Thick coralline algae stopping acro from encrusting?

[azreefer93]

Has anyone else experienced coralline algae preventing an Acropora from encrusting?

I’ve noticed this on several frags in my tank. A thick, raised/nodular type of coralline grows around the base, and once the Acropora reaches it, the encrusting edge seems to stop completely. The coralline doesn’t appear to grow over or attack the living coral, it just occupies the surrounding surface, and the Acropora doesn’t advance across it, but PE is still good, color also amazing. Other frags that don’t have this coralline growth just fine.

So I ended up with putting super glue to cover that thick coralline algae or scrape it off the frag. Then a few weeks later I saw that acro start encrusting again…

 

[Goaway]

I would blame the vermited snails, before i blame the coraline. Vermitid throw out that web and mucus that really irritates coral. Looks to be 4 or more snails on the frag plug.

 

[azreefer93]

I would blame the vermited snails, before i blame the coraline. Vermitid throw out that web and mucus that really irritates coral. Looks to be 4 or more snails on the frag plug.

I have other frags that encrusted over the vermited snails and completely cover the snails. Also even the snail release the web/mucus, the acro will encrust on the other side. But in this case the frag can't encrust over the coralline, this is the same pattern to my other frags. So main cause here still the unknown thick coralline.