Am I supposed to blow stuff off pipe organ?

[mollybabes]

I have a pipe organ, and when I bought it a couple months ago, it had been in the LFS for a couple weeks. It was in full "bloom" every time I went there. It was the same in my tank, for about a month, then the bottom started not opening up, and now only the top of one side opens up.

I have been blowing it with water every now and then to get debris off, and a lot comes off when I do, but now I'm wondering if I really should. Does the dust and stuff serve some purpose in the health of the pipe organ?

Also it has several kinda white, sack things stuck in several areas. It kinda looks like egg sacs, but they have always been there, and nothing has come out. I attempted to take it out with a toothpick, but that didn't work. Is this harmful?

Thanks

 

[mogurnda]

First, those sack things are actually polyps, so it's best to leave them alone. I'm not exactly sure how, but then they are partly everted, they look like sacs.

In my experience, Tubipora retracts when it isn't happy, like when water flow is too high or too low, or when some other coral is performing chemical warfare. The polyps should be moving gently in the current, but they shouldn't be blasted. As far as chemical warfare, what other corals are nearby?

Definitely blow the debris off. When the polyps stay retracted, then stuff builds up, and eventually hair algae will get a foothold and cause the coral to decline further.

 

[mollybabes]

I have a green star polyp, buttons and a sick chili coral. It would be my guess that if any are toxic, the chili would be.

As for the sacks, maybe I didn't describe them well. They are milky white and cover several tubes they kinda look like mold or a fungus.

 

[mogurnda]

Maybe it's the other corals, maybe it's the current, maybe the lights. Is the side that's still open closer to the lights or the current? Maybe it's not happy where it is.

The only times I've seen chemical release being a problem for the pipe organ in my tank is when there's a sick coral. All the softies in the tank looked awful (but not the SPS!) when a xenia melted down. I run carbon 24/7 to keep chemical warfare problems to a minimum, you might give that a shot.

Tubipora is the only coral I've had where the polyps look like sacs when they retract in a certain way. Look like grapes. What you're describing may be a sponge. There is a common little hitchhiker sponge some people call a "q-tip sponge" that sounds close. Pipe organ corals often have sponges, worms and tunicates associated with them, which aren't normally a problem unless they overgrow the polyps. Is the stuff growing?