green star polyps taking over!

psyrob · 10/17/2007, 03:49 PM

The tiny tiny piece of green star polyp I got at the LFS for 5 dollars two years ago is now an unstoppable monster. It is "jumping" from rock to rock, crossing the sand and starting to over grow what were far away zoa's and now my prized rhicordia (sp?) mushrooms. What do you all do to control this beast? I tried to pull the mat off the rocks but it is stuck too hard...and the rock is so irregular, I can't get a good grip with my tongs...I just get millimeter sized pieces at a time. I also tried shading them with a rock, but it just grew out from under it...I'm getting desperate! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ritten · 10/17/2007, 04:07 PM

I finally redid my tank and took mine out. I got tired of screwing around with them.

rkelman · 10/17/2007, 04:34 PM

GSP IS THE DEVIL!!!! Boiling water works

psyrob · 10/17/2007, 09:46 PM

Boiling water? Do you squirt it with a hypodermic needle or turkey baster, or take out the rock it is on an blast it outside the tank?

Anyone try a kalkwasser paste?

dc · 10/17/2007, 10:22 PM

LOL, I just bought some, as I want it to cover my 12 nano. Believe it or not, when I had a heater malfunction several years ago, it was one of the few things that died.

bk_market · 10/17/2007, 11:06 PM

I used a combination of boiling water and kalk paste to kill my ugly shrooms and gsp and other junk. it worked but u might need to do it couple time

mnash · 10/17/2007, 11:25 PM

I wish I had your problem. My gsp just dissolved over a two week period. I have no idea why either because all of my other corals were doing great.

hahnmeister · 10/18/2007, 12:43 AM

Most of the things you can do to kill it will also be deadly to other corals on the same rock. If it is possible to seperate the corals as much as possible, do that first. Then, boiling hot water does work very well. If part of the GSP is close to another coral, you can use a baster to direct boiling freshwater over just the GSP as best as possible, but it does get tricky. The best idea is to keep it from touching other rocks all together. Mine is strung up with fishing line so it hovers against the back glass but cant touch anything else.

H.a.Z · 10/18/2007, 12:59 AM

will it overgrow any coral?

hahnmeister · 10/18/2007, 01:10 AM

Just about everything we keep unless you happen to get your hands on fire coral or some anemone with a strong enough sting.

psyrob · 10/19/2007, 08:20 PM

Thanks for the suggestions... Interestingly, it is growing over everything in its path except for some button corals/protopalythoa. They are standing tall in the middle of the monster, an island in the middle of the sea of GPS...I think I will try the targeted boiling water, and try pulling off as much of the mat as I can, maybe saving and trading some of the GPS, but I hate to give someone else the same problem...

dc · 10/19/2007, 08:37 PM

LOL, well you just have to find someone like me. I want my whole tank to overgrow.

moze229 · 10/19/2007, 08:52 PM

I just fragged some of my GSP tonight. I have a bare bottom, so I just have my GSP island sitting out not touching anything. I let it grow onto the bottom then scrape it up with a razor blade and wrap it around rocks. Once they attach, I sell them.

I do have it surrounded by some Frogspawn though, just in case it needs to put the smack down on the GSP to keep it under control

Matt

HBtank · 10/19/2007, 08:54 PM

I made mine into a tree

An old pic, I frag the base when it gets to close to the zoos that have grown up the other way.

Way back when

moze229 · 10/19/2007, 08:55 PM

That's a cool idea! I'm going to try something like that. Are those just rocks stacked up???

Matt

HBtank · 10/19/2007, 08:59 PM

Its a giant single curved branch of tonga. i think it was about 3 ft long, and about half of it is buried in sand and under rocks for support.

Another old pic:

I accented with a few large pieces of tonga and have used them to put SPS in the middle of the tank now.

moze229 · 10/19/2007, 09:06 PM

Here's a pic of mine:

I'm going to try that. I'll have to try and keep something at the base like you did to keep it in check. I have frags of this stuff everywhere right now.

Matt

Toddrtrex · 10/19/2007, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by H.a.Z
will it overgrow any coral?

Yes

moze229 · 10/19/2007, 10:28 PM

That s**ks

Matt

10/17/2007, 03:49 PM	#1
psyrob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 508	green star polyps taking over! The tiny tiny piece of green star polyp I got at the LFS for 5 dollars two years ago is now an unstoppable monster. It is "jumping" from rock to rock, crossing the sand and starting to over grow what were far away zoa's and now my prized rhicordia (sp?) mushrooms. What do you all do to control this beast? I tried to pull the mat off the rocks but it is stuck too hard...and the rock is so irregular, I can't get a good grip with my tongs...I just get millimeter sized pieces at a time. I also tried shading them with a rock, but it just grew out from under it...I'm getting desperate! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

10/17/2007, 10:22 PM	#5
dc Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Wyoming Posts: 44,684	LOL, I just bought some, as I want it to cover my 12 nano. Believe it or not, when I had a heater malfunction several years ago, it was one of the few things that died. __________________ Debi ~60 Cube~ Why? Because I said so of course. -Sent via Tapatalk Smoke Signals-

10/19/2007, 08:37 PM	#12
dc Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Wyoming Posts: 44,684	LOL, well you just have to find someone like me. I want my whole tank to overgrow. __________________ Debi ~60 Cube~ Why? Because I said so of course. -Sent via Tapatalk Smoke Signals-

10/19/2007, 08:52 PM	#13
moze229 Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Triangle Area, NC Posts: 678	I just fragged some of my GSP tonight. I have a bare bottom, so I just have my GSP island sitting out not touching anything. I let it grow onto the bottom then scrape it up with a razor blade and wrap it around rocks. Once they attach, I sell them. I do have it surrounded by some Frogspawn though, just in case it needs to put the smack down on the GSP to keep it under control Matt __________________ The best things in life are free....except for reef tanks :( "What don't kill you - make you more strong." - James Hetfield Current Tank Info: 24 Aquapod w/120w LED Bridgelux 55 X 3 - Softies and LPS

10/19/2007, 08:54 PM	#14
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	I made mine into a tree An old pic, I frag the base when it gets to close to the zoos that have grown up the other way. Way back when __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA

10/17/2007, 04:07 PM	#2
Ritten Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 2,164	I finally redid my tank and took mine out. I got tired of screwing around with them.

10/17/2007, 04:34 PM	#3
rkelman Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Belleville, Ontario Canada Posts: 3,438	GSP IS THE DEVIL!!!! Boiling water works

10/17/2007, 09:46 PM	#4
psyrob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 508	Boiling water? Do you squirt it with a hypodermic needle or turkey baster, or take out the rock it is on an blast it outside the tank? Anyone try a kalkwasser paste?

10/17/2007, 11:06 PM	#6
bk_market Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bethesda MD / Arlington VA Posts: 203	I used a combination of boiling water and kalk paste to kill my ugly shrooms and gsp and other junk. it worked but u might need to do it couple time

10/17/2007, 11:25 PM	#7
mnash Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Montana Posts: 280	I wish I had your problem. My gsp just dissolved over a two week period. I have no idea why either because all of my other corals were doing great.

10/18/2007, 12:43 AM	#8
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Most of the things you can do to kill it will also be deadly to other corals on the same rock. If it is possible to seperate the corals as much as possible, do that first. Then, boiling hot water does work very well. If part of the GSP is close to another coral, you can use a baster to direct boiling freshwater over just the GSP as best as possible, but it does get tricky. The best idea is to keep it from touching other rocks all together. Mine is strung up with fishing line so it hovers against the back glass but cant touch anything else.

10/18/2007, 12:59 AM	#9
H.a.Z Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 110	will it overgrow any coral?

10/18/2007, 01:10 AM	#10
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Just about everything we keep unless you happen to get your hands on fire coral or some anemone with a strong enough sting.

10/19/2007, 08:20 PM	#11
psyrob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 508	Thanks for the suggestions... Interestingly, it is growing over everything in its path except for some button corals/protopalythoa. They are standing tall in the middle of the monster, an island in the middle of the sea of GPS...I think I will try the targeted boiling water, and try pulling off as much of the mat as I can, maybe saving and trading some of the GPS, but I hate to give someone else the same problem...

10/19/2007, 08:55 PM	#15
moze229 Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Triangle Area, NC Posts: 678	That's a cool idea! I'm going to try something like that. Are those just rocks stacked up??? Matt __________________ The best things in life are free....except for reef tanks :( "What don't kill you - make you more strong." - James Hetfield Current Tank Info: 24 Aquapod w/120w LED Bridgelux 55 X 3 - Softies and LPS

10/19/2007, 08:59 PM	#16
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	Its a giant single curved branch of tonga. i think it was about 3 ft long, and about half of it is buried in sand and under rocks for support. Another old pic: I accented with a few large pieces of tonga and have used them to put SPS in the middle of the tank now. __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA Last edited by HBtank; 10/19/2007 at 09:05 PM.

10/19/2007, 09:06 PM	#17
moze229 Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Triangle Area, NC Posts: 678	Here's a pic of mine: I'm going to try that. I'll have to try and keep something at the base like you did to keep it in check. I have frags of this stuff everywhere right now. Matt __________________ The best things in life are free....except for reef tanks :( "What don't kill you - make you more strong." - James Hetfield Current Tank Info: 24 Aquapod w/120w LED Bridgelux 55 X 3 - Softies and LPS

10/19/2007, 10:28 PM	#19
moze229 Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Triangle Area, NC Posts: 678	That s**ks Matt __________________ The best things in life are free....except for reef tanks :( "What don't kill you - make you more strong." - James Hetfield Current Tank Info: 24 Aquapod w/120w LED Bridgelux 55 X 3 - Softies and LPS