Algae growing on my button coral

[wrfreeman]

Sorry for the wierded out cell phone picture. My button coral that I've had for about two months has a littel glob of algae growing on it that I can't get off. Is there anything I can do about it or just let it run its course? I was thinking that a snail or hermit would take care of it, but nothing had touched it. Suggestions?

 

[Steveowhits]

Sometimes I use a mild dip to treat coral that has algae/ fungus issues. I have had success with Seachem Reef Dip, coral disinfectant. The iodine slime based dip is pretty cheap and mild compared to other options. I make a small amount and use a pipette to gently blast the coral's effected area. I have used this dip for lots of unhappy zoas, SPS, and LPS.

A natural solution that has also worked for me is to place a snail directly on the spot with algae. it is hard to see if the spot is algae by the photo, but if it is... it may work for you.

Good luck

 

[Steveowhits]

One more thing to consider is if the flow on the coral is insufficient. Sometimes increasing flow can help the coral. Too much flow can cause tissue loss, so be careful if you make a flow adjustment.

 

[wrfreeman]

Thanks man. I have CoralRx that I use for dipping corals, but I"m not sure if that's the same kind of dip as the Seachum.

 

[wrfreeman]

I've also heard that an 6:1 SW:H2O2 dip also works. Any experience with this dip?

 

[Wildman]

Hydrogen peroxide works really well on algae but will upset some coral. I dipped a bunch of stuff and didn't kill anything. Your best bet is to only dip the area with algae.

 

[wrfreeman]

Cool. I'll try that tomorrow.

 

[Steveowhits]

I haven't tried peroxide treatments personally. I've read a few horror stories about people killing coral with it. (Be careful) To answer your question the seachem stuff is iodine based; I use it at low mixing strength and it has helped me many times. The seachem coral disinfectant is not really a pest dip, it's more of a prophylactic. The bottle says it helps with fungus and protozoans. Coral rx may also work for you, but it is a pretty strong pest killer.

What ever you decide on try a mild dose first. Most of your frag looks awesome still