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I recently purchased 10 lbs of tonga branch from an lfs a week ago. It was just sold to the lfs from another tank. After I brought it home and put in my tank, I noticed that there were 2 patches of green star polyps growing on it. I'm glad I have them, from what I hear they are pretty expensive. However, I haven't been able to find much info on them. Please don't think I'm an idiot if this sounds ignorant. I'm brand new to marine tanks and am learning everyday how challenging it can be. My tonga branch has been starting to grow some kind of thick dark purple stuff,(I'm not sure what it is, could be some kind of algae). Could it be that the star polyps are spreading on different places of the branch?

I would say thay are about the same as a yellow star polip. They shoudl be rather easy to care for. As for the purple stuff, that would be coraline algea, and it will cover your rock. It's a good thing for your tank.



Dan

Here is a profile that I wrote on GSP.

[link=http://fishprofiles.com/profiles/coral/greenstar.asp]http://fishprofiles.com/profiles/coral/greenstar.asp" style="COLOR: #FF0000[/link]

I think that GSP is one of the prettiest corals you can buy. It has a very nice flow when in proper current and the color is amazing. The also grow pretty fast if given good water quality and light. Besides, you gotta love a freebie!!

Raider_fish

How fast will GSP grow and how soon? I've only had it for 1 week and if it is growing, its awfully fast. Can this happen?

GSP can grow incredibly fast.. The colony I purchased last year was about the size of a softball.. Now, I have two seperate colonies and both are the size of softballs.. I also have GSP creeping up the back glass of my 46gal tank and that mass is about half the size of a sheet of typing paper.. I think the only thing I have that grows any faster is xenia elongata..

It's fun stuff to have, but sooner or later, you'll probably end up having to tear it to keep it where you want it.. Not such a bad deal though.. The frags can earn you a bit of money sometimes..

Good Luck with it..

My GSP's having come out in 2 days. Is this an indication of them being sick? I've ran test on magnesium and calcium and they come up normal. I can't figure out whats wrong.

GSP tend to go through periods where they dont open. As long as they dont start to "melt" then I wouldnt worry.