Removing Green Star Polyp

[Hoosier]

I've got some Green Star Polyp (Briareum sp.) that's growing well on rock.  I'd like to halt its spread, and if possible peel it back a ways.  It seems to be very tightly bonded to the rock, and I didn't find any old discussions of successfully removing it, so I'm looking for suggestions.  Thanks.

 

--Hoosier

 

29gal Biocube, 18 months old, soft corals + LPS; 0 NH4/NH3+, 0 NO2, <10 NO3, <10 PO4; pH 8.3; KH 9.

[Tired]

Razor blade and carefulness. If you can peel up the edge of the mat, you should be able to go from there and peel the rest of it off. A credit card may also work for peeling them off. I don't believe those are toxic, but gloves would still be a decent idea, since you're working on your rock.

Peel the whole thing off, put it on a smaller rock, and put that rock on your sandbed. That way, as it spread in the future, it will just spread onto the sand. That allows you to easily prune the edges off, instead of having to deal with it spreading onto rock. 

 

I like the stats in the post. Not really relevant here, but better than the five million posts of "something is wrong with my corals, my water is fine" and no further details. Info is good!

[j.falk]

Good luck...it's very difficult to get it off of rock.

[Hoosier]

Thanks.  I'll give it a try with the razor, though the position is awkward.  A swiss army knife didn't work well, though I could excise part of the stolon that was kind of a bridge over a gap. Might also try just crushing a bit of the rock with pliers to gain an edge.

 

--Hoosier