Hydroids! - Please help!

[Stevan]

This is an interesting thread. I hope people respond.

I recently noticed 2 or 3 of these in my tank. They're all on a specific rock, and it's my Gramma Basslett's fave rock, and it's pretty, so I'm not getting rid of it. I'm thinking of just sticking a small piece of epoxy over their hole to see if it kills them. Has anyone thought to try this? It would be hard to grab them with tweezers- my tank is deep, and I have a feeling if I pull the rock up, these things will withdraw.

I also wonder if a freshwater dip might get them out. It might be worth a try.

Anyone else have anything to add?
Anything you've tried, whether successfully or unsuccessfully?

I just took the worst rock out and did a 3 min or so dip in RO/DI...All gone.

I think the Pepps are doing in the others.

 

[kewliz]

I wish I'd done a freshwater dip with mine. I just put a tiny ball of epoxy on top of the hole that it was in. Unfortunately, that specific rock is under another one, so I have yet to view the results. When we re-stack again, I will check it and freshwater dip.

 

[TiGs]

I am experimenting with getting rid of myrionemia (sp) hydroids, my plague. They are the ones that look like dandelions, they are tan and photosynthetic. I have in the past tried to get a seaslug which would eat them (bad idea). Recently I have been reading Scott Michael's new butterfly fish book and he states that several 'flys' eat hydroids. I picked up a yellow longnose butterfly, and I'm watching him closely....

Used kalk paste to eradicate them and the digitate hydroids. To this date they never came back.

 

[surfy]

I have always had digitate hydroids in my tanks and have never had any problems. I have a bunch of them right now in my sps tank and have seen no bad side effects as of yet.
There is too many for me to sit there and siphon each and every single one out so I just leave them be.

I do try to keep my clams clear from them but other than that I have corals right next to or very close to them.

 

[impur]

Just wanted to update this a bit. I noticed 2 digitate hydroids about 5 inches long in my tank last night. I had previously rid my only known one by supergluing all around the rock. Luckily is was in a small rock with a few zoos attached. I tried a 10 min RO/iodine dip with no effect. Of the 2 i saw last night, one was brushing up against a small SPS frag that recently started growing well. Since i saw it touch the frag last night the coral has not extended polyps. I don't see any damage, but this is abnormal for that frag. I'm going to try the kalk paste this weekend.

 

[JollyGreen]

I too have had the digitate hydroids for the last 3-5 months, setup my tank about a year ago. Anyway, they definitely grow fast in my tank, and they do sting my corals. Xenia don't seem to be bothered by them, but I have a acropora millepora which gets stung by them and at the very least they cause it to receed when stung. I also have a torch coral that get stung by them and it also receeds when stung

Whenever I see them in the tank near a coral I immediately tweezer them out, so I'm not sure if prolonged stings kill tissue, but I don't want to find out, maybe someone with more money can do that test.

I bought a peppermint trying to get rid of these things and it appears to have not touched any of them, and I don't think it's bothered any corals either. I might try another one this weekend, some people say some peppermints eat hydroids/aiptasia and some don't.

I'll probably try the coral beauty too, but probably sometime in January.

I am definitely putting these on the harmful side!

JG

 

[SDguy]

I have these in my tank. They definitely irritate zoa's, making them close, and making their skirts shrink. A new tricolor A. valida frag shows tissue recession at the exact point where a digitate hydroid was touching it. Maybe coincidence, but I'm not thinking it is. I'm still weighing my options, as to how I will control these things.