how to care for

Sara7814 · 12-06-2006, 07:54 AM

Green Star Polyp -i tried searching this.. but didnt have any luck... can someone tell me bout this stuff.

flow
light
etc.

Sara7814 · 12-06-2006, 07:56 AM

is it something good to have in the tank?

hng · 12-06-2006, 07:58 AM

GSP is very tolerant of conditions. I don't think they require anything specific, they do well in any and all conditions. Just be careful about them overgrowing stuff!

Sara7814 · 12-06-2006, 08:00 AM

so is it something i should pass on? honestly?

theplatypus · 12-06-2006, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sara7814

so is it something i should pass on? honestly?

They're easy to care for and the bright green morphs are gorgeous.

YLChik · 12-06-2006, 08:12 AM

Green Star Polyps

These green stars were raised under lower light conditions and have faded.

Closeup of Tentacles

Polyps retracted showing purple mat

Encroaching on M. capricornus

Small colony

Scientific Name: Clavularia viridis
Classification: Soft Coral
Common Names: Green Star Polyps Description:
Green Star polyps are small bright green polyps connected together by a rubbery purple colored mat. Open during the day, retracted at night or when disturbed.
Natural Environment:
? Many specimens are now captive propagated.

Care:
Hardiness: Green Star polyps are extremely hardy and can survive most reef tank conditions.
Lighting: Will tolerate fairly low light levels, but tend to develop brighter colors under higher intensity lighting. A picture above shows a colony that is lighter in color due to being raise in lower lighting conditions.
Water Current: Green Star polyps prefer moderate water motion.
Temperature: Does well within a range of at least 74º to 84º F.
Aggressiveness: High. Although the coral does not have a stinging capability, it's encrusting growth pattern can lead to rapid encroachment on its neighbors. Mat can be pruned with scissors if it starts to get out of hand. This is one of those corals that some hobbyist regret ever putting in their tank.
Feeding: Green Star polyps are photosynthetic and require no feeding. It is unknown if they will accept any prepared foods.
Supplements: No special requirement are noted. Normal acceptable water parameters seem to suit it just fine.
Tank Positioning: No special requirements other than keeping them out of forceful water flow. They will sometimes grow up the back glass forming a very attractive green backdrop.
Propagation:: Green Star polyps are easily propagated by cutting a section of the purple mat from the main colony using scissors or similar. This mat can be attached to a suitable substrate such as a piece of live rock usually with a rubber band. It will quickly attach to the rock and the rubber band can be removed.

I don' t know how they fair with seahorses... someone else will have to chime in on that one.

skeety · 12-06-2006, 08:18 AM

Very easy to care for...but make sure you place them NOWHERE near any other rocks, or anything else they can cover. They take over like CRAZY!!!

case in point (please note, this is a 75 gallon tank, and the rock that's covered is easily the size of a regulation football. Also note that it's halfway up my overflow!!):

skeety · 12-06-2006, 08:19 AM

you can also see it overgrowing the spray bar behind it too!

They will grow over ANYTHING! hahaha

beautiful though.

skeety · 12-06-2006, 08:23 AM

oh...and just to give you an idea...I've circled the ORIGINAL piece I bought. It overgrew the larger (12lb) rock that's next to it, thus becoming one big massive piece. Then worked it's way to the overflow, where it is now table'ing.

skeety · 12-06-2006, 08:25 AM

doh! also meant to mention this is a little over a year's worth of growth. And due to me being a newb...it didn't really grow much the first three months. SO probably more like 9 months worth of growth.

hng · 12-06-2006, 08:28 AM

Keep in mind, that it does "peel" off easily for fragging and there are always LFS or friends who want some.

Sara7814 · 12-06-2006, 08:30 AM

ok thanks!

skeety · 12-06-2006, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hng

Keep in mind, that it does "peel" off easily for fragging and there are always LFS or friends who want some.

I TOTALLY disagree with this statement.

Well..conditionally.

If it's growing over a smooth surface, YES...it does peel easily.

But when it's covering a neighboring rock...NO it does not. It rips/tears all over the place, and you're still left with patches of GSP's here and there in the dimples of the rock. Each of which continue to grow anyways.

But in summary, I have a love/hate relationship with my GSP's. I love them...they are beautiful. Especially once they get bigger, and start swaying in the current. Looks like a field of tall grass. But I HATE how they cover up so much stuff! hehehe

http://mysite.verizon.net/s0da/gsp.html

combiemaster · 12-06-2006, 02:07 PM

yeah they are easy to care for and are photo. i had a huge colony before but because i was a noob they started diying and i did not know why it was my first coral i was running my salinity at 1.019 on a hydrometer so i dont know if it was even lower or higher sice its a hydro. Any who since i now run mine at 1.026 it is starting to come back again

SO GET ONE YOU WONT HATE IT. but make sure you place it like a Island on the sand not next to other rock because it will take over.

Gilraen Took · 12-06-2006, 03:46 PM

I'm gonna chime in with another question here too. How easy is it to get the stuff to attach to a smooth surface? I've got a tiny(2 polyp) mat of it that was given to me that I'd like to try to make cover the back of my tank. Right now it's smooshed against the back of the tank with a rock, how long should it take for it to grow onto the wall?