Question about gsp

[ecotoxlady]

Can anyone tell me if there is a way to get rid of gsp? Areas of my tank are becoming over-run with it and I really want to get rid of it. The problem is that the parts that attach to the rock are REALLY attached and I can't remove the rock it's on because my RBTA lives in it so I have no way to even take it out and scrape it off

 

[surfn]

hmmm, you could *try* to smother it with kalk paste. just be careful to not get it on anything else. so turn all the pumps off.

what i've done with my gsp and xenia, is i put them on big rock in the sand bed, that isn't attached to any other rock. so kinda like an island of GSP in the middle of the sand bed.

 

[ecotoxlady]

Hmm, I'm not sure I want to involve kalk paste if I can avoid it. Any other suggestions? BTW, I put pics up for you in the other thread.

 

[surfn]

yeah, i just saw the pics. wow, you werent kidding! that is a huge rock you got smack in the middle with that anenome on it. even if you tried kalk paste, you'd have to use a ton of it to keep it under control. by using that much, its sure to get on things you dont want it to and cause problems, and prob mess up your pH and alk significantly.

tell ya the truth, i dont see any way around it, you gota take that rock out of the tank. you'll need to find a way to move that anenome off of the rock obviously to do that. after you get the rock out, get a brush with some plastic bristles and scrub like hell in a bucket of saltwater you will dispose of. keep some of the GSP though, try to frag a little bit off and stick on a rock and place it where it doesnt touch any other rocks.

btw, what kind of lights do you have on the tank? that rock is so big, so high up in the tank, it would be PERFECT for some sps to sit on. even its just some run of the mill monti digi's or monti caps. :wink:

 

[ecotoxlady]

I currently run dual 15K 250W XM MH lights. I'm thinking about 20K for the coloring but have heard under 20K that nothing grows so I'm not sure. Anyway, the anemone is unfortunately SO happy in that rock that I really have no idea how I could get it off. The reefer I bought it from ended up selling it to me because even though someone else had wanted it he couldn't get it off the rock. The last thing I want to do is upset my baby. It just seems to be no way around it. It is taking up prime real estate in my tank....grrrr this is annoying. I wish there was something that ate gsp.

 

[surfn]

nope, nothing that eats GSP.

honestly, when it gets "bad", the only way to get rid of it is to take the rock out, scrub like hell. or put it in bucket with no light.

if you move the rock to the bottom, in a corner, the anenome might become unhappy and move off the rock on its own. i really have no idea though, i havent owned an anenome yet.

are you running the XM 15k's? cuz that was my ALL TIME favorite bulb!!!

do you have any idea what kind of ballasts you are running? b/c that would make a big difference with how intense, and how blue a 20k bulb will be.

as for growth, IMO/IME, 20k only slows down growth on sps. after i move, i'm gonna have a tank exclusively for zoas/rics/cloves and other softies, that will be under an XM 20k on magnetic ballast (over drives the bulb to make it brighter, little less blue).

 

[Reefwifey]

Okay, this may sound like the dumbest idea in the world but:

What if you wrap the rock tightly with something, where the GSP is? I'm thinking like...you know how you can use tulle to wrap a rock in mounting a mushroom until it takes hold? Well, what if you do that with a material that doesn't let light/flow in? Like...a black trash bag material, but something that won't hurt the tank. Smother it!

 

[jessiesgrrl]

Wow... Maybe you could just trade big rocks with someone local who wants GSP? Or trade it in for store credit at a LFS and get more LR? I don't know of a way to kill GSP either that is safe for your tank

I'm so sorry
Laurie

 

[ecotoxlady]

Its alright. If I could get the anemone to move out of the rock then I could get rid of the gsp but because the anemone is set on staying in that rock, I'm unfortunately stuck with tons of gsp I really don't want

 

[jessiesgrrl]

Well, maybe I can look around the web tonight for safe ways to get a RBTA to move?

Laurie

 

[jessiesgrrl]

Holy crap, Eco, read this:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm

I'm still looking for a way to make them move, but WOW!!! Two water changes and tageted feeding makes them split on command??

Laurie

 

[jessiesgrrl]

Eco, I did a bunch of reading and there seem to be two things people agree on for RBTAs: 1. They will move and search for better light if they aren't getting it; and 2. Aim a powerhead at it and it will get irritated and move.

Regarding #1 I found the following on Wet Web Media:

Bubble Tipped Anemone Mobility 2/8/06
Hi Crew,
<Hey, Mike G with you this afternoon.>
I have a current issue at hand I would like your input on.
<That's what we're here for.>
I purchased a while back a Rose bubble tip anemone from a reputable online company specializing in rare corals, colorations, etc., with a good history
of shipping great specimens. This purchase was no different in that the BTA was very vibrant and acclimated quite well.
<Always good news.>
I placed the anemone in a spot of the rockwork that is a little closer than ½ of the way up in my 250
gallon tank. He promptly inserted his foot in a crevice and seemed happy. This location provided moderate flow (tentacles swaying back and forth), and
good light from one of several 150 watt HQI Metal halides directly overhead. Since then, the crevice his foot has been attached to has allowed him to
alternate facing either the front or the back of the tank (depending on his mood I guess). This remained the case for about the first month.
<Sounds ideal for your anemone.>
Recently, we woke up to find that the anemone had walked upward to the next rock higher (very top of the rockwork maybe 12†from the top) and very
strong flow rate blasting from a near by power head (power head rated at 900 gph). His tentacles are flailing around in the current produced from the
power head and now closer to the same 150 watt MH light as it basically moved mainly vertically and slightly over horizontally. My main concern is
that this 1 ft. move has now placed the anemone dangerously close (about 2â€) from my Spaghetti finger leather (Sinularia flexilis). My leather was
shipped attached to a very small round rock and I had to utilize underwater epoxy glue to attach him otherwise I would have already moved him. I am not
sure how easy it will be to break the rock from the epoxy and what kind of stress that would be for the leather…although the alternative may be worse.
<In my experience, underwater epoxy doesn't hold very well at all, though I suppose I may only have access to bum epoxy. If you can't remove the leather, you can use powerheads aimed at the anemone's foot to force it to move to where you want it to. That, or you could merely wait for it to get to where it's headed and move all corals out of the way as it goes.>
I am afraid that the anemone may be intentionally encroaching on the leather and either one or both will be damaged/killed.
<I doubt the anemone's movement into the leather is in any way intentional - their movement seems to be, for the most part, entirely blind.>
In case water parameters are of issue here, ammonia/nitrite 0
<Perfect.>
nitrate 2.5
<Fine.>
pH 8.4
<Fine.>
SG 1.025
<Fine.>
temp 76.5 – 78
<A touch low for an anemone, though not at all serious in the least. ~80 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.>
PO4 0
<Perfect.>
dKH 12
<Fine.>
calcium 380
<Low - should be ~400-450. I seriously doubt this has anything to do with the anemone's flight, however.>
I do 10%
weekly water changes with Tropic Marin Pro Reef mixed/aerated with RO water and aged for one week.
<You have good taste in salt and a wonderful water change schedule.>
Daily top offs with buffered RO water, skimmer pulling about 1 cup of great skimmate daily.
<Sounds like an incredible system! Good luck with it!>
Best regards,
Steven
<Same to you. Mike G>


So I guess what I am thinking is, can you move the whole rock into a location where the RBTA will have to detach and look for light? Aiming a powerhead it it might help irritatte it enough to make it move faster.

I have a rose anemone, but to be honest when I have to move it I move it like my condy- I just peel the edge of the foot up with a fingernail very carefully. It usually lets go when I get about halfway.

Hope this helped
Laurie