acro prob

[blodger]

hi
a while ago a bought a maricultured (aquacultured in the sea ) purple tip acro. it has been doing fine, until now. i noticed last week a couple of 'barncles ' on it. i can only see the feathery feeding legs not the shell. they seem to be imbedded. last might a couple of these 'infected ' tips started shedding flesh. coinsidece or something more sinister. one tip now has the barnacle exposed and it seems to be in the centre of the polpy structure ( the hole where you would expect the polyp to extend from)

anyway does anyone think this could spread to the other acros?
could it be to complicated a lifecycle to complete within the tank and there fore needs run its course ?
could it be wild infected?
anyone else had this ?
blodger

[Nic Miller]

Don't think this is anything to worry about. I've had barnacles embedded in my acros before - thought they looked really cool. I doubt whether you can keep them alive for too long anyway unless you feed a large quantity of planktonic feed. I very much doubt the barnacles would reproduce in your tank - if they did then they would settle on bare rock not on corals, it is the coral that grows around the barnacle rather that the barnacle that invades the coral I would have thought.

Cheers

Nic

[HARKAWAL]

The Barnacle IS Not The Problem. Theres Another Factor. Tip Recession Is Usually Caused By Uv [check]. What Lights Are You Using.......give Me More Info On Set Up I Will Try To Help With A Prominent Answer....

[blodger]

hi
the barnacles are in the tips either the main end tip or side branch tip. they are in the tip most polyp and they where there before the flesh regressed. there are still a few barnacles on tips that are looking healthy !
i wondered if these barnacles where able to be caught by the polpys and survive to attach inside (stranger things happen)
the lighting is 2x 150 watt 14k arcadia 9 mnths old.
the coral has been in its current postion thre months at least. no other sps is showing any signs.
thanks