Can't keep blue clove polyps

[Saltydog2]

I have a friend who has a mostly sps tank and he has a big bunch of blue clove polyps growing in the area that he feeds heavily. Maybe that is the ticket. I'm hoping to get a start of them cause they sure are pretty. I'll let you know if I have any success in keeping them.

 

[TwentyTwenty]

How are they doing? And how big was that colony that you got? Iam thinking I might try again and might try to find one of simular size. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[ddmiller38]

Well its been 8 days since I picked them up. Its about 5" by 2" am guessing. its still full, and I been feeding reef chili 3 times a week and turning off the return pump and letting the chili blow around in the tank about 40 mins.

 

[SantaMonica]

Where does one buy these from? I only every see xenia for sale.

 

[ddmiller38]

Local reef form is how I found the one I have.

 

[hellssephiroth]

I know when I kept my tank really tidy they started dying off and when I switched to a water change once a month they spawned and spread like wildfire.

 

[TwentyTwenty]

I have been doing a little reading and that has come up more than a few times. My tank may have been to "clean." I might try them in my pod tank, plenty of neutriants in there. Thanks for the info.

 

[goettner]

Watch it guys.I have a colony about 4x4 inches.It did very well even when I starved the tank because of algae problems.Now that I feed my tank again,they are popping up all over the rocks and I am afraid that they will totally take over.I am thinking about aradicating them while I still can.......

180gallon mixed

 

[hellssephiroth]

I don't mind them, I think they look nice all over the place, most of my other corals aren't bothered by them it seems. I do have an all leather tank though so I would assume if you have them with other types of corals they may not be as enjoyable.

 

[TwentyTwenty]

That was my plan as well. Wanted them to fill in the landscape. I don't believe they would bother my types of corals as well. But, thanks for the heads up. You can't stop them from growing and I can't keep them alive. Where is the justice.

 

[ddmiller38]

Can't keep blue clove polyps

Not looking good today, some polyps along bottom are a dark brown and not as full as when I got


Temp 80.0
Alk 10.4
Mg 1480
Ca 380
salinity 35ppt

 

[ddmiller38]

Received my hanna phosphate checker today and tested twice and got a 0.02 reading

 

[TwentyTwenty]

Nothing wrong with that reading. You have any idea what's going on? Are they still brown and a little deflated on the edge ? Why the edge ? Some critter bothering them ? Sorry about all the ?'s just trying to figure it out. Good luck and thanks for the update.

 

[TwentyTwenty]

Oh by the way, did a little research and it seems we are the only ones that can't grow these. Everyone is trying to kill thiers. In this research I found out that fluke medicine can kill them. I treated for flukes well before I introduced the cloves. But, maybe some residue still can harm them. Have you ever treated for flukes?

 

[ddmiller38]

Nothing bothering them as far I can see. I have never treated the tank for Flukes. Its driving me nuts

 

[Lmecher]

This thread is killing me. I kept/sold blue clavularia several years ago. They really took off in my smaller tanks, just covered the rocks. I was never able to keep them in my 50 or 120. (downsized to just the 120) I am determined to try again. I would think twice if you have prized zoas or palays as they will grow over them.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that yours recover.

 

[kurt_n]

Just stumbled across this thread. I'm not convinced they need a dirty tank to grow. I've got a fairly clean tank (0.0 phosphates, 0.2-0.5 nitrates) and do weekly 10% water changes and they grow like weeds. Bought a colony 3+ years ago because I thought it would be cool to have little patches of them throughout the tank. Like others have said, watch what you wish for. One day, I noticed a bunch of white things on the polyps and went to blow them off. Didn't realized it had spawned! Ended up with the stuff in every nook and cranny in my tank, even growing on the silicone in the corners. It *is* nice, and seems to play well with other corals in that it's always the loser!

I've noticed lately that it does seem to be going away in some spots where it used to be really dense. Not sure what is going on, as nothing has changed in my tank. Maybe whatever trace element it feeds off of, it's finally depleting and I'm not replenishing it quick enough? Don't know. I'm dosing a fair amount of c-balance everyday. I run 2x 96W PC lights, and it grows everywhere - top of the tank on the back glass, and in the sandbed.

Not sure what it likes, but thought I'd relay my experience as another data point.

 

[TwentyTwenty]

Is there an update? How are they doing ? Getting ready to set-up a new tank and still thinking about giving them another try.

 

[Lucifa68]

hahah life is funny. you are trying to keep this stuff alive and i want to get rid of it as it is taking over my tank

 

[ddmiller38]

Sorry for thet delay. Been under the weather a couple of weeks. I haven't seen much growth but at least they are still alive