Good or Bad?

[DianaKay]

That moment you look at areas of your tank and there is NO MORE live rock showing:

And you really don't know if it's good or bad
Hummm....What to do when you really do not want to trim back on palys or zoas for fear of the toxic poisons and trimming back on other corals only makes room from more Palys & zoas.
Anyone been here & have advice to share??

 

[DaveK]

Generally I'd consider this a good thing. After all that growth is what you wanted all along. The down side would be if one coral crowds out another and then it's time to frag them bac a bit.

 

[DianaKay]

YEP, looking back from what I see now...I should have gotten totally rid of all the Nuclear Holocaust Palys that hitchhiked into my tank. I had no idea that they would try to overtake everything else.
I'm about to try to get rid of the ones on my sand bed that have completely covered over some expensive very beautiful Acans. I hate to gripe about CORAL GROWTH but it's really starting to make me wish I'd have done this a bit differently Can all these corals battling over rock space cause a fish killing tank crash?
The chalice has been successful in killing off a few heads of the candy cane for more space...

so am I looking at a time bomb? :time:

 

[Oxylebius]

Take a deep breathe and look at your tank with an eye of what you would like to see more of and what you would like to see less of. Only trim back the edges of those that you would like to see less of, no need to completely take out any patch of coral you got (expect the ones you really don't want), instead think of it as trimming around the edges a little (pruning a garden), this will allow some growth of another coral to expand. Trim a little here and trim a little there. The point is to do this in small amounts and maybe one coral per weekend. During the week in between look at your tank and decided if you need to do a little more trimming in the same spot or time to focus on a different spot.

If you prune all at once it will be noticeable. If pruning a little each weekend it will be less noticeable and more enjoyable tank to look at.

Keep in mind that the monti digis are not aggressive at all, they don't have any stinging tentacles and will be on the loosing end of any battle for space. So, if your starting to trim in other areas of the tank, take time to look at the space around them.

Let us know how you decide to approach this.

Are your rocks easy to take out of the tank to prune? Or will you be pruning in the tank on some of them (if so, run carbon and wear long gloves).

 

[DianaKay]

My Digis are on the other side of the tank & there is nothing super fast growing toward them. I am very thankful for that!! I've taken a few hundred deep breaths & still don't want to start whacking away at palys....I think that's my fear. The rocks can't be removed without doing a complete rock re-scape.
This is that rock in the beginning....I think it's still under there

I'm just needing to learn to trim palys while in the tank I guess.
I have some BIG bone cutters but I may have an even BIGGER fear of using them

 

[Choff]

I thought no rock visible was the ultimate goal!

 

[sirrealism]

I agree with Choff. Isnt that the goal? Dont be afraid to cut back the palys. Just take the rock out and use a hammer and chisel and chip away the rock under the palys where you want them gone. Tap it very gentle as you do not want to break the rock in half. This is how I frag them and mushrooms. Its simpler then it sounds. When you take the rock out every thing will close making it easy to see where you need to chisel. Doing this you dont have to worry about being poisoned

 

[frisbee]

If you need to get rid of some palythoas or zoanthids, you could just use some scissors and cut them as close to the base as you can, & then smother the remaining tissue with some epoxy. I've pruned mine this way multiple times and have never had any problems. If your worried about the palytoxin, just wear some gloves and do this right before a water change. Removing that rock from the tank and performing surgery on it might be more trouble than it's worth IMO. It's really going to suck if the rock in question is attached to another rock through coral growth. Now you have to rip these two apart in hopes that things don't shift and come tumbling down. Very scary... Good luck though.

 

[pgrtgunner]

Hello There

I would love to have your problem

 

[blackbeltmom]

If you need to get rid of some palythoas or zoanthids, you could just use some scissors and cut them as close to the base as you can, & then smother the remaining tissue with some epoxy. I've pruned mine this way multiple times and have never had any problems. If your worried about the palytoxin, just wear some gloves and do this right before a water change. Removing that rock from the tank and performing surgery on it might be more trouble than it's worth IMO. It's really going to suck if the rock in question is attached to another rock through coral growth. Now you have to rip these two apart in hopes that things don't shift and come tumbling down. Very scary... Good luck though.

I smother them with pickling lime. If they are too close to others, I pull them off with hemostats or tweezers. Scrap what is left with an scapel blade or cover it in pickling lime paste, rather than epoxy. This leaves you the rock once you rid it of the unwanted. The pickling lime paste will not hurt your water parameters. You could also use Joe's Juice, Aptasia X, or Kalk.

 

[DianaKay]

Hello There

I would love to have your problem

Just add ONE little Nuclear Holocaust Paly (or like I did, let one hitchhike in) and sit back & wait.
I do not recommend the little boogers...They grow fast & furious and will cover any corals in their path.
I VOTE they are worse than GSP...simply because I think they are more dangerous to remove.
Thanks for all the helpful hints on possibly getting them under control.
Blackbeltmom, I've never used any pickling lime or Aiptasia X but I think that I am about ready to expose my tank to some. Does applying either affect the other corals or skimmer? I'm thinking that removing that HUGE rock will not be a good move (rockscape disaster) so I will be working inside the tank. Not looking forward to this

 

[Oxylebius]

Aiptasia x comes with a couple of applicators (syringe barrels and blunt large diameter needles (that aren't really needles)). This helps to apply apitasia x where you want it. You can buy bottles of different sizes, so if you are thinking of using a lot of it, get the larger bottle (cost savings).

Apply in tank w/pumps off. Apply it to each polyp individually. The polyps will close up around the dallup of aiptasia x you apply. After you give each polyp some, then turn on the pumps. Expect a little of the aiptasia x to escape and float around. As long as it is a little bit, it won't hurt your water quality, your skimmer and carbon will take it out. You may have to apply aiptasia x a second time to the same polyps after a few days to a week (I accidentally got a duncan polyp and it closed up around aiptasia x, it wilted, turned gray, then a week and a half later came back to full life, so you might need a second application).

What to watch out for:
- Make sure you don't get aiptasia x on any other corals, it will kill off sps polyps and bleach out coraline algae (in my experience).
- Target a small amount of polyps at time - remember that these will be dieing and decaying. So, do small batches each week so you don't get ammonia spikes. If you conduct weekly water changes you may want to consider applying aiptasia x the day before the water change day.

I haven't used pickling lime, so can't comment there.

 

[yorkieUK]

Hi Di.
Let us know which way you go and what sort of results you see. :flaming:
:evileye: I've just spotted my first Aiptasia polyp this week.:waa:

Just add ONE little Nuclear Holocaust Paly (or like I did, let one hitchhike in) and sit back & wait.
I do not recommend the little boogers...They grow fast & furious and will cover any corals in their path.
I VOTE they are worse than GSP...simply because I think they are more dangerous to remove.
Thanks for all the helpful hints on possibly getting them under control.
Blackbeltmom, I've never used any pickling lime or Aiptasia X but I think that I am about ready to expose my tank to some. Does applying either affect the other corals or skimmer? I'm thinking that removing that HUGE rock will not be a good move (rockscape disaster) so I will be working inside the tank. Not looking forward to this

 

[DianaKay]

Here's my latest FTS:

As you can see my tank has really filled in. I'm happy with the growth, just not sure "what's next"
I plan on taking out the entire huge colony in front sandbed. They are a pretty color but the Acans that they grew over were much prettier. I have more Acans to grow in that area, After I kill off the palys making their way up the rock scape in front towards my zoa garden.
I Wish someone local wanted a tank full of these...it wouldn't take long to get one
Thanks again for the good advice & support y'all!!

 

[blackbeltmom]

Diana, picking lime paste is cheaper than Apastia X or Joe's Juice. Thought I admit I did not know about until after I had already bought some Apastia X and I use that bottle to mix my pickling lime paste in. You also have to clean the needles out good or the Apastia X or the pickling lime mixture will solidify in the needle. I also order additional syringes and needles from McMaster Carr. I also have uses a dropper or pipette with a small opening/end.

 

[OneFishTwoFish]

Diana,
I think your tank is stunning ! You have a beautiful mix of colors and shapes - very attractive.
There's only one possible solution to your dilemma . . . you need another RSM250 !
---Frank

 

[DianaKay]

Diana,
I think your tank is stunning ! You have a beautiful mix of colors and shapes - very attractive.
There's only one possible solution to your dilemma . . . you need another RSM250 !
---Frank

Thanks Frank
But I really only have room for ONE TANK and I cringe at the thought of doing more water changes than I already do.
I have been procrastinating the chore of paly removal but it has to be done. It's getting worse
I do GREATLY APPRECIATE all the helpful suggestions & I think I can do what needs to be done.

 

[whippetguy]

I pinch off 4-5 with each water change using a hemostat. I had one of those hitchhike on a Myreeftoyours order and it went crazy as well. I should've punched it off at the beginning.

 

[DianaKay]

I pinch off 4-5 with each water change using a hemostat. I had one of those hitchhike on a Myreeftoyours order and it went crazy as well. I should've punched it off at the beginning.

That's where mine came from too....on a rock of beautiful Acans (that I paid lots for).
Just TODAY took out the Acan rock & it will be discarded because it is totally cover with those palys.
I see frags for sale STILL with one or two of the same paly on the plug with them
I removed some this morning & applied AiptasiaX to the ones that were left over in that area.
I will keep after them & I WILL WIN but I hate that I lost Acans to them

 

[pgrtgunner]

We live pretty close to each other, I'll take some of your trimmings.:angel1: