How do I remove polyps?

Jsusisaliv · Mar 13, 2016

i have some brown button polyps I'd like to trim back. They are smothering some of my more sightly colored red polyps. I got this picture during sun down in the aquarium because this is the only time you can really see the red ones. During the day the brown ones are huge and completely take over. Can I cut them away in the tank? Or will the poison release in the tank and harm my fish? Just wondering if I can do it without removing that huge piece of rock and disturbing everything. Any ideas?

TheEngineer · Mar 14, 2016

Do they grow as a mat or singly? If as a mat, you can peel the mat back and then cut a line along it and glue it to a frag plug. Individual polyps, you can use a razor blade to cut into the Rock just below each polyp and glue them down somewhere else.

You can also kill them back with the same things you'd use against aiptasia. Just do it slowly with a few a week.

Jsusisaliv · Mar 16, 2016

It's sort of hard to tell but look singly. Can I cut them away while they are in the tank without harming the environment? What's the stuff I could use to kill them? Will it harm all of them or just part of them?
Thanks for the help

DeniseAndy · Mar 16, 2016

Depends on the dilution of the tank. How large a tank? Do you run carbon? Can you do a large water change after?

I cut mine back regularly with no issues. I just tweezer them off and suck up or discard. I am not trying to keep the ugly brown button polyps. However, do wear protective gear. Do not do if you have open wounds on your hands. These guys can carry the palytoxin.

cloak · Mar 16, 2016

I would just cut them as close to the base as you can with some scissors and then use some epoxy to smother any remaining tissue. This can be done in the tank btw. (preferably right before a water change) GL.

TheEngineer · Mar 16, 2016

Jsusisaliv said:
It's sort of hard to tell but look singly. Can I cut them away while they are in the tank without harming the environment? What's the stuff I could use to kill them? Will it harm all of them or just part of them?
Thanks for the help

Yup. Just get under the polyps and cut it out. You should be able to do it without killing them.

jrr · Mar 24, 2016

The best luck i have had with getting rid of polyps like that is with the tweezers and pull off as much of the mat as you can. you can also mix up some Kalk paste and see if you can burn them out. Some palys are more resilient than others.

Jsusisaliv · Mar 24, 2016

jrr said:
The best luck i have had with getting rid of polyps like that is with the tweezers and pull off as much of the mat as you can. you can also mix up some Kalk paste and see if you can burn them out. Some palys are more resilient than others.

Can I do this inside the tank with fish in it without harming them?

DeniseAndy · Mar 24, 2016

I do it all the time. Hate those buggers. Just make sure you can do a water change shortly afterwards.

hart24601 · Mar 24, 2016

jrr said:
The best luck i have had with getting rid of polyps like that is with the tweezers and pull off as much of the mat as you can. you can also mix up some Kalk paste and see if you can burn them out. Some palys are more resilient than others.

Tweezers is what I found to work best. Steady pressure can sometimes remove quite a few.

jrr · Mar 24, 2016

I haven't experienced any issues, but like everything else in the hobby don't take to big of a step. Don't try to remove every single one in one go. Space it out a little and see what works for you.