GHA on Coral

Green Hair algae keeps growing on my favorite soft coral. It's never expanded now. I've tried gently scrubbing it off w/ a toothbrush. It takes more coral off than it does algae. Would a FW rinse be ok for it? I don't have a lot of GHA in my tank at all. It could be an effect, not a cause; maybe the outer layer of coral has died due to something else and algae is growing on it???? thanks for your help.

 

What type of coral is it? If it can handle direct water flow, you may want to get a little more flow in that direction. Usually GHA will grow where there is a concentration of dissolved organics and dead spot. I wouldn't do a FW dip, if anything, a quality coral dip at most.

 

I don't know what type of coral it is. My uncle gave it to me. Its neon green and smooth (maybe some sort of tree coral?). Its the only one like it that I've seen in the trade. When its fully expanded its about 7''.

 

Post a picture, if it's the only you have seen in the trade, we would all like to see it. Plus it would be easier for us to suggest solutions. It may sound drastic, but I have used a diluted bleach solution to kill GHA on the rocks the corals were on. I use Q-tips to gently apply the solution, then rinse them off in a bucket of salt water with some chlorine neutralizer.

 

I lost my phone (my only camera). It looks kind of like the 2nd picture-

SALLY JO'S REEF PICTURES OF THE WEEK 7/7/99

But mine was big, a lot more green (less yellow), and it branched out at more crazy angles. Its really small now, and is sort of falling apart.

 

Looks like a Christmas Tree coral. If it's falling apart already, that's not a good sign. It may have an infection that is killing it, or it was exposed to an ammonia spike. How old is your tank?

 

I was thinking it had an infection also. I think an ammonia spike is unlikely. My tank is 5 years old, all vitals are normal (ammonia 0), and nothing else in the aquarium even flinched. Its really sad; it was my favorite one. I got the coral with the aquarium my uncle gave me (5 years ago). He said it was a pretty old coral then. Maybe old age??? How long do most soft corals live?

 

Maybe an infection then. Scrubbing the GHA may have released the toxins, nitrates/phosphates it stored, which affected the coral and weakened its immune system, or maybe those things directly affected it. Coral in the wild tend to live a very long time, though I refrain from using "forever" as an answer. Think about the Great Barrier Reef, there are coral there that are probably hundreds of years old. Coral tend to grow about 1" over a year, and the reef spans hundreds of miles. Do that math, wow is all I have to say.

 

A fellow Reefer had a big frag of Candycane I wanted.. But it had GHA on it bad...
Here's how I got rid of it befor placeing it in my tank..
I went to the LFS and got 5 red legged hermit crabs..I had the coral in a small bowl full of my tank water..
I added the crabs.. Now and then I changed the water.. The Crabs cleaned it spotless..
I added the crabs and coral to my tank, it never came back.. I also bought a Sailfin Tang
Worked for me.. Sailfins do need alittle special care, and feeding.. But worth it..

Good Luck, Larry

I left them in the bowl almost all day.. changing water alot. And turning the coral so they could get it all..

 

And some people believe that the universe came about by chance, that the greatest things of all had no maker, when they work so hard to keep life in their aquariums alive. On a different note; does what you're talking about apply to soft coral?