Looking for help: $500.00 Reward

[mchippo]

To my R2R Friends,

I have a beautiful 350 gal SPS/LPS reef tank that has developed a serious problem with invasive star polyps. I am willing to pay $500.00 to the person that leads me to / or provides me with a solution that rids the tank of the star polyps. Respectfully, your solution can't be "empty the tank of its contents and start over." I have already arrived at that solution myself and fear it will be my only choice if I don't come up with something else soon.

These are not your typical Green Star polyps. These look like Briareum but grow without a mat. They are not on a carpet. They spread via thin, vein like "roots." They are everywhere on my rocks and intake pipes and are now starting to encroach on and kill my corals.

I have tried kalk paste, various aiptasia solutions, electric/electrolysis aiptasia tools, and scrubbing individual rocks. None of these have worked. I also introduced a Leather-jacket Filefish that took a liking to my LPS...rather than these polyps. Crabs and Snails ignore the stuff.

The polyps have now reached critical mass and are too wide spread for these types of solutions.

I believe I am down to one of three choices now...

1) Introduce a natural predator like this guy: Melevsreef.com - GSP eating Nudibranch

Problem: Can't find one...and if I did...would it work? How many would I need? Would it attack anything else?

2) Some sort of chemical additive that circulates with the water that kills the polyps without killing anything else...yes, I know...fat chance...

3) See above "Empty tank and start over"

I seek your help and will try any reasonable ideas...and reward the $500 for something that works.

Please submit your ideas...either to this post or PM me.

Thank you, Dave

 

[TooTime]

I would try a copper band butterfly fish. I have had them rid my tanks of the small white feather dusters. I don't know what else would work. Good luck, I wish you the best.

 

[vetteman]

Got any pics of the invaders?

 

[Madreef]

Any kind of animal that eats them will do the trick. Is there other livestock at stake in the tank? It's pretty common to find an angel that's more than happy to pick at polyps all day long. Also some triggers, nudibranches, shrimps, and crabs can help. It's all up to what you have and what you want to lose.

 

[Rockadile]

hmmm well perhaps you could try some mini carpet anemones. put them where they stuff is growing and maybe they will sting/ kill the star polyps. check your LFS for some I know mine sells em for $20 each and I absolutly love them.

 

[xmetalfan99]

kalk paste

 

[Reef UP]

Try a klein butterflyfish check the spelling but they'll eat anything soft! Lol

 

[Just Jared]

Buy one of those aptasia zappers and go to town!!

 

[J&O'sdad]

I think an angel fish that is known to eat soft corals. The problem is it will probably eat everything you don't want it to first.

 

[geemanaz]

make a paste out of Mrs Wages Pickling Lime and apply directly with a syringe, But be careful not to Raise your levels too much with the paste. Do small areas at a time. Make sure you have no flow on that area so It will stay on the star polyps for awhile. I've had 100% sucess with this method and It works on other pest too

 

[m and m]

I would go to walmart and buy a ton of Hydrogen peroxide and give the rocks a long bath in it. It will turn alot of your caroline to a light pink and anything on the rock will die IE( Bristol worms, pods anything like that) But I think It might kill the star polyps aswell.

 

[mchippo]

Thanks for the ideas...

I don't picture a copperband or klein butterfly zero'ing in on the star polyps...I may throw one in and see what happens tho...
Shrimp and Crabs are of no help...I have plenty of each...
Kalk paste and Zapper have been tried and do not work. The problem is too wide spread.

 

[macawmagic]

try a fluke tab. They kill normal star polyps. I believe you would need just a little bit of the dust of the tab to kill it all. aka wave the tab around in the tank a couple times so the outsides dissolve. It kills xenia, star polyps.

found out because it's used as a dip to kill flatworms, but if you don't rinse the sps off after...the little residue thats in the water on the sps is enough to nuke a tank of xenia and star polyps.

hope that helps.

 

[Stoneyj33]

What other types of corals are In the tank? Are there a lot of softies?

 

[-Logzor]

Try this:

Step 1: Go to Home Depot or various other hardware stores.
Step 2: Buy Water Weld or Aquamend or any other reef safe underwater epoxy.
Step 3: Work the epoxy into a large thin later, like a pancake
Step 4: Apply the epoxy loosely over an afflicted area.
Step 5: Remove epoxy 1 month later, this stuff is pretty easy to pull off unless you really smash it into the rock.
Step 6: Repeat to all the afflicted areas in the tank.

This is a patchwork / slow approach to wiping them out but you should have some degree of success.

 

[Surf&turf]

pictures please!!

 

[mchippo]

I would go to walmart and buy a ton of Hydrogen peroxide and give the rocks a long bath in it. It will turn alot of your caroline to a light pink and anything on the rock will die IE( Bristol worms, pods anything like that) But I think It might kill the star polyps aswell.

I have encrusted corals on my rocks.

 

[nixer]

Thanks for the ideas...

I don't picture a copperband or klein butterfly zero'ing in on the star polyps...I may throw one in and see what happens tho...
Shrimp and Crabs are of no help...I have plenty of each...
Kalk paste and Zapper have been tried and do not work. The problem is too wide spread.

id go with the klein butterfly over the copperband.
you might also want to consider removing your lps as a klein might take to that also.

 

[mchippo]

make a paste out of Mrs Wages Pickling Lime and apply directly with a syringe, But be careful not to Raise your levels too much with the paste. Do small areas at a time. Make sure you have no flow on that area so It will stay on the star polyps for awhile. I've had 100% sucess with this method and It works on other pest too

I have tried this with Kalk paste. I end up killing as much coral as the star polyps. The problem is too wide spread for this approach. Thanks

 

[BlazinNano]

Get one of the aptasia zappers. People kill xenia and shrooms with them. Should work on the gsp.