how to rid tank of Blue Clove Polyps

[oshanickreef]

I have done a lot of research and have hesitated on this in the past but does anyone know an in tank treatment that wouldnt hurt the inhabitants? I have read a lot about using fluke tabs and that seems like the way to go. I have clams, nems, SPS, LPS, mushrooms, lots of starfish and other inverts of all shapes and sizes so ideally minimal impact on them.

thanks,

nick

 

[ichthyogeek]

You'd probably have to find a clove polyp eating nudibranch, or smother them. Alternatively, look for some guileless hobbyist like me who's actively looking for Sansibia polyps because I really like them but can't ever find them for reasonable prices...

 

[smoothdog]

Here is a good guide on using fenbendazole (Panacur) https://maxdraco.wordpress.com/2013...ue-cloves-polyps-xenia-aiptasia-hydriods-etc/

Expect losses of any snails left in the tank and most kinds of worms (keep in mind tube anemones are actually worms). I lost a BTA doing this as well, but my rock flower was unaffected. No issues with shrimp or urchins, but I don't have any starfish, so can't speak to that. You may need more than one treatment till completely kill it and it's helpful to scrub any connective tissue off the rock once the polyps have started to die back. I would actually recommend treating individual rocks in a separate treatment tank if possible.

 

[Sk8r]

If confined to a rock, you can dip it 30 seconds in drug store strength hydrogen peroxide, then rinse well. It'll do in xenia and caulerpa. I think it might do for clove, and it wouldn't involve administering anything to the tank.

 

[oshanickreef]

My issue is these rocks are huge base and have like 50 corals on them when all said and done. So I can't move them at all. I might have to setup a separate tank for all my starfish and clams and stuff.


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[Khazmodain]

I have some pest brown clove polyps that are spreading like wildfire and growing onto my acros.. going to give this approach a try. The display is a 400g that's 36" deep and it's all over on the base rock so manual removal is out of the question. System is about 450 net gallons. I ordered Panacur C Canine Dewormer which has 1g packets at 22.2% concentration. So if I'm dosing at 2mg/gallon I'd dose about 4 grams (so 4 x 1g packets), does that sound right? Is 2mg/gallon a good target? I'm planning on removing carbon but let the skimmer keep going. Then redose again at same concentration 4 weeks later?

My system is almost entirely SPS but does have a few LPS (frogspawn, torch, favia). I have some zoas but really don't care much if they get lost in the process. My cleanup crew has been in need of replenishing for probably the last year so I'm not too concerned about any major snail losses. I do have 3 large serpent stars that I've had for 12 years that I'd prefer to not lose. Has anyone had issues with them in this process?

You can see it growing on the base of this acro:


It's all over the rock:


Growing between the utter chaos polyps:

 

[taillonjohn]

its weird, I see so many posts like this, but on my local online classifieds, I always see so many "for sale" of different color clove polyps for $25 for a 1" frag.

Are all clove polyps bad or are there some good ones?

 

[thegrun]

its weird, I see so many posts like this, but on my local online classifieds, I always see so many "for sale" of different color clove polyps for $25 for a 1" frag.

Are all clove polyps bad or are there some good ones?

Just the blue ones. Most others are best confined to a rock island away from your main rock work, but they can easily be removed if they do spread. The blue ones however will spread throughout your tank even if you initially keep them on a separate island.

 

[oshanickreef]

Update. i found a youtube video that contains info about how someone uses 12 blue tuxedo urchins to do damage to his blue clove polyps that have spread all over his 600 gallon sps tank. he says that he likes the polyps because they grow in between the bases of his acros and prevents the warfare between sps corals. im about to run to the lfs and pick up 4 or 5 of these urchins and pray that they help. my tank is covered. the walls, the sand, the rocks, some corals, ... it is not ideal. i get that corals will eventually cover everything in a successful reef tank. but the speed at which these take over is no bueno!

 

[gavij012379]

Did Panacur C Canine Dewormer or the urchin work for you all? I am having the same issue and considering the urchin if it works. Thanks

 

[kharmaguru]

I have two red tuxedo urchins. One devours my clove polyps and the other ignores them. They are fireworks cloves and I had to move them to my overflow where the urchin can't reach or I would have none left. There's no guarantee but it could work for you. Urchins are fun critters to have anyway.