My WAR with Anthelia

[AC-WEB]

I admit I'm still a novice reef keeper. I bought a frag not knowing much about it, and later found out it was Anthelia, waving hand, coral. At first it was a great addition, with long flowing polyps, but then it started growing at a crazy pace, quickly making it an eye sore. I decided to wage war against it today. I removed three medium sized rock that it had spread to. I took a knife and shears to cut and scrape the rocks. I then squeezed limes on the effected area. I then rsoaked them in tap water before putting the rocks back in. Can somebody tell me if this will win the war for for me, or is there something else I should do. I tried peeling the anthelia back like some suggested, but I was not successful as it was really stuck to the rock.

AC-WEB

 

[AC-WEB]

I admit I'm still a novice reef keeper. I bought a frag not knowing much about it, and later found out it was Anthelia, waving hand, coral. At first it was a great addition, with long flowing polyps, but then it started growing at a crazy pace, quickly making it an eye sore. I decided to wage war against it today. I removed three medium sized rock that it had spread to. I took a knife and shears to cut and scrape the rocks. I then squeezed limes on the effected area. I then rsoaked them in tap water before putting the rocks back in. Can somebody tell me if this will win the war for for me, or is there something else I should do. I tried peeling the anthelia back like some suggested, but I was not successful as it was really stuck to the rock.

AC-WEB

Interesting observation. What was left of the the anthelia were white stumps and some shriveled up polyps. My yellow tang is going to town pulling and nipping at them. I hope i don't inadvertantly start him on some bad habits!:eek2:

 

[rck]

lol hope he doesnt start to like the taste of coral!

 

[InsaneClownFish]

Well quite frankly the best way to deal with Anthelia is to make sure it's isolated in the first place. I only have Anthelia in one place in my 8foot reef- on the rock I completely dedicated to it. I realize in a smaller tank it's more difficult to manage.

One sure fire way to stop it's wild growth is good husbandry. Your Anthelia is feeding off nutrients. Water changes, water changes, water changes. Running Carbon and cutting down your photo-period may also help.