need the rock you could toss it or take it out and do a bleach treatment on it which will wipe out the polyps as well as any beneficial life on the rock. Or you could epoxy over them.

I was thinking to use the mixable puddy (probably similar to epoxy?). The rocks I have in the tank have some massive corals (toadstools, etc.) attached, and I am not confident in my ability to extricate them from the rocks. I was also thinking of just trying to yank them off with tweezers.