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View Full Version : What is this on my GSP?


fasteddie99
02/21/2009, 12:27 PM
I bought a rock of GSP about 2 weeks ago and they are finally starting to open up. But I noticed that it was only the smaller polyps that opened, very few of the big ones opened so far. I also noticed that on the bigger ones, there is something growing out the side of them. (at least it looks like its growing out the side. Its hard to tell) Its a thin brown stem with a "feather duster" looking head on it, but they're not feather dusters, they are stationary and always out, they dont retract. You can see them in this pic in the upper left corner.

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu209/fasteddie99/GSPgrowth.jpg

Thanks a lot in advance.

Eddie

fasteddie99
02/21/2009, 12:36 PM
Here is a closer picture

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu209/fasteddie99/GSPgrowthjpg2.jpg

bob1968
02/21/2009, 12:45 PM
looks like hydroids

packer
02/21/2009, 12:47 PM
Looks like might be tiny aptasia. Poke at them with a toothpick and see if they retract. If they do and they have a hard casing, might be a type of worm. If they do and no casing, I would say aptasia.

Ludwigia73
02/21/2009, 12:54 PM
ditto on the hydroids... get a large bowl of tank water, and a soft bristle toothbrush, and lightly scrub them off. Try to go with the grain so to speak, so you're not damaging the gsp stems.

fasteddie99
02/21/2009, 01:49 PM
So I take it that hydroids are a bad thing? Should I wait to scrub them after they acclimate? Or is it the hydroids that are keeping them from opening? Parasitic maybe?

fasteddie99
02/21/2009, 04:52 PM
Has the search button ever worked on this site? :(

ReefEnabler
02/21/2009, 05:03 PM
using google to search reef central works almost as well.

just including reefcentral or reefcentral.com works.

ReefEnabler
02/21/2009, 05:05 PM
IMO looks like hydroids too.

also looks like detritus is settling there. GSP like alot of flow, and if they aren't looking well, I'd put them in even more flow to keep them clean which might discourage the hydroids.

RobbyVonAwesome
02/21/2009, 05:56 PM
Another ditto on hydroids. Hydroids are froms the same phylum as corals, cnidarians. They're very neat, but not really desirable in an aquarium.

fasteddie99
02/21/2009, 06:41 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14450074#post14450074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefEnabler
IMO looks like hydroids too.

also looks like detritus is settling there. GSP like alot of flow, and if they aren't looking well, I'd put them in even more flow to keep them clean which might discourage the hydroids.

Good to know. I will direct a little more flow towards them. They are a little brown *I think* because of diatoms when I put that big of a rock in the tank, it went through a mini cycle.

Thanks to everyone