Something on my Green Star Polyps

[dbetts]

I bought GSP from my LFS 6 days ago, and they have been doing great. One thing I noticed after I put them into my tank though were these weird balloon looking things. They basically look like a tree with the ends being large balloons. Color is like a transparent dark green. Sorry for the blurriness of the pictures, it was the best I could do this morning. Any ideas? And should I be worried about them?

 

[Squatch XXL]

From your photo it looks like a plant.

From my experience, it looks like bubble calerpa or Grape calerpa.

IF it is bubble calerpa, I would go to great lengths to remove that piece and its live rock out of your tank. I have had bubble calerpa totally consume a 75g tank.

 

[dbetts]

From your photo it looks like a plant.

From my experience, it looks like bubble calerpa or Grape calerpa.

IF it is bubble calerpa, I would go to great lengths to remove that piece and its live rock out of your tank. I have had bubble calerpa totally consume a 75g tank.

That is exactly what it looks like! Thanks for helping ID it for me! It is not yet on any of my rock, it is on top of the GSP kind of intertwined between the polyps. Would I be able to just pull it off of the GSP? I don't want to cut any of it since I just got it.

 

[Squatch XXL]

That is exactly what it looks like! Thanks for helping ID it for me! It is not yet on any of my rock, it is on top of the GSP kind of intertwined between the polyps. Would I be able to just pull it off of the GSP? I don't want to cut any of it since I just got it.

My experience with that or similar calerpa was that it bored into the rock, and that no matter how much ripping I did, it was nearly impossible to remove. I had a 75g with dual 400w mh, and was pulling football sized piles every few weeks. At the end that tank was just a fancy refugium. I have no experience in successful removal. If it was me, Id take it back and be very mindful of that store's tanks.

 

[dbetts]

Darn! Ok. Well I am going to try ripping it off tonight, and pray it doesn't come back. I will be sure to examine the next piece of coral from there a lot closer. Hopefully it was a fluke... Thanks for the advice!

 

[Squatch XXL]

Darn! Ok. Well I am going to try ripping it off tonight, and pray it doesn't come back. I will be sure to examine the next piece of coral from there a lot closer. Hopefully it was a fluke... Thanks for the advice!

I would suggest a q-tank. I personally find them a huge pain in the butt, but they have saved me in my recent adventures more than a few times. It seems to make up for itself the times it does work.

I read a procedure that used tooth picks to really bore out the roots after they break off when pulling. I never tried that hard, and in a way it benefited the tank...but it really changed the look of it. It was a great place for pods, and I had fat mandarins.

Calerpa will get out of control really quick. Reminds me of dandelion.

Good luck!