saltwater aquarium experts.. question..

[peiserg]

new growth in my tank. good or bad?

hope the photo works...

they look like mini star-topped trees on some of my live rock.

 

[Juice]

Usually, any growth is good growth. Congratulations, it's growth!

 

[peiserg]

well that might be true.. unless it's some sort of growth which is notorious for choking out everything else out.

 

[gleibig]

I don't know what it is, but if it started spreading, I'd try and get rid of it.

 

[smokeyrabbit]

new growth in my tank. good or bad?

hope the photo works...

they look like mini star-topped trees on some of my live rock.

Usually i just lurk here.... but that looks like Xenia - which is a soft coral. Are the tops pulsing? Some varieties do that. Depending on what the rest of your tank is, it can be good or bad. It can propagate quickly, but lots of types of fish and crabs will gobble it up and cause it to die, which can quickly pollute your tank. Do you have other corals or just fish?

 

[HTN]

I have these little feather dusters in my reef tank as well.
They are harmless. If anything, they help filter your water.
Have you been dosing your tank with DT's? I noticed the accumulation after dosing.

 

[el_toro]

the previous poster had it right. That is xenia. It's easy to keep, grows like grass does. It can become a nuisance quickly and I had trouble finding any marine animal to eat it, even emerald crabs that like practically everything wouldn't.

I would watch it with caution.

 

[scottjua]

Xenia. It's good! IF it starts to grow a lot, take that as a sign that the tank is healthy!

You can always frag whatever you don't want if it starts to get huge and out of control, and either trade or sell it off.

 

[SaleenS7Rs]

I had this xenia stuff all over my rocks at one point I got tired of it and washed it off my rocks its harmless no worries. So you can do whatever you want keep or get it off.

 

[peiserg]

thanks guys. appreciate info.

 

[YellowHaze]

Congratulations. It's a "good guy" soft coral. It appears to be growing from a spreading foot. May or may not be Xenia as it is shrunk-up in that photo. So, nothing to worry about. You got yourself a free coral!

 

[gleibig]

I've had reef tanks for 10 years. I have xenia in my tank right now. What is in your pic doesn't look like xenia to me.

 

[Liquid]

I don't think it is feather dusters. It might be xenia.

I think the key as to whether it is a "good" growth or "bad" growth is how quickly it spreads and whether you enjoy what it brings to the tank. If it is spreading quickly, it will become a nuisance and crowd out other things.

 

[peiserg]

i took the photos to my local fish store. Basically said it was a polyp, and itwould eventually grow over most other things.. Just told me i could let it get as big as i want, and then trim it back. Told me to isolate the rock it's on so i can keep it from spreading over allthe other stuff, or remove the rock.