tiny aiptasia?

hangurber · Jul 27, 2020

Hello Everyone,

It is super difficult to tell from the photo but it looks like I have a tiny aiptasia growing on a new frag. Hasn't spread yet but I want to act quickly. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Webslinger · Jul 27, 2020

remove frag pick it off or/and seal it with superglue.

hangurber · Jul 27, 2020

Webslinger said:
remove frag pick it off or/and seal it with superglue.

Thanks! I will try that!

Ryan Satow · Jul 27, 2020

Or use tooth brush to try and clean

hangurber · Jul 27, 2020

Ryan Satow said:
Or use tooth brush to try and clean

Yeah I tried that and then glued over it, totally messed up one of the polyps but I dont want it coming back

samnaz · Jul 28, 2020

Looks more like colonial hydroids.

hard to tell from the photo though, what do you think?

Tahoe61 · Jul 28, 2020

samnaz said:
Looks more like colonial hydroids.

hard to tell from the photo though, what do you think?

That what I was thinking as well.

hangurber · Jul 28, 2020

samnaz said:
Looks more like colonial hydroids.

hard to tell from the photo though, what do you think?

Come to think of it, you are totally right. I was wondering why it seemed to have a mat, which would be unusual for aiptasia. They are pest all the same right?

vetteguy53081 · Jul 28, 2020

I believe these are yellow polyps. Yellow Colony Polyp Corals are colonial animals with several individual polyps attached to a piece of live rock or coral rubble. They are bright yellow in color and their polyps have the ability to sting other polyps or corals. While the sting is not strong, they are semi-aggressive and need to have space between their colony and any neighbor corals.

scabbedwings616 · Jul 28, 2020

It doesn’t look like aptasia but looks like it could sting or hurt other corals. If you don’t like them, do the superglue and dip them. You could also take a toothbrush and gently scrape them.

hangurber · Jul 29, 2020

scabbedwings616 said:
It doesn’t look like aptasia but looks like it could sting or hurt other corals. If you don’t like them, do the superglue and dip them. You could also take a toothbrush and gently scrape them.

I tried brushing them off and then gluing over them, looks like it is some kind of colony animal. Hopefully they won't come back

hangurber · Jul 29, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
I believe these are yellow polyps. Yellow Colony Polyp Corals are colonial animals with several individual polyps attached to a piece of live rock or coral rubble. They are bright yellow in color and their polyps have the ability to sting other polyps or corals. While the sting is not strong, they are semi-aggressive and need to have space between their colony and any neighbor corals.

How much of a concern are they for spreading?

vetteguy53081 · Jul 29, 2020

If they get enough food, they will spread but moderately

samnaz · Jul 29, 2020

hangurber said:
Come to think of it, you are totally right. I was wondering why it seemed to have a mat, which would be unusual for aiptasia. They are pest all the same right?

Depends, some people say they go away on their own so long as food supply is kept under control, but I’ve also heard they’re extremely difficult to get rid of. I have no personal experience so I can’t say for sure what the best course of action is.

I’d start by removing that zoa frag off of the hydroid infested rock plug. Manual removal is your best bet, quick and easy. Luckily they haven’t spread to the main rock work.