Whats Happening Here

[happyhourhero]

It’s hard to see but this acro is below and has grown up to a rock arch. It’s connecting to the arch when the tips get close. In the image, the middle branch is soon going to connect. When this happens, a mucus ball much like what a wrasse sheds in the morning forms and stays until the tip makes contact. Is this some sort of microbe warfare? Is the acro releasing chemicals to prepare the rock? What are your thoughts?

 

[Mrtakeoff53]

That’s exactly what is happening. Your acro is releasing its stinging cells (nemotocytes) in the form of a white sticky substance. It attacks the rock to clear it if anything that may be there before it attaches itself to the rock.

 

[Tired]

It's not attacking with microbes or chemicals, no. That's the mesenterial filaments, which are, as the person above me said, full of stinging cells. It's making sure nothing is on the rock that will cause it problems, and/or this is an instinctive reaction to a possible competitor being too close. I'm not sure if it's possible to check whether the coral is trying to clean the rock of competition, or just thinks the rock is another coral.

 

[Tired]

It's not attacking with microbes or chemicals, no. That's the mesenterial filaments, which are, as the person above me said, full of stinging cells. It's making sure nothing is on the rock that will cause it problems, and/or this is an instinctive reaction to a possible competitor being too close. I'm not sure if it's possible to check whether the coral is trying to clean the rock of competition, or just thinks the rock is another coral.

 

[happyhourhero]

I’ll get out the underwater camera tomorrow if it’s still going on. It’s not the filaments you see when stressed/feeding it’s like a clear mucous. The purpose could be the same it’s just something I have never seen in my previous tanks.

 

[Tired]

Looks like filaments to me. Probably just denser because they have a close-up target.