Tag Archives: reef

Good morning friends, here’s something we hate to see on the reef, it’s called Overgrowing Mat Tunicate and it’s one of many coral diseases. The top photo shows the “Before” and the bottom photo is “After” and by After I mean; after I removed it with a knife! Overgrowing Mat Tunicates or Trididemnum solidum grows in colonies of tiny tunicates embedded in a tough, smooth leathery tunic, which resembles a coating of blue-green or lime-green candle wax. The surface is covered with numerous, pore-like incurrent siphons interspersed with a scattering of larger communal excurrent siphons. Colonies encrust large areas of a reef and will overgrow and kill most species of stony corals like this poor flower coral you see above. Overgrowing Mat Tunicates often go through periods of rapid growth before dying back, and occasionally disappear completely from an affected area leaving behind exposed substrates and dead corals. Removing this material is super easy, it more or less comes off in one piece, I will go back and keep an eye on this one and see how it’s doing and let you all know. Curacao is still locked in crazy wind and it’s drying the island out way too fast!! I am guessing our wet years are over and we are in for another very dry year, I have already built a water feeder in the desert and am keeping it filled every day! That’s about it, I have to get to the deep water lab and into the aquarium to shoot some photos, have a great day!! See you again soon, Barry
MORE:  Overgrowing Mat Tunicate, Coral Diseases, Corals