Is this a parasite, and if so what can be done?

[DaBrewzer]

I am setting up a new tank and decided to get one easy coral to start the learning process. Picked a mushroom which seemed fine for a couple weeks. Then began to shrivel up and I saw little white "polyp" looking critters on it's frag. I think I also see one growing on a rock which is in a separate rock area. Any idea what this is and how to deal with it? In searching these forums I haven't seen a similar critter. I removed the frag, however if the item on the rock indicates it can move around I may have bigger issues. I now know about Coral Dip so will certainly do that in the future. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Those look like pineapple sponges, they are generally harmless but may irritate corals if touching them. I doubt that’s the issue here though.
What are you params? How is lighting and flow?

 

[ReefingDreams]

Harmless pineapple sponges. Indicative of a healthy system. I wouldn't worry about them.

 

[DaBrewzer]

180G 6' tank with two 36" Fluval 46watt lights, started on white light setting, moved to the blue light several weeks back. Have a Sicce XStream powerhead on one end running near full steam, and a Simplicity 2100DC in the sump with return on the opposite end of the tank set at lowest flow. Parameters are Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 10, Ph = 7.8 <= none of these have changed in the last month. Only have one hermit crab and the 5 mollies I used to cycle the tank. Tank is 4 months old. Thank you for responding!

 

[crazereef]

Definitely looks like sponge. Sign of a decent performing bio cycle.

 

[DaBrewzer]

Awesome news, thanks for all the feedback SharkBait, ReefingDreams and CrazeReef. I guess my next newbie question is how do I keep them away from future corals? Do any other inhabitants feast on these?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Awesome news, thanks for all the feedback SharkBait, ReefingDreams and CrazeReef. I guess my next newbie question is how do I keep them away from future corals? Do any other inhabitants feast on these?

The pineapple sponges aren't the problem with your coral here - it might irritate them a bit if it touches the corals directly, but a pineapple sponge isn't going to kill a coral.

You don't need to worry about testing ammonia unless something big dies in your tank, you accidentally dump a full bag of pellets in the tank, etc. (so you shouldn't need to test ammonia after a tank is cycled unless some emergency comes up); you also don't need to worry about testing nitrite really at all in saltwater. Since you're keeping corals, though, you may want to test Calcium, Alkalinity, and Phosphate (these may help explain issues with corals in a tank on occasion).

That said, I'd guess (like Sharkbait19 alluded above) that the issue here is probably more with lighting, flow, and/or parameters for the coral (personally, I'd guess light and flow).

So, can we get a full tank pic and some indication as to where the coral was placed in the tank?

 

[DaBrewzer]

Here is a pic of the tank. Lighting is all the way in the back as the Plexi tank has large openings in the middle. The coral was on the sand right next to the right side of the rock pile on the left. Had hoped it would split and get up onto the rock.

 

[DaBrewzer]

Here is a pic with the blue light on, this is what I have been running for the past 4 weeks. Off at night though.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I know mushrooms like low flow and low PAR, so that seems like a decent spot to me, but - depending on how strong the lights are (I can't find PAR numbers for it anywhere) - it might be a bit high light. What Sicce Xstream model are you using?

Hopefully some more experienced reefers will chime in for you here soon.

Edit: I remembered and figured I'd ask: have you calibrated your salinity testing tool and checked/double-checked your salinity?

 

[DaBrewzer]

Hello ISpeaks, I have the XStream SDC model, claims 2400 GP at max flow, I run it along the back wall from left to right on max, perhaps I will turn it down(?). Salinity is at 1.021 using my brewing hydrometer, so that seems OK.

Sounds like I need to try lower flow and lower lights, then maybe get more testing for Calcium, Alkalinity and Phosphate. Definitely need to do some additional research.

Thanks again, appreciate the info.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Hello ISpeaks, I have the XStream SDC model, claims 2400 GP at max flow, I run it along the back wall from left to right on max, perhaps I will turn it down(?). Salinity is at 1.021 using my brewing hydrometer, so that seems OK.

Sounds like I need to try lower flow and lower lights, then maybe get more testing for Calcium, Alkalinity and Phosphate. Definitely need to do some additional research.

Thanks again, appreciate the info.

Yeah, 1.021 is actually pretty low for coral (so that might have added some stress), but I don't think that would be the cause of the coral's decay here. I'd personally raise it slowly to 1.025 or 1.026, but that's just me.

Depending on who you ask, though, your flow might be too low (I know some people like to run two MP40's claiming 5,000+ GPH max on 100 gallon 4 foot tanks), but I'd probably try playing around with the light and flow, starting low light and low flow and adjusting up from there as needed.

Again, though, hopefully we'll get some more opinions here for you soon.