Stringy, long, growing things... and something green!

[supergiantrobot]

Can someone help me identify two things that are growing in my aquarium?

The first thing is a set of long, string, pinkish-white branches that are growing out of a zooanthid rock.

The second thing is a green, algae-like substance covering a coral. I don't know what kind of coral it is, either. The substance seems to be disturbing the underlying polyps.

What are they and do I need to remove them?

 

[supergiantrobot]

One other question... In a few small places in the tank, I have what looks to be like ramen noodles growing. At night, the noodles shrivel up; during the day they are plump again. They're white in color, curly. I cannot seem to get a good picture of them. I imagine that the "noodles" are bad.

Anyone know what they might be?

 

[Len]

Hey,

Is the first organism soft or hard? If it's hard, it could be Fire Coral (Millepora). If it's soft, I would guess it's a sponge species.

The second pic likely shows Ostreobium sp. This is a green algae that bores into the skeleton of stoney corals. This is a bad condition that will almost always kill the corals (as you're observing). The best course of action is to frag what you can.

Can you take a pic of the "ramen noodles?" Chances are, it's not bad.

 

[supergiantrobot]

It seems soft, because it is flexible and bends in the water flow. It isn't hard like a bird nest coral or stoney coral.

Should the algae be removed, as in scraped off gently? Or do I just frag the coral and discard that part that's "infected"? Is there a way to control this so it does not spread to other stoney corals (I only have two other fragments in the tank at the moment, a montipora and a birds nest frag.)

I'll try to snap a picture of the noodles.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I would definitly try to clean the coral first... Maybe with a soft toothbrush or somthing?

I never frag unless somthing is dying.. but thats just my backward way of doin stuff

B

 

[supergiantrobot]

I snapped a photo of the web-like material growing in several places in my aquarium. This is not the ramen noodle-like stuff I was mentioning, but it looks similar.

The photo below is an image of the material growing on top of a mat of green star polyps (that closed earlier in the day). (The whitish thing in the background is a cleaner shrimp molt that happened today, too.)

The stuff is loose, fibrous, white, and I have it on several rocks and on the bottom of some other corals. It reminds me of coconut flakes strung together randomly.

Is it bad? The polyps do not seem to like it.

Sponge? Parasite?

 

[Anonymous]

looks like a sponge/trunicate to me. I'll post a pic of a sponge that looks close to the same thing. I've got to wait for the tank lights to come on in an hour or so.

B

 

[Anonymous]

Where's Guy when you need him. Hummpf. Typical MAN, never around...*blather blather* LOL

The second pic looks like it has red slime growing on the right side, where the bubbles are. You might want to take care of that, too :x

 

[Anonymous]

Is it bad? The polyps do not seem to like it.

Well, helps the poor polyps out and remove it if they don't like it! It looks like just some kind of sponge to me, but if it is making your corals unhappy, I think you answered your own question..