New guy needs help with whats growing on his torch coral

[Bugzin]

Hello everyone, I'm really new and I'm trying to figure out what the heck is going on with my torch. When its opened it looks great normal and healthy and it's open every day when i wake up and closes roughly around 8-9 pm like clockwork but whenever it closes it looks wild. At first i thought to myself maybe this is what a healthy growth looks like but I'm not sure. So I'm hoping some experts can help me. I don't wanna remove or scrape something off that belongs there but I have no idea whats going on. So please if anyone can help I need all the advice I can get.

For reference this is what I'm normally looking at. 80% percent of the day. Everything is covered and you cant tell.

 

[Stealthreefer]

looks like a clam of some kind
does it move?

 

[Bugzin]

looks like a clam of some kind
does it move?

Not that Ive seen, but to be fair I haven't messed with it much either. There's 2 of them one in front and in the back. Is it bad ?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Not that Ive seen, but to be fair I haven't messed with it much either. There's 2 of them one in front and in the back. Is it bad ?

I agree that these look like bivalves of some kind - they're harmless filter feeders, and really the only movement you should see is them occasionally opening and closing.

 

[zheka757]

I also see vermetid snail, those will anoy your corals! And they will multiply and be everywhere!
Btw welcome to R2R!

 

[Bugzin]

I also see vermetid snail, those will anoy your corals! And they will multiply and be everywhere!
Btw welcome to R2R!

Is that the little stick popping out? How should I get rid of that?

 

[Stealthreefer]

just scrape it off, try to do it in a separate container just in case
the snail I mean
the clam is kind of cool

 

[zheka757]

Is that the little stick popping out? How should I get rid of that?

Yes, that brown looking stick, just make sure you scrape it off at the base, completely, even after that, monitore the sceleton of the coral make sure new ones won't grow after. Vermetid snails do suck! There is no 100% sure cure for them once it's in your tank. There is Claims here and there, but alot of people had no luck getting rid of them.

 

[Bugzin]

Yes, that brown looking stick, just make sure you scrape it off at the base, completely, even after that, monitore the sceleton of the coral make sure new ones won't grow after. Vermetid snails do suck! There is no 100% sure cure for them once it's in your tank. There is Claims here and there, but alot of people had no luck getting rid of them.

Do the clams harm the corals? are they good hitchikers per say?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Do the clams harm the corals? are they good hitchikers per say?

They shouldn't harm the corals at all - bivalves (clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, etc.) are basically all (with some incredibly rare exceptions) harmless/beneficial filter feeders for saltwater tanks.