What are these polyps growing on my frags?

[ekandler]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I honestly have no idea what this stuff is. Found these brown/purple polyps growing on a few of my frags. Any idea what it is or if there’s anything that eats it?

 

[LegalReefer]

Do the polyps pulse at all? Those look almost like red pulsing xenia

 

[encrustingacro]

looks like some sort of soft coral.

 

[ekandler]

Do the polyps pulse at all? Those look almost like red pulsing xenia

No it doesn’t pulse. I don’t have any Xenia in the tank so i don’t know how it would have gotten in here if it’s that. Seems to be some kind of algae I was thinking.

 

[LegalReefer]

Definitely not an algae, those are soft corals of some kind. 8-tentacle radial symmetry is indicative of soft coral polyps. Might be a colored sympodium or some form of xenia, cespitularia, or the like? Beautiful coloration honestly, if you can encourage the growth of these softies I think you could have a lot of interested parties. A red like that doesn't come commonly in soft corals

 

[RedoubtReef]

Appears to be clove polyp possibly.

 

[ekandler]

Definitely not an algae, those are soft corals of some kind. 8-tentacle radial symmetry is indicative of soft coral polyps. Might be a colored sympodium or some form of xenia, cespitularia, or the like? Beautiful coloration honestly, if you can encourage the growth of these softies I think you could have a lot of interested parties. A red like that doesn't come commonly in soft corals

Thanks for the info. I just don’t know how something like that would have gotten in here, don’t have any soft corals in my tank like this and it’s kinda spreading quickly and overtaking my other frags. I guess it could be something similar to an aptasia?… but that’s not an algae either.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Looks like red xenia

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Honestly, with how invasively it appears to be taking over your other frags, it seems like blue clove polyps (A.K.A. Sarcothelio or Blue Anthelia) in red.

I have to agree there’s probably a market for it, but I’d probably try and separate it from your other frags for their sake. Blue clove polyps are infamous for being one of, if not the most, invasive corals in the hobby - people basically describe them as being like xenia on steroids (forgive the expression). If you give them a search you’ll a bunch of beautiful corals, and a bunch of people warning not to keep them in your tank/asking how to remove them.