Reef Discussion

[Bonazz654]

HI all,
I have just noticed after owning corals for two weeks that something is growing on the underside of the favia coral.
I am worried that it could be aiptasia. It is the only coral/rock in my tank that has something like this.
Any thoughts on what this is wold be appreciated.
I managed to take a picture: the "things" are on the bottom left of the favia.

 

[DavidS]

I'd go with aiptasia.
I can't quite see them quite clear enough to be 100%, but these are the kinds of annoying places that it likes to grow, and the colouring is right.
Peoples methods vary greatly. I prefer manual removal (often not possible), or more typically using Aiptasia-X. That stuff, if applied correctly seals their disc after making them believe they're being fed so it shouldn't cause them to release their planula and spread right before they implode. It's not fool proof, and unless you remove all of the left over tissue they'll be back. Some people prefer more natural approaches (peppermint shrimp, copperband butterfly fish, etc) as they can predate on them, but looking at how aiptasia spread, the idea of something that stops the release of planula is more logical if possible - sadly it's not as aiptasia will grow in the worst possible places that you can't get to, and eventually chemical solutions are an expensive bother!
In a pinch vinegar can work, but given the need to inject it directly into the disk, it's hard to do with really small aiptasia, and you are going to trigger the planula release (but if one is hurting a coral, it's at least a quick way to get rid of it).

Don't panic!. It's something we all go through ;)

 

[RobbieMVFC]

Hard to say from the photo , it could be aiptasia. it also looks like star polyps.
any chance you could lift the favia up and take a better photo ?

 

[DavidS]

Hard to say from the photo , it could be aiptasia. it also looks like star polyps.
any chance you could lift the favia up and take a better photo ?

Star polyps is the other possibility - could really do with a nice front on shot, or at least a shot that shows us how many tentacle things it has. The base looks a little off for star polyps, but a head on shot will help.

 

[Bonazz654]

will try to get a photo from underneath later today.
Thanks for everything.

 

[Bonazz654]

Also, if I put the favia in the sand, would it kill them>lack of oxygen, light+food

 

[DavidS]

Also, if I put the favia in the sand, would it kill them>lack of oxygen, light+food

If it's aiptasia, no. They'll just move and find a way out. They do seem to grow fine in the sand, so this won't help.

 

[RobbieMVFC]

if it is invest in a peppermint shrimp . 80% of them will eat aiptasia.

 

[Aspidites]

Peps are a nice addition as well as being usefull.