Polyp grabbed flake food?

[brent23]

Hey guys, i'm new to this hobby and had a quick question about one of the 3 polyps (i think they are polyps) that are growing on my live rock. I just recently set up the tank, it will be a week old on thursday, and today i purchased some marine flake food to put into the water to help speed up the nitrogen cycle. Well i just noticed that one of the flakes is lodged within the crevice that the polyp is in like it had grabbed it and pulled it in because there is no way it got that way on its own because the current is to strong thanks to my koralia 1. So my question is whether or not polyps can grab things in the water and eat them? Because if not i don't know if i should attempt to remove the flake before it kills the polyp. Also, i have one snail and a crab in the tank, the snail found its way into my tank via the live rock from the LFS, and the snail seems to have started to munch on the flake as well. Thanks guys

 

[rlablan]

Could we get some pics of these "polyps" please? This does not sound like a polyp to me, and I wouldn't be concerned about the flake killing it, because if it is some kind of coral, the cycle will most likely kill it.

 

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by brent23
http:///forum/post/3091751
Hey guys, i'm new to this hobby and had a quick question about one of the 3 polyps (i think they are polyps) that are growing on my live rock. I just recently set up the tank, it will be a week old on thursday, and today i purchased some marine flake food to put into the water to help speed up the nitrogen cycle. Well i just noticed that one of the flakes is lodged within the crevice that the polyp is in like it had grabbed it and pulled it in because there is no way it got that way on its own because the current is to strong thanks to my koralia 1. So my question is whether or not polyps can grab things in the water and eat them? Because if not i don't know if i should attempt to remove the flake before it kills the polyp. Also, i have one snail and a crab in the tank, the snail found its way into my tank via the live rock from the LFS, and the snail seems to have started to munch on the flake as well. Thanks guys
Your in the SPS section, so I couldn't begin to imagine what kind of polyp THAT would be...
But assuming it's not an sps polyp and it's something like a paly or even any LPS, then yes, they will grab food when they can. Most corals like to be fed meaty stuff...

 

[aquaguy24]

Hmmmmm. Aiptasia? If it is a polyp it'll be fine.

 

[brent23]

Hey thanks for the responses, i will hopefully have some pics for you soon. I wasn't sure which thread to start this one in because i'm not 100% sure what it is lol. It basically looks like a flower with a stalk, but with no pedals. So basically it looks like a flower with no pedals. I will try to have pics soon thanks guys.

 

[brent23]

So i looked up aptasia to see what it looks like and i'm 90% sure its aptasia. I read that you can use hermit crabs to get rid of them. I currently have one in the tank thinking about adding more now if thats true to get rid of them before it spreads. I have 3 that i can see on the live rock as of right now. Another reason im fairly certain it has aptasia is because i went to the LFS last night to pick up another piece of live rock and the lady told me i wouldn't want it right now because it has aptasia. So apparently they had a problem with it when i bought my big piece and didn't tell me at the time. Any suggestions as to how to get rid of them? Do you think hermits will get the job done?

 

[aquaguy24]

there are a couple ways to rid aiptasia from your tank. I have never heard of using hermit crabs. Chemicals injected onto the aiptasia itself work very well..products like Aiptasia X or Joe's Juice should do...Another way that i've used is to get some peppermint shrimp..i place 3 peppermint shrimp in my 90g and they devourd all of the aiptasia within a few days(i had quit a few). Use the peppermint shrimp with cautions as they do not always eat the aiptasia and if they do eat all of the aiptasia u have to keep them fed..they usually feed off the leftover food anway.....

 

[rlablan]

I think that the chemical stuff ( I used joe's juice) is the best route. It got rid of all of my unwanted pests very quickly.