Gobie vs Coral

[AundriaM]

I have a good size golden head gobie that has made it his hobbie to sift sand over my newly added (1 - 2 months) corals. My mushrooms and button polyps seem to be able to shake it off, but my flower leather is getting a collection of sand in the base of each "flower." I tried to move the coral to gently shake it out, but it has grown a lot and attached itself to a large rock that doesn't lend itself to movement. I've also tried blowing it off with a powerhead but would hate to damage or stunt the coral. Will this be a big problem long term?

I hope that's not an idiot question. :D TIA!

 

[Bifferwine]

That's a common problem with gobies. You can try taking a turkey baster and blasting the sand off the corals, that's more gentle than using a powerhead. It won't be a problem long term if you work to keep the corals clean every once in a while, but it is annoying.

 

[reeffreak]

Some corals can handle it and some can't.Usually hardy corals like leathers can be just blown off.I never heard of flower leather so I don't know exactly what you have.Now,a flowerpot coral(Goniopora) can develop infections from being constantly irritated.

 

[AundriaM]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it! I need to get a turkey baster - that sounds like a great idea. And sorry, I bought it as a "flower" leather, but from everything that I've seen it's a cabbage leaf leather. I hear they're pretty hearty and it's growing really fast.

 

[Bifferwine]

Oh yeah, a cabbage should be fine.

 

[reeffreak]

Oh yeah,a cabbage should be fine.