A subject that I wish was more often discussed

[Mac1]

Hey Jack,

I think the reason there isn't too much material on the matter is because up until recently, merely keeping the coral alive for more than a year or two was considered an accomplishment. You're right that certain type's of corals do have a tendency to grow out of control if given the right environment. I too had the plague of the Xenia... I actually saw someone suggest it as a form of nutrient export... I just considered myself lucky to be able to sell some of it back to the LFS. I made a little more than it cost me to get that first head, and then when I couldn't sell any more, I flushed what was left of it, and was done. I have prolly the same brown/orange button polyps you do, taking over the left side of my tank. Trading it in will barely pay for the Live Rock it's grown onto... but it's my own fault for letting it attach to some of my prize pieces of LR.
I try to look at it as a human thing, and not let it effect my fishtanks... We're the one's placing the artificial importance on the coral's growth... Most people couldn't even keep it alive, let alone have it thrive like this... It's a curse having a blue thumb sometimes.

- Mac

 

[Bobzarry]

I have the same problem with Colt coral. It grows very fast and I have a hard time giving it away. My LFS wont take frags(go figure). I also have a leather that I just fraged into 7 pieces a little larger then the original piece. It had gotton so big that in my 55 it touched from the sand to the water surface. And i wont even go into the xenia problems. I dont know any local fellow reefers to give anymore to.

I may also have to go the way of using them strictly as a nutrient export and flush the rest. This is gonna be real hard to do, but may be neccesary for the sake of the rest of the inhabitants.


Bob

 

[NaH2Ofreak]

Too bad there wasnt a way to get all these unwanted cuttings BACK to the reef!

Dennis

 

[McFred]

i have had my tank for about 3 years and i did have a problem with xenia. but i observed its growth habits and found that it grows to higher places in the tank to try to get more light. for early fragging purposes i kept the frags on the sand bed so as to keep them from sticking to the LR. this ultimately failed so as it tried to go up to the light creaping up the LR i would put an obsticle in its path to which it would eventually grow onto. then once unattached from the LR i would trade/sell it until my market was saturated then i resorted to just cutting it as close as possible to the LR and putting a small rock over the remaining stump. and eventually the light deprivation would kill it. i tried the kalk injection and it was not as effective. and now i still have xenia but it is under strict control. aslo i have a new nemesis...green star polyps. they are taking over in my 58. but they slow down when i put a 10" diameter orange capricornis to deprive the GSP of light along the boarders. it has been somewhat successful. another method is to box the GSP in with smaller pieces of LR and as it grows on to the LR pieces i tear them off and put them in the sump (no light) and do a sort of rotation and slowly recede the GSP. but you are right that it is time intensive but what in this hobby isn't? is you have any sps you will get the same problems with encrusting varieties as i am finding out. good luck.

 

[arnjer]

Hey McFred I'll take all the GSP you will ship me even unattached if it's the bright green neon kind. E-mail me at [email protected] if you are interested.
Sorry Jack if I jump on your thread. At least I moved it back up for ya and I guess in a way it's a way to keep things like this in check in your tank.

Jerry

[ August 14, 2001: Message edited by: arnjer ]

 

[Jack1]

Jerry, the green button polyps are doing well. I'll take a few off the new rock you gave me and place in the 75 gal this week.

Interesting control methods. I have green star polyps that are starting to encroach on other rocks and such, but at least they are easy to peel off. Large xenia stalks are fairly easy to get off the glass or a smooth rock, but difficult to get when small or attached to porous and/or uneven rock. Obviously, if any xenia is left on the rock, it just grows back. The polyps are more difficult. If in the sand, they are easily pulled up. If on a rock, they can be almost impossible to remove with out removing the rock.

I've heard some folks say that colt corals are good deterents to xenia. I have a colt but it isn't large enough yet, to reach the xenia. A friend has anthelia, which he claims outcompetes the xenia for space. The anthelia grows much slower and is easier to remove as it encrusts the rock and is easily pulled off. I've also heard that elegance corals create good borders for certain corals.

I also have an acro that has grown quite large and has tabled at the top. It is pretty, but also creates some shade, making it difficult for anything to grow right under it. At least the acro grows fairly slowly and I can fairly easily prune to a smaller size.

I guess when you think about it, these problems make sense in that we usually have corals from all over the world growing in our tanks. Since we typically don't stay within one region, certain corals can likely outcompete other corals that are not in their optimum environment. Sort of like rats that got to Australia on ships. The rats had no predators and grew out of control. Cats were later introduced and have helped with the rats, but have also destroyed many of the native animals that never had to worry about predators in the past. Since the cats have no natural predators, they are left to overpopulate. I digress.

I'm sure there are corals that when put together, would keep eachother in check. Or at least slowing corals that would stop the spread of certain fast growing corals. I'm sure there are also predators that might not wipe out an entire population, but would keep it from growing wild. Varying water parameters, light, current and any number of things could also naturally reduce the spread of certain corals. I just wish there was more information on the subject.

 

[Jack1]

I've been in this hobby for several years now and have read, studied, asked questions and made many mistakes. The payoff has been enjoyable reef tanks and a hobby where I can always learn something new. In my case (and I'm sure several others') a somewhat unfortunate side effect is coral growth that is out-of-control.

The two corals that I have trouble containing are xenia and a certain brown and orange button polyp. I can somewhat manage the spread through covering and/or injecting with kalk. This method is time consuming and obviously, could harm other corals. I can only assume that natural borders (i.e. placement in tank, bordering corals, possibly even certain fish or invertebrates, maybe even water parameters) could be very effective in controlling the spread of certain corals. My guess is that these borders are usually lucked into and that there is little if any research performed on "coral control". I'm sure that I have corals that are in-check, which other people have running wild.

Any thoughts or recommendations on the subject?

 

[arnjer]

Hello Jack the Xenia are doing well you gave me. It will be time soon to frag the Elongata I have. How are the green buttons?

Jerry

 

[davelin315]

Surround it with galaxea coral! It'll sting it to death if it encroaches (or, it'll just sting it so it falls apart and spreads itself more).

 

[Jack1]

I contemplate getting a galexea. However, the tank is relatively small (75 gal) and the sweepers get so long that I decided against.