Paly or Zoa ID Please

dansreef · Mar 9, 2019

Hi All,

I have a couple of questions for all here. I have what I think are palys that are growing in my tank. They are not all terrible other than they are growing fast. They have a nice iridescent orange / goldish color. See picture.... I had them tamped out for a while, letting some fuzzy mushrooms grow over the top of them... I removed the fuzzy mushrooms and they have come back.

Questions:
1) Does anyone have a name for these?
2) What is the best way to control their spread?
3) If control is not possible, what about eradication? I am an SPS guy...these are nice until they start to encroach on my SPS's.
4) What about Paleotoxins...?

Any guidance or advise. Thanks in advance.

Capitol Reef Corals · Mar 9, 2019

1) Pandoras
2) Isolate them on their own rock. If this isn't possible you can try to kill them with Aptasia X to control or frag them. They are fast growers and will outgrow almost anything else.
3) Partly answered in #2, if you can take out the rocks they are growing on this is the best way. Sell those rocks or put them in a bucket of freshwater to kill and dump outside.
4) Definitely wear eye protection when handling them (I had some squirt in my eye and cause some minor burns), and preferably wear some laytex gloves. Don't boil them to kill as it will cause the toxins to be airborne. That's why I recommended putting the rocks in freshwater or letting them dry out outside away from your house.

Good luck!

dansreef · Mar 11, 2019

Thanks for the response. I had some fuzzy mushrooms that I planted themselves amongst these. They disappeared and I removed the mushrooms and they came back... Unfortunately, the rock is part of a larger epoxied and zip tied formation. It wont be coming out. I may go plant some more mushrooms there and see what happens...