Fluke Tabs Solved My Blue Clove Polyp Problem!

[d2mini]

I have recently discovered clove polyps on one of my zoa rocks. It is spreading pretty fast. This is my first experience with clove polyps and not sure how they spread.

Would I be able to remove the Rock and dip it in fluke dip? Or is it better to treat the whole tank?

Here's a pic of rock

Any help would be appreciated. If you have some fluke tablets please PM me.

Thanks

If you are sure it's only on the one rock, i would very carefully take the rock out, being extra careful not to touch the BCP as loose spores can spread through the tank and they will pop up everywhere. Then nuke the rock. Take the loss on those eagle eye zoas. They are a cheap/common/easy zoa to replace. You might get lucky and not have to treat the whole tank.

 

[davocean]

If you are sure it's only on the one rock, i would very carefully take the rock out, being extra careful not to touch the BCP as loose spores can spread through the tank and they will pop up everywhere. Then nuke the rock. Take the loss on those eagle eye zoas. They are a cheap/common/easy zoa to replace. You might get lucky and not have to treat the whole tank.

Boy is this good advice!
Take the loss and save the headaches.
Of all pests I've had, nothing compares to what I went through trying to remove cloves.

 

[liquidfunk]

I still don't get all of you folks, I've got cloves in my tank and they have never once harmed anything else. Sps, softies, etc all push them away. I do not have Zoas however as they to me are the plague you want to avoid, they march all over and kill SPS.

 

[davocean]

I still don't get all of you folks, I've got cloves in my tank and they have never once harmed anything else. Sps, softies, etc all push them away. I do not have Zoas however as they to me are the plague you want to avoid, they march all over and kill SPS.

They spread like wild fire, they will take up any rock that is not occupied.
I agree they did not sting anything, not left alone/undisturbed, but if you do disturb them they release nasty toxins.
Someone told me they scrub off easy w/ a brush, so I tried, and they do, and like 5 minutes later every coral I had was closed up to a level I've never seen before, I'm talking frog and hammer w/ nothing but white skeleton showing.
They don't just crawl or spread, they release and will be all over the tank.

 

[ReefWreak]

I have GSP that are irritating my SPS (causing STN in small frags where they make contact, and slow discoloration and what looks like the start of STN in larger colonies). My wife wants to keep the GSP, so I bought a set of dental picks from Amazon to try that route first, but I have a bad feeling about the effectiveness of that, so I also ordered some Fish Bendazole (fenbendazole) powder.

My plan B is to start slowly adding powder to tank water, dissolving it, and pouring it into the tank. A little bit at a time until I start to notice a change in the GSP. I would ideally not like to kill the shrimp or other inverts in the tank, though I do know and understand the risks. It sounds like from the Amazon reviews that people have been using this in FW for hydras (don't know what these are), and often dose it into shrimp-filled tanks without killing the shrimps, so we'll see what can be done.

Last time I did a fluke tab dip for my QT of new acros (maybe 8 years ago, 120g SPS tank), it killed the small frag of xenia in my display tank after the frags were rinsed and introduced into the display tank. Hopefully this time it's as potent without killing my shrimp and other inverts.

 

[liquidfunk]

They spread like wild fire, they will take up any rock that is not occupied.

I agree they did not sting anything, not left alone/undisturbed, but if you do disturb them they release nasty toxins.

Someone told me they scrub off easy w/ a brush, so I tried, and they do, and like 5 minutes later every coral I had was closed up to a level I've never seen before, I'm talking frog and hammer w/ nothing but white skeleton showing.

They don't just crawl or spread, they release and will be all over the tank.

I do not agree they release toxins. If you scrub any rock with any coral in a tank you are likely going to have other corals close up. I have had them in my tank for years and they absolutely do not take up every little spot, I have little patches here and there and usually it's in places I wouldn't put another coral. Maybe my tangs pick at them or something but there is and never has been anything plague like about them. GSP, Zoas, Mushrooms etc are all much bigger problems IMO then cloves. Saying something has nasty toxins just because corals closed up is how bad information is spread.

 

[davocean]

I do not agree they release toxins. If you scrub any rock with any coral in a tank you are likely going to have other corals close up. I have had them in my tank for years and they absolutely do not take up every little spot, I have little patches here and there and usually it's in places I wouldn't put another coral. Maybe my tangs pick at them or something but there is and never has been anything plague like about them. GSP, Zoas, Mushrooms etc are all much bigger problems IMO then cloves. Saying something has nasty toxins just because corals closed up is how bad information is spread.

I'm telling you my experience man, scrubbed a rock full of them and I've never seen corals receed like that ever, been keeping tanks 30 years now, it's not like I'm new to observing tanks or corals.
There's a good reason for this thread.

 

[andrewkw]

I have some really bad purple clove polyps. They have grown over and killed some sps / zoas. My tank is pretty mixed and I do have a lot of softies. I have been brushing them off and yeah corals do close up because I am releasing toxins, they are soft corals after all but once the water clears they are fine. I'm not wiping out mass amounts at a time.

I also managed to get ich from a non qt coral so I am in the process of tearing the tank down to remove all the fish. I'm also trying to get rid of as much or all of these pests as well. I do not want to treat in tank and lose the soft corals but what if I removed all infected rocks and took off the soft corals and treated them in a qt tank? I could then do several water changes. My tank is going to be fallow for 72 days so I could certainly lose the filtration of the live rock short term.

 

[d2mini]

I still don't get all of you folks, I've got cloves in my tank and they have never once harmed anything else. Sps, softies, etc all push them away. I do not have Zoas however as they to me are the plague you want to avoid, they march all over and kill SPS.

When they get around other coral like sps (i don't keep softies) they will prevent the sps from encrusting. The BCP will cover the base of the sps. I've got a lot of small frags spread throughout my tank and the BCP was spreading at an alarming rate. Not only did I not want issues with sps currently in my tank, I also wanted to be able to add more coral in the future. The BCP was eventually going to cover ever last inch of visible rock. Although it can look nice as a small patch or covering a single rock, if I had to choose, I'd much rather see the texture and color of bare rock than stare at a tank full of BCP. It was even starting to cover my sand bed where flow was low enough. Doing the treatment and losing my gorgonians and a few other minor things was totally worth it.

 

[dlai531]

I finally found out what these things are called! I know some say they are harmless but they've really taken over and are keeping my sps from encrusting where they meet.

Willing to risk it and try the flukes tabs.. I know its a shot in the dark but anyone happen to have any left i can buy?

 

[Ralph ATL]

Sorry to Report, but Acroholic, aka, David Grimm was found lying on the floor dead by his wife as she returned home a couple of weeks ago. He was 53.

 

[Ralph ATL]

Here:

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102301

 

[sfniners84]

I finally found out what these things are called! I know some say they are harmless but they've really taken over and are keeping my sps from encrusting where they meet.

Willing to risk it and try the flukes tabs.. I know its a shot in the dark but anyone happen to have any left i can buy?

Hey bud message me, I can help you out..

 

[heathlindner25]

Sorry to Report, but Acroholic, aka, David Grimm was found lying on the floor dead by his wife as she returned home a couple of weeks ago. He was 53.

He was a GREAT guy....will be missed

 

[dlai531]

Just wanted to report back that this treatment worked!

thew 1 tab into my 100g tank and shutoff skimmer and carbon for 4 days. All SPS survived but 2 of them had some RTN at the base.. not sure if its related to the treatment or not.

only thing i lost was toadstool, GSP, snails, and a couple hermits. Cleaner shrimp made it

loving how i can actually see my rocks now! Thanks RC

 

[sfniners84]

Glad it worked for you.. Sorry it took so long

 

[jasyu]

Anyone has any fluke tabs to let go, tank is getting overrun by brown polyp. They even start to move on to the sand.

 

[Dapg8gt]

I do not agree they release toxins. If you scrub any rock with any coral in a tank you are likely going to have other corals close up. I have had them in my tank for years and they absolutely do not take up every little spot, I have little patches here and there and usually it's in places I wouldn't put another coral. Maybe my tangs pick at them or something but there is and never has been anything plague like about them. GSP, Zoas, Mushrooms etc are all much bigger problems IMO then cloves. Saying something has nasty toxins just because corals closed up is how bad information is spread.

Bad information is spread when people are adamant that the situation in their tank is the end all be all of reef keeping and what is to be expected in all tanks.. I'll tell you for 100% certainty that you experience is a lot different than mine and most others in this thread. I've been dealing with these things for 20+ years and 6 tanks so I'll stick with me being right on this one


My sps tank is absolutely overrun with these things and has been for years, saying they don't spread to all places is BS and they don't hurt anything is even worse, I literally don't have any open rock in my tank that gets light to grow coral. They constantly sting the bases of all corals causing stress and slower growth and intertwine through zoas and eventually shade them out and kill them. Maybe your tank just isn't running optimal or something but the masses seem to be experiencing a total different outcome than you.

I've used the fluke tabs with great success in my other tanks but am hesitant on my main tank due to the issues that follow the treatment.. Mainly not having snails for months, killing off masses of bristle worms and other small detritus eaters and the bio filter tanking the hit that will cause me to stray from my heavy feeding regimen that is my key to colors and sps/fish health

I have a few extra tabs that I bought I can let go if people still need some.. Pm me I only have 3..

 

[heathlindner25]

Bringing up this thread made me think of the man that started it.
RIP Dave. Aka, acroporaddict. Aka, discus Dave. Aka, acroholic.
I still have the jaw breaker you gave me buddy

 

[Brent Thomann]

I'm having a severe blue clove problem and could really use some help. Anyone know of a Fluke Tab alternative since they're no longer available?

I have a few boxes of Intercepter left over, anyone know if they'll help with blue clove polyps?

RIP acroporaddict