Yellow Hydroid Removal Need Advice

[windyridge]

So last year I bought what I thought were yellow polyps only to discover that they were yellow hydroids. They are really neat looking and so far haven't stung anything but are growing on this one rock really quickly and look like they will take over the tank eventually. I want to take this rock out (the largest in my tank unfortunately) and kill them. What is the best way to do this and then do I have to recure the rock? They are on about a third of the rock. I will take the rock out, remove the one coral that is on it and then can I just blast them with bleach and hope I don't destroy all the beneficial bacteria in the rock? BUt then I have to make sure all the bleach is gone from the rock so it looks like everything will die on the rock. Too bad half my other rocks are balancing on this one. :hammer:

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Any attempt made to kill them in-system yet? You could try the classic move of covering them with a blanket of epoxy putty...

If you take the rock out I'd assume you're starting over with it. I'd go for an acid bath then a long soak in tapwater with lanthanum to deal with phosphate from the die off, changing the water until it stabilized.

 

[windyridge]

They are too widespread and epoxy makes my skimmer go nuts. I will go the rock removal route. By acid do you mean vinegar and how long should it soak in the bath? What proportion vinegar to water? Where do I get lanthanum and for how long? Do you remember seeing the hyroids when you came over last?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

how about a picture of what you're dealing with?

 

[windyridge]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2102293&page=3 post number 60. That's how it started, now it covers the whole front of that rock and has a few starting on the rock below. And post # 65 5 months later. Post #74 2 months ago.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

those aren't Hydroids

those aren't Hydroids

as far as I know they're related to Parazoanthus and Epizoanthus.

Names aside, I would consider them desirable and they don't thrive unless fed.
I would take the whole rock out and trade/sell. No sense in killing them.
If I were closer I'd do a trade!

 

[windyridge]

Hmmm well the problem is they spread like crazy as you can see. The only way I keep them from creeping into another coral is to pluck them out with a heamostat. This is not easy though. Maybe I will reconsider given what you said. They are pretty and flow nicely but when I looked them up they were listed as BAD, probably because they are so invasive, like Aptaisa. They are just hard to control.

Spencerport isn't that far, I can meet you half way? :lolspin:

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

these polyps are easily controlled IME.

In fact, I have a difficult time getting these polyps to thrive in my own reef aquarium simply because they need food... and my fishes don't like to share

I would do an even trade rock for rock but I don't travel much nowadays. I'm sure you can find someone closer to you that would be interested in these!

 

[windyridge]

<sigh> anyone interested? Maybe I will do a separate post. I am about an hour south of Syracuse and would meet anyone halfway.

So then it is not a hydroid?And I have to exercise due diligence handling (which I have been doing as I thought they were zoanthids initially).

This sure looks like them: http://animal-world.com/Aquarium-Coral-Reefs/Yellow-Polyps but they look exactly like the hydroid pic I saw.

The funny thing is, my other zoos don't grow at all. I've had the same number of each of the 4 kinds I have for a year now.