Green Hydnophora HELP!!!!!!!!!

[Great Reefer Man]

Ok...where do I start...I have about a 7 or so inch green, long tentacle hydnophora. Just below it maybe 1 and 1/2 inch or so is a blue shroom. Also below it is a small yellow sponge like growth. These guys have all been playin' nicely for about a year.

UNTIL TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, I see a TON of this white gangaloin like stuff. You know the stuff you see come out the middle of a shroom when its angry. Except....this stuff has completly enveloped the shroom and the small piece of sponge and it seems to be coming out of the base of the hydnophora!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks so much like the white stuff from the shroom but I am sure its coming out of the hydnophora!!!!

So....I cut out the shroom and sucked out and blew out some of the white stuff. I have never had anything like this go on in my tank!!!!!!! What do you guys think???? Any help would be awsome!!!!!!!

Thanks,
Dennis

[ravenmore]

hydnophora has the ability to release small, stringy, defensive tentacles, like some shrooms. I've seen mine do it when caulerpa starts growing on the coral, but I've never seen anything as extreme as what you're describing. You might pop over to reef central and run this by Eric Borneman in the coral forum. He could probably give you a more definitive answer. hth

-Mike

[ReefHawk]

I got a hyndo not too long ago and ask for some info on it. I was told it is very aggressive.

My problem is mine is receeding. I just fraged a 7in piece into several smaller ones. All other corals are doing good. I cant figure out why. It may be that it was in trouble when I got it. It did have a dead base then.

[FishTechie]

i too got a hydno that was in trouble and was receeding, i did nothing special to it except place it about 12" under a 250w 10k metal halide, in under two months it has regrown its skin and then some. this is the most recent picture taken July 2 and the hydno had about half of the skin it has on it now.

http://www.geocities.com/stylatin/images/greenhydno.jpg

[FishTechie]

heres the picture

[ReefHawk]

Good to hear. I havent noticed any receeding since I fraged it last weekend.
One of my frags...

Parent...fraged up now tho



Frag pic attached...er..I think LOL

[ReefHawk]

[ReefHawk]

First pic of parent was how it looked when I got it. The frags I have now are all opening fully as the second pic. Only they are smaller of course. I havea 6500k 250MH but I do have 2 actinics which may help with the blue spectrums that your 10k does for you.

I was doing a month without dosing iodine to see it that had any effect. I saw none dosing nor not dosing.

Thanks for the input. I'll keep an eye on it

[FishTechie]

i havent dosed iodine in over a year in my tank, and i doubt i will start again. i also have two 160w VHO's one actinic and one white. the only thing i do once i add a coral and every few weeks is give it a blast of frozen baby brine shrimp with a turkey baster...

[j_man]

Where is the best place to by hydno? and I have some recession because the frag had been stuck in the sand, I traded for it and now I am wondering who may know something about getting it to recolonize or at least not receed more.

[dougc]

I had a hydnophora that killed a pocillopora frag and killed part of an acro colony. The hydno lived in close proximity to the corals for a long time, but something triggered a defensive reaction. The white threadlike strands are called mesenterial filaments. This is perfectly normal behavior for a hydnophora. Neighboring corals need to be kept a respectful distance away. The only thing I have seen that is immune to the attack of a hydnophora is that crabgrass of the coral world, green star polyps.

I have had problems with green hydnophoras receding. They seem to be a bit finicky for me, but I'm not entirely sure what is missing.

[BubbaWPB]

Today, I see a TON of this white gangaloin like stuff. You know the stuff you see come out the middle of a shroom when its angry. Except....this stuff has completly enveloped the shroom and the small piece of sponge and it seems to be coming out of the base of the hydnophora!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks so much like the white stuff from the shroom but I am sure its coming out of the hydnophora!!!!

So....I cut out the shroom and sucked out and blew out some of the white stuff. I have never had anything like this go on in my tank!!!!!!! What do you guys think???? Any help would be awsome!!!!!!!

My hydnophora let out all the white stringy tentacles when my torch coral sent some tentacles near it. I separated them. The hydnophora seems to do that when it senses a threat near it. I don't think anything is wrong, but I would separate the fighting factions.

[kevinpo]

Wow! this thread is 4 years old
Hydnophora species like medium to high flow and light. They will defend thier space on the reef vigorously. They are quite hardy and slow to moderate growers. Calcium and alkalinity need to be near NSW levels. They do best placed in the rockwork.

HTH,
Kevin