Clam and Utter Chaos on same rock.

[ChrisIC]

Hey guys. I love my Utter Chaos palys but they spread like wildfire and are now taking over my clams rock. At what point should I start pulling them away from the clam? Or, do clams have their own way of stopping corals from overcrowding them? The clam already has a sponge growing on one side, it does no harm and I find it interesting but I'm not so sure the palys would be so benign.
Thanks, Chris.

 

[Rjukan]

Interesting predicament. I'm curious what the responses will be. Free bump for you!

 

[crazyfishmom]

I think you’re right to believe that the clam will eventually be bothered. Do you have any means to remove the palys?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey guys. I love my Utter Chaos palys but they spread like wildfire and are now taking over my clams rock. At what point should I start pulling them away from the clam? Or, do clams have their own way of stopping corals from overcrowding them? The clam already has a sponge growing on one side, it does no harm and I find it interesting but I'm not so sure the palys would be so benign.
Thanks, Chris.

Zoa will climb up the shell and overtake the clam or at least irritate it. Clam looks great and my focus would be removing or fragging the zoas onto a plug and replant elsewhere in the tank

 

[ChrisIC]

Thanks for the replies. The clam is sitting on a thick frag plug which is stuck to the top of the rock. I really like the way it looks so I'll keep the zoas off the plug (they've just reached the top of the rock) and they won't bother the clam. They're big so they're easy enough to peel off with tweezers or forceps.
Thanks guys.

 

[SaltyWalty]

I’ve have zoas grow all over the side of clams and never really had any issues. If the zoas get to the point where it might start shading the clam just kalk paste the ones at the very edge of the clam. Looks really cool though