I scratched my GSP frag..

[playapablo2007]

I got this new GSP frag opened up nicely the first day, second day half way open but it looked ugly, well on the second night they were closed up and I saw lots of diatom and hair algae growing all over the mat. So I got a very very soft brush and gently brushed off all the diatoms and hair algae and now it looks very clean and white...The thing is, it will not open up and when it I look closely at it it has all these scratch like marks on it.....I hope I didnt kill it...there are maybe 3 of the 50 polyps semi poking out. To get to the point did I damage the mat?

 

[reefnewbie54321]

You could have damaged it but from my experience with GSP there pretty hard to kill. Just keep an eye on it.

 

[AIMFish]

How long has it been since you brushed them? GSP seems to be the hardiest of all corals/polyps to me. I received some on rubble rock that had been without light for weeks. After being in the tank for about 3 days some of the polyps started opening up.

 

[dalbrecht]

If some are poking out I think you'll be ok, keep an eye on it and you may want to dose iodine to control potential infection but that's it. I don't know much about your display so take the iodine thing with a grain of salt as it could do more harm than good.

 

[Chemguy85]

i wouldn't dose with iodine unless you have a test kit for it. Iodine poisoning can quickly wipe out your whole tank.

 

[David Grigor]

Next time, use a turkey baster to blow the stuff off vs. scratch/rubbing it......

 

[playapablo2007]

I did, the baster cant remove all the hair algae on it.

 

[Chemguy85]

do you have a lot of hair algea? if so i would look into getting a lettuce nudibranch. they work wonders on hair algea and are also photosynethic, plus if they die they won't kill all of the inhabitants in your tank. Ben

 

[reefnewbie54321]

How long has your tank been set up ... if its under 4 months old then the algae blooms are normal but if not you have a nutrient problem and instead of trying to use a quick fix you should look into whats causing the blooms in the first place or this problem is going to happen alot.

 

[graveyardworm]

Can you provide a descripton of your tank, how long has it been setup, and can you provide some basic water parameters?

 

[playapablo2007]

5.5 aga
Aquatech 10-20 filter
coralife 2x18w PC
4 pds LR
1 nass
2 astrea
1 beautiful blooming torch
1 GSP map frag
1 in SB
Water parameters all in check

the hair algae on the mat was from the LFS, I only had a diatom bloom during cycling no cyano no hair algae bloom, coralline growing great and the tank is 2 months old

 

[reefnewbie54321]

well if the algae came from the LFS then you should be fine, like evryone said GSP are pretty hardy and should be fine.