Aiptasia?

[Kal]

Are the circles guys Aiptasia? They look kind of cool, I thought Aiptasia would be brown and fat at the base. If you need me to turn up the white light let me know. Just added a coral and I'm letting it work up to normal spectrum for my tank. Thanks!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Dont look like aptasia. Looks like palys of some type.

 

[Kal]

Dont look like aptasia. Looks like palys of some type.

Maybe some freebies then! Thanks!

 

[skilos1]

Definitely some sort of paly, they are very fast growing and will spread all over.

 

[WannaBSpaghetti]

Cant tell because of high blues, but if those are green/brown palys they will grow fast and may beat other corals out of valuable prime rock space. BE CAREFUL if you choose to remove them though - these types have some of the highest concentration of palytoxin and can wipe your tank and/or you if you are reckless.

If you choose to remove this coral, please do plenty of research and be sure to take the advice of protective gloves and eyewear very seriously.

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Definitely not aiptasia. Looks like palys to me as well.

 

[Kal]

Cant tell because of high blues, but if those are green/brown palys they will grow fast and may beat other corals out of valuable prime rock space. BE CAREFUL if you choose to remove them though - these types have some of the highest concentration of palytoxin and can wipe your tank and/or you if you are reckless.

If you choose to remove this coral, please do plenty of research and be sure to take the advice of protective gloves and eyewear very seriously.

Well that's concerning. I had read a few places about this toxen so I added a big carbon reactor to my sump just in case. I've unfortunately used coral putty to cement the rock to my live rock, but assuming I was to pull it out and take it somewhere to be professionally removed, would that trigger the palytoxin defense? Or is it only when people try to cut them out?

 

[WannaBSpaghetti]

Well that's concerning. I had read a few places about this toxen so I added a big carbon reactor to my sump just in case. I've unfortunately used coral putty to cement the rock to my live rock, but assuming I was to pull it out and take it somewhere to be professionally removed, would that trigger the palytoxin defense? Or is it only when people try to cut them out?

My sincere apologies if I've startled you - I only emphasize caution when handling and removing, I certainly didn't mean to imply that you should or would need to have your tank broken down and cleaned professionally to remove them!

Seeing as you only have a few in there, you should be good by just donning your protective gear (gloves definitely) and picking at the corner of the coral foot with a long tweezers and (carefully) lifting the colony up and off of the rock. If you see a cloudy mucus, they've released toxin - but dont freak out! Finish getting these polyps safely into a sealed(!) container for disposal so no cats or dogs can get at them, carefully remove and wash your gloves/tweezers/scrapers/etc, and do a mild water change. You should be fine!

The only time tank crashes, to my knowledge, are likely is when people let colonies of these things get huge and just start ripping them off of rocks dozens at a time. The only time people crashes are likely is when you refuse to wear protective equipment and wash your hands after handling coral.