Can you identify these

[dR3ws3r]

Hi,

I have had this zoa island for over a year and I thought that what I was seeing was just some different shape of zoa, but now I am not so sure it isn't a pest of some sort. Can you identify the "things" within the mass of zoas? They are like a pale purple and almost look fern like.

 

[KrisReef]

Look like a clove polyp or cousin, like a star polyp?

 

[dR3ws3r]

Look like a clove polyp or cousin, like a star polyp?

Yeah, looking at some images of clove polyps, it does look like that. I never bought those, they must have hitchhiked on the Zoas.

Thanks

 

[KrisReef]

Yeah, looking at some images of clove polyps, it does look like that. I never bought those, they must have hitchhiked on the Zoas.

Thanks

Common hitchhiker, and potential pest. IF you can frag the zoa's and get clear of the cloves now it might save you issues later? Depends on what path you want the tank to take.

 

[dR3ws3r]

Common hitchhiker, and potential pest. IF you can frag the zoa's and get clear of the cloves now it might save you issues later? Depends on what path you want the tank to take.

Figures it would be a pest if it was in my tank. Other than Dinos and Algae, most things don't really like to grow.

I've never fragged anything before. So would I basically tank chunks of healthy zoas that are not near the polyps, and start from there?

 

[KrisReef]

Figures it would be a pest if it was in my tank. Other than Dinos and Algae, most things don't really like to grow.

I've never fragged anything before. So would I basically tank chunks of healthy zoas that are not near the polyps, and start from there?

Whoops
Zoa's and fragging come with a potential for release and potential exposure to Palytoxin's- a risk that you need to investigate before you start cutting these. I stay away from zoa's because I don't want to deal with soft coral bio-warfare in my tank.

Bottom line, trying to find a chunk of the zoa colony that doesn't have the creeping feet of the cloves growing among or over the feet of the zoa's is what you have to seperate. IF they are too intertangled across the whole colony it may not be possible?

If you can determine a chunk that is "clean", having a saw (or a chisel) to seperate the invaders from the clean zoa's is how to proceed outside of the tank. Once you have cut away the clean chunk(s) of base rock, they can return to the tank and the clove infestation removed as you see fit.

There have been similar threads recently that may be helpful?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/advice-on-fragging-palythoas.1139214/#post-14029996
Or prehaps you should start a new thread, post pictures, maybe some out of water with the polyps closed so folks can see the bases of the soft corals on the rocks? Ask for advice for fragging or treating the situation?