Green star polyps vs blue sponge?

[DustinKeating]

I bought some GSP the other week and on it was a little blue sponge. The sponge has long since doubled in size and it's intermingling with the crust part of the star polyps. Also, the star polyps have stopped "sprouting" around the same time the sponge has started to grow. I tried moving it in high flow, low flow, medium flow, warm flow, just right flow...nothing's changed. I have for lighting 3x walmart 15w NO fluorescents and 1 x 15w actinic bulb (on a 20g). i have mushrooms, and other zooanthids that are doing very well, and from what i've read GSP are similar as far as lighting is concerned.

my levels are good, and i just recently installed a skimmer that's been pulling some serious crud out of the tank. Is it the sponge that's effecting the GSP, what can i do to the sponge to stop it.

(attatched picture)

 

[aresgod]

that looks more like an algae than a sponge to me, sometimes Star polyps develop this kind of algae and it actually chokes them to death, take a soft tooth brush and gently brush it off in front of a power head and then put it in an area of high flow, it might need to be brushed again, really depends on how it reacts the first time you do it. IF this is a sponge then I would take an exacto knife and cut it off the polyps, unless you like the sponge more than the GSP, hope this helps
Brahm

 

[1979camaro]

the sponge could be affecting the GSP...you might try removing it with a toothbrush or pealing it off. another possibility, however, is that the GSP is near something else which is damaging it. they are actually fairly suceptable to being stung by other corals

 

[DustinKeating]

I'd like to pretend that i have some cool corals, able to sting others. But right now the closest thing to it, is the sponge, seconded only by the 4 ugly brown zoo's that are 8 inches away.

I think it's directly related to the sponge or algae, i'll scrub it off best i can...should i try and get as much as i can off?

 

[1979camaro]

yep...whatever you leave behind is likely to spread...i like aresgods idea of saving it and putting it somewhere else if you can

 

[DustinKeating]

it is cool looking, and that picture does it no justice (a 5mb picture down to 140kb) so i might try and put it somewhere else. because i do like both, although if forced to choose i'll keep the gsp.

 

[wayne]

Yes the sponge is overgrowing and killing the GSP's. Try to cut away pieces of sponge and let them resettle elsewhere. Sponges are decidedly cool - I don't have a blue one so envy you.

 

[DustinKeating]

i left a little of the sponge on the opposite side of the rock, only because it's not really possibly to pull it off or anything, it just crumbles into a mess. Hopefully it wont overgrow the gsp again, although i imagine it will take some pruning. thanks everyone.