Blue Clove Polyps

[jef4y]

I know when some people see the title they cringe & run, and that may very well be me in another year or two...

I really liked the BCPs and wanted some in my tank. Then I came to understand how prolific they can become and figured I would keep them isolated to a single rock.

After a few months, I got worried that they may spread beyond that rock unintentionally. Not wanting to have any problems, I removed the rock and bleached it.

Fast forward a couple of months and yep, you guessed it. They're popping up pretty much everywhere.

Saving grace is that at this point they don't seem to be ridiculously fast growing, so we will see what happens in the future. Just wanted to send out a warning to anyone else contemplating these guys, thinking they could keep them isolated. Yeah, not gonna happen.

 

[ralph atl]

I've had mine a few years, so far I like them.....time will tell.....

 

[darren24]

Hey guys / girls I have no experience with these. Will they overgrow like sps, encrusting montis, etc.?

 

[jennm]

It's a love or hate thing with Blue Cloves. They spawn - they don't just migrate from the colony outward. When they spawn, new polyps turn up anywhere and everywhere, so it's perfectly logical that they turn up after the main colony was removed.

Personally, I like them and suggest adding them last, after other colonies are settled and growing, and they fill in the spaces. But I always explain this to folks - because some don't like or want that, so it's not the stuff for them.

They look nice in our display, IMO - but again, they aren't for everyone.

They don't seem to overtake established colonies of other stuff - I have had them choke out a tiny zoanthid frag, but the frag was only about 5 polyps. If a colony has a good head start, the cloves won't bother it.

Jenn

 

[ripped tide]

I seem to always get the extreme of every thing.... Cloves conquered most of my tank within about 7-8months. I get rid of the cloves and then bubble algae over runneth. Maybe the cloves were shading out the bubble algae?

 

[jennm]

Not a coincidence, IMO. In my observation the cloves prevent nuisance algae from getting a foothold.

Jenn

 

[rdnelson]

Ripped Tide;827886 wrote: I seem to always get the extreme of every thing.... Cloves conquered most of my tank within about 7-8months. I get rid of the cloves and then bubble algae over runneth. Maybe the cloves were shading out the bubble algae?

If you had LEDs you wouldn't be having these problems Mr. "I can grow anything under MH". hehehehehehehe

 

[jef4y]

Jenn, your tanks are what made me like the BCPs. They seem to fill in gaps and look beautiful. I don't think I will have a problem but time will tell.

After spending hours in the reefs in Belize, I've come to realize that nature does what it wants and there is beauty in all of it.


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[acroholic]

It is definitely a hate thing with BCPs for me. They are very prolific given the right conditions. They spread by matting, and they can also sexually reproduce. I think they are the worst in an SPS type system or zoanthid heavy system, where the corals don't have a lot in the way of self defense. They don't seem to be as big an issue in an LPS dominant system, where the LPS have better defenses, like long tentacles, sweeper tentacles, etc.

They do great under halide or LED lighting, from personal experience.

I killed all I had in my 300 gallon SPS reef (now 465 gallon SPS reef). I still have a couple small patches in my 100 gallon LPS reef, and they aren't the plague they were in the other tank.

For anyone understanding the relationship between ORP and bioload, at least the way I think it works, when I killed the 4-5 square feet of blue clove polyps in my 300 gallon, the average ORP went from 245 to about 345 after they were gone. That shows just how massive their bioload on the system was.

 

[hiimsean]

i have some on my "floating" rocks, so far they're contained to those rocks. i kind of like them, they add a slight movement to the tank that's cool when you notice

 

[acroholic]

HiImSean;827922 wrote: i have some on my "floating" rocks, so far they're contained to those rocks. i kind of like them, they add a slight movement to the tank that's cool when you notice

That's what I liked as well, except when they took over every square inch of available space on all light exposed live rock. Each system is different. They thrive is some, stay contained in others, and can't survive in some.

 

[shanepike]

I saw merkywater's setup. They were all over the place and beautiful -- but they were</em> all over the place. I had never considered adding them last, Jenn. That's cool.

 

[nassar0505]

Jenns display with them filled in everywhere is quite beautiful.

 

[rdnelson]

I like them. but then I liked the green palys Boots gave me. LOL Actually, I still like them they just take over everything.

 

[reeferman]

i have the exact same experience as Dave and treated as he did also.
ime,they will overtake established zoa colonies.they seem to root in between polyps and eventually choke the whole colony.i lost colonies of several hundred king midas and dragonflies.

 

[ralph atl]

I have mostly sps & zoa.....so I am ready to nuke when and if the time comes!

my concern would be if they start stn on the underneith and lower areas of my colonies and move up.....

I had an awesome fellow reefer throw me a fluke tab or two sometime ago......I
m ready to strike back, lol.....hopefully they continue as is!

 

[jef4y]

I have them growing on the stalks of a huge LPS colony. Lol.


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[merkywater]

ShanePike;827931 wrote: I saw merkywater's setup. They were all over the place and beautiful -- but they were</em> all over the place. I had never considered adding them last, Jenn. That's cool.

No longer have them dosed the tank and killed all of them I do have a few rocks in frag tank with some for those that want them so bad. I prob will kill them soon.

 

[nickg]

I was thinking of adding to a Preditor and Live Rock tank. No Corals only a couple of nems, clowns, rock, triggers and a 4 stripe from

 

[ptreef]

nickg;828041 wrote: I was thinking of adding to a Preditor and Live Rock tank. No Corals only a couple of nems, clowns, rock, triggers and a 4 stripe from h@ll. Who has some to infect this system?

thats exactly what I want to do with my fowlr tank. still has mh lights on it, so growing them enough to cover the rocks shouldn't be a problem