String of algae or something more nefarious?

JoeinLA · Feb 17, 2022

this was growing from a small frag - there looks to be others. Not sure if this is just algae or something that I should be more concerned about...? It's quite small, as you can see from the tweezer macro zoom shot... Also added a picture of the structure it was growing out of...

BostonReefer300 · Feb 17, 2022

Is it hard? Does the thing sticking up appear to be a tube? If so, could be a vermetid snail. Definite pest in that case

JoeinLA · Feb 17, 2022

the "stringy" piece was definitely soft. we put superglue over the hardened part that was sticking out of the frag, but I'm wondering if I should be worried about any other hidden surprises, maybe under the coral.

Perhaps we can try removing it from the plug entirely. I'm a bit of a noob, so not sure how hard it is to just cut if off of the plug...

Karen00 · Feb 17, 2022

JoeinLA said:
the "stringy" piece was definitely soft. we put superglue over the hardened part that was sticking out of the frag, but I'm wondering if I should be worried about any other hidden surprises, maybe under the coral.

Perhaps we can try removing it from the plug entirely. I'm a bit of a noob, so not sure how hard it is to just cut if off of the plug...

If the coral has been glued to it and you can see the glue blob then it's easy to get them off with a flat head screwdriver by gently prying the coral off under the glue blob. I have even used my fingernail if I have good access to the glue blob. If the coral has started to encrust then you're probably best to remove the frag for inspection and dip if you haven't done that. I use a turkey baster to squirt the dip on the coral in hopes of dislodging things and I take a toothbrush and scrub the heck out of the plug. I even use a small foam painters brush to wipe the coral down with the dip as much as I can to hopefully wipe off eggs and other things. I am so paranoid of pests. I've never had anything like a vermetid snail or aiptasia that I've had to glue.