how do I kill the polyps on my rocks?

[jayo]

I have some beautiful rocks that are covered in polyps, a combo of zoanthids and protopalythoa. I'd kind of like to add somthing different in their place, plus I'm worried that as they spread (like the plague they are) they'll overgrow everything in the tank.

So, they have to go. But how?

I've tried pulling them off with pliers. This works somewhat but it seems that if any bit is left behind then the polyps regrow and a few months later I'm right back where I started.

What do other people do to control their polyp population?

Thanks,
jayo

[Eric Boerner]

Pickling lime. Make a strong dose and inject them with it. I'll kill them off pretty fast. Only other way to get them out is to chisel them off the rock, but then you'll damage the rock. Dunno if you want to do that.

If you do chisel, send them my way. ;)

[edwardlmarshall]

I think some people inject kalkwasser into aiptasia anemones with a syringe, so I don't know why you couldn't use the same technique with polyps.

[wave_happy]

Trade them in at the LFS or with a fellow reefer.

[jayo]

I consider the protopalythoa (brown that glow green under actinics) to be a pest like Aiptasia (though not as bad because they spread a lot more slowly). I would not feel right giving them away.

I do trade zoanthids with my LFS, I have a couple of neat ones, but I keep my "breeding population" on the sand (they attach great to pebbles) to keep my rocks free. The ones on the rocks are difficult to remove intact (when I've tried to scrape them off they get really mushed - they'd probably recover but I'm leery of the chemicals in their ooze might not be great for the tank) so I don't use those to trade with.

I've tried using kalkwasser or a thick lime paste on Aiptasia and they don't seem to die - I've switched to hydrochloric acid and that often kills them.
I'll try it on the polyps as well.

Thanks for all the help!

jayo