Time to prune this weed (1 Viewer)

[slojim]

My tank is really fowlr. My lighting for a 30" deep 110 is just 2 beamswork strips i bought in a rush, intended to be temporary. I got some rubble at an lfs, and i ended up with a few soft coral hitchhikers. The one pictured was just a few polyps for a while, and seemed to be fading away, but then grew back, faded, grew, and then started taking off. I had to keep moving it lower until now it is on the sand bed. It's growing onto the sand and glass and needs to be pruned. I've read instructions. Im sure I'll need gloves and I'll need to be careful, including scraping it off the glass. Any other tips or concerns? Anyone know what this is anyway? I think it's a common protopalythoa. It has a slight green glow under blue lights.

 

[PicassoClown]

Regular palys probably. I’d take the whole rock and chunk it then use a single edge razor to scrape off any on the glass

 

[slojim]

The rock underneath is a branch that i like, and since i don't have a bunch of other corals or polyps, this mass definitely adds interest to my tank. I hear you, but I'm just going to try to prune it back.
I also have some gsp that essentially "came out of nowhere" I thought about putting one or both on the back glass, but this stuff grows way too fast. Once i put the gsp on the sand bed, it is under control.

 

[Stickboy97]

You already know the issues with Palys, I've had a similar out break & they are hard to get rid of by picking them individually. I'd say pull the rock & set it in the sun for a few days. Kills the good bacteria, but also the palys, with no issue of possibly paly toxin. Then wash it off & put it back in the tank.

 

[OceansX]

Maybe there's an aquarium suitable fish species that eats protopaly's e.g. a butterfly or angel fish that you'd consider adding into your FOWLR?

 

[slojim]

It turns out I have mushrooms, some interesting colored zoas, GSP, and this all growing "accidentally", and I like them now. That said, OceansX, I like how you think.

 

[slojim]

The life I got out of a few small pieces of rock to add to my dry rock has been really impressive. Some has thrived - some has surged and waned in cycles over time, like a sponge I have that got pretty big then most of the top section crashed, the stomatella snails are a mystery - for a little while, they were everywhere, now I haven't seen one in months.