Vermetid
Snail Mucus Causing Frogspawn Polyp Ejection? - 11/14/07
Hello Wet Web Media,
Since launching my 24g nano earlier this year, I have been an avid
reader of your site. Thank you for contributing so much information to
the reef-keeping world.
<our pleasure, thank you>
Your site has helped me to diagnose a problem, but now I need input on
how, or whether, to "solve" it.
The pride of my tank is a bright florescent frogspawn that I added about
five months ago. Since that time, two remarkable things have happened:
first, the frogspawn has rapidly divided: from four heads to ten or
twelve, and dividing still.
<wow>
Loving my frogspawn as I do, I was initially enthused by its
reproduction. I've placed this coral in a nice space where it can expand
and be a real showpiece in the tank.
But I recently read a post by Anthony Calfo on this site that described
polyp ejection (featuring the clear bubble that has developed on a few
of my
frogspawn heads as they've split) as a "stress induced strategy of
asexual reproduction."
<Interesting, but I'm not yet convinced that this is what is happening
here with your coral. There is certainly plenty of reason and academic
research to support the notion that polyp bail out is a response to
stress (and method of asexual reproduction). Polyp bail out is when the
soft tissue of a polyp detaches and drops out of the coral skeleton. If
conditions are right, these dropped polyps will form new skeleton, and
ultimately new colonies. (see "Polyp Bail-Out: An Escape Response to
Environmental Stress and a New Means of Reproduction in Corals" by Paul
W. Sammarco, published in Marine Ecology, Vol. 10: 57-65, 1982). Thus,
if your corals polyps were bailing out, I'd expect them to be dropped
from the mother colony and forming new colonies (not forming new
branches on the same colony).>
This got me thinking about the second remarkable thing that has happened
since I acquired the frogspawn: in the last several weeks, a great
deal of mucus or webbing has accumulated around the stalk or stem of
this coral.
Today, with the help of your site, I at last found the likely cause of
this mucus: the frogspawn came with what I originally believed to be two
tube worms attached, but what I now believe to be Vermetid snails. A
small colony of Vermetids has since grown up on the frogspawn and the
surrounding live rock.
(Perhaps they thrive on the phyto I feed my feather duster.) Recently
the web of Vermetid mucus has grown pretty thick on the frogspawn and
has even trapped a bit of detritus.
<Indeed, this is what the webs are for. If you watch them, you can
actually see them "reeling in" these webs to collect their catch.>
So now I am wondering: could this mucus web be irritating the frogspawn,
resulting in stress-induced asexual reproduction?
<It's *possible* but I'm not sure how likely...>
If so, is that a bad for the long-term health of the coral?
<It's hard to say since I'm still not sure your coral is truly stressed.
Could you send in some pictures maybe?>
If so, what if anything should I do to prevent it? Would you recommend
or advise against an effort to baste or vacuum some of this mucus off
the coral?
<Likely a futile effort...the snails will just make more.>
Dare I attempt to remove the snails? Some sort of dip?
<Eek, don't dip it. If you MUST kill the snails, use a needle/syringe to
inject vinegar/Kalk/etc. into the tubes.>
Thank you very much for your time and expertise.
Ben Irvin
<De nada,
Sara M.>
Attn Sara M: Vermetid Snail Mucus
Causing Frogspawn Polyp Ejection? -11/14/07
Hello Sara,
Thank you again for your time and insight.
So, if polyp ejection or bail out results in a complete detachment of
the polyp, that is definitely not what is happening to my frogspawn.
However,
some, but not all, of the heads that have divided on my frogspawn have
developed a clear bubble similar to the one pictured on this page:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/caryfCorlsaqs.htm
And the frogspawn does seem to be splitting very fast.
<Yeah, this is odd...>
Here are two pictures: the first, #546, shows the frogspawn from below.
You can the see largest, green worm-like structure, as well as a web of
greenish-whitish mucus-like material accumulating on the coral and the
rock.
<That actually doesn't look like Vermetid snail mucus web. If anything
it kind of looks like sponge.>
The second, #550, shows the frogspawn from above and behind. You can see
more worm-like structures, as well as a web of mucus-like material that
is catching detritus. This is the first I've noticed, but there seems to
be some algae now growing on the mucus-like material as well.
<That wouldn't happen with Vermetid snail mucus.>
One last thing that perhaps I should have mentioned earlier: this
frogspawn is hosted by two true Percs.
<Hmmmm... interesting. Normally I would tell you that clown hosting is
very stressful to corals. But this is such an odd thing with your coral
growing so fast.>
I'll confess, I thought I had it all figured out, so I await your
judgment: is this bad for the coral? need it be addressed? if so, how?
<I'll be honestly with you, I'm a little baffled myself. Hosting clowns
usually stress out corals quite a bit. But if your coral is growing this
fast, and if it keeps growing this fast, I'd question how stressed it
must be. Typically, stressed corals don't grow so fast (if much at all).
Let me ask you, do the clowns feed the coral?>
Thanks once again.
Ben Irvin
<Thanks for writing,
Sara M.>
Re: Attn Sara M: Vermetid Snail
Mucus Causing Frogspawn Polyp Ejection?-11/14/07
Hi Sara,
It's really nice of you to take the time, and I'm happy to respond,
even at risk of showing my ignorance, so long as I am not taking up too
much of your
attention.
<Not at all... I quite enjoy hearing from other people about their
experiences with their corals.>
I, too, wondered about the possibility of a sponge, but was at a loss to
explain the worm-like structures in the gauzy, mucusy material.
<I know it doesn't look like your typical sponge, but I'm 98% sure it's
some kind of sponge. Sponges can be mucus-y, web-like, gauzy... all the
things you're describing are not inconsistent with some kinds of
sponges.>
To give you a better sense of what this looks like, if I saw it growing
in my fridge, or in a garbage can, I'd think that it was mold. It is
whitish-greenish in color, it clings to (possibly grows on) the adjacent
rocks. It has developed worm- or tube-like structures in it. It seems to
cling to, or grow on, the lower, green portion of the stalk rather than
on the white portions of the heads.
Now, ugh, here's my ignorance: in response to your question, do the
clowns feed the coral, my answer is, I don't know what that means. I
feed my clowns Mysis and Cyclopeeze every third day, a reduced feeding
schedule that is aimed at reducing nutrients in the tank. (I also add a
few mg of phyto twice per week.)
I occasionally squirt some of the Cyclopeeze in the general direction
the frogspawn, but in general I don't target feed it. The clowns stay
close to the frogspawn and swim in and around its heads at night.
<Just like how clowns bring food to anemones in which they might be
hosting, they will often also bring food to any coral in which they are
hosting. This is what I mean by "feeding.">
Again, I acquired this coral in May. It had four heads when I obtained
it, and I suspect I'll have sixteen soon enough, each heading having
split and many now splitting again.
<Dear lord that's a lot of splitting. Do you have any pictures of the
whole coral colony? I'm just curious to see this thing now.>
This coral had been fragged off of a specimen the size of a basketball
in my LFS's show tank. So perhaps it is just a quick grower.
<Oh cool... I was just going to say that it would be interesting to see
if the coral grew just as fast without the clowns (and/or in a different
tank). So, if a frag of it in a different tank is growing just as fast,
that might tell us something. But I'm afraid I still don't have a real
answer for you as to why it's growing so fast. I suppose it could have
some sort of genetic "defect" that is causing this. But I honestly don't
know. Please do record all this though (take pictures and make notes of
observations).>
But I want to be sure that whatever is growing/clinging to its trunk is
not an irritant.
<If you're worried, and if you can easily remove it, go ahead. Better
safe than sorry I suppose.>
Your insight is greatly appreciated.
Ben
<De nada,
Sara M.>
Re: Attn Sara M: Vermetid Snail
Mucus Causing Frogspawn Polyp Ejection? -11/14/07
Hi Sara,
Unless you recommend otherwise, I will put some light water pressure
(turkey baster) on what we think is the sponge. If it blows off, great,
but if it doesn't budge, I probably won't risk any kind of intervention.
<Sounds like a good plan. You could also use a pair of tweezers to try
and gently pull it off if the baster doesn't work.>
Later this evening, I will send you two pics of the coral, one opened
and one closed.
<Cool, thanks!>
Have I told you that I appreciate your expertise?
<Hehe, yes, and thank you again for sharing with us.>
Ben
<Best,
Sara M.>
Re: Attn Sara M: Vermetid Snail
Mucus Causing Frogspawn Polyp Ejection? -11/14/07
Thanks for the advice, Sara.
During a regularly scheduled water change this evening, I attempted
first to suction and later to blow this unidentified material off the
frogspawn. I was able to remove a little of the detritus and what looked
like a bit of brownish hair algae, but the mystery material stayed put.
So, since you haven't identified it as fatal coral-killing death stuff,
I'm going to let it be.
<Yeah, I'd just let it go for now. Most sponges don't pose any real
threat to stony corals.>
I've attached two pix: the first, #556, shows the whole coral as it's
beginning to retract for the evening. For scale, the whole thing cuts an
arc a little bit bigger than a soft ball.
<Thanks for the pics, looks like a healthy coral. :-)>
The second pic, #566, shows the coral closed up a bit. I had hoped to
show you a picture of the coral closed all the way, so that you could
distinguish the separating heads, but the frogspawn doesn't seem
inclined to close up tight tonight. But, just for example, the two heads
at the far right of the picture have each developed two mouths and the
splits seem imminent. Likewise, on the far left, what appears to be one
big head is actually four. It's really been amazing to watch.
<Indeed, very interesting.>
But so long as it is not an unhealthy response, I'm happy!
<Corals are still so mysterious to us humans. All I can really say is
that the coral looks plenty healthy. I'm not going to promise you that
there's no chance this accelerated splitting isn't a result of some kind
of stress. But I don't have any reason to say it is either. And even if
it were, it's obviously not killing the coral. So I say just keep doing
what you're doing and keep an eye on it.>
(Also, in the background of 566, you can see a bit of pink sponge in the
vicinity, so maybe this is a sponge-worthy rock.)
<LOL... "sponge-worthy"--too funny.>
And speaking of rock, you rock. Thanks for all your help. If you ever
need a totally noobtastic second opinion, be in touch.
<Fabulous, my pleasure.>
Best wishes,
Ben Irvin
<Best,
Sara M.> |
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