Colonial hydroids (tons of feather dusters)

[Aslan]

I have a colonial hydroid problem. They are popping out everywhere.

Tank has been up for two years. It is a 65g.

What is the best solution for this? Biological?

I already am keeping peppermint shrimp and emerald crabs. Also keep a variety of corals incase there is a non reef safe solution like panacur.

Thanks.

[jtma508]

I'm confused. Aren't colonial hydroids and tube worms (feather dusters) two entirely different animals (Cnidaria as opposed to Polychaetes)?

[JEFFR259]

Well, if you're referring to the mini-looking featherduster guys (.5 in diameter) that pop up in the LR (atleast in my tank anyways), I had a nice colony that disappeared a couple days after adding some blue-legged hermit crabs. I suspect they snacked on them as I saw some of the crabs on the rock around the time they all disappeared.

Don't know for sure if that was the reason they went away, but seems like it to me.

Give 'em a try!

[stingythingy45]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12965300#post12965300 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jtma508
I'm confused. Aren't colonial hydroids and tube worms (feather dusters) two entirely different animals (Cnidaria as opposed to Polychaetes)?

You're right,Hydroids are very different from mini-feather dusters for sure.Hydroids grow together in a colonies and bother corals(i believe they sting).
Feather dusters remove free floating detritus and food.Many consider them an important part of a tank's CUC.

[Aslan]

So I'm the one that is confused. No surprise there.

I have hundreds of tiny feather dusters and want to get rid of them. A few are cool but when they're everywhere it's kinda lame. Plus now that my wife nows they are a worm she hates them.

Should I try the blue legs?

[stuccodude]

i have blue legged hermits and i have colonies just like you explain and my hermits dont touch them. i have them everywhere in my fuge which i geuss is good but now there in my display. im following this thread for ideas.

[jph]

nothing seems to touch them. and they will speard... slowly but surely ;) at least in my tank they do.

i have tossed a few "small" rocks in RO/DI water for 24 hours, and that pretty much killed everything on the rock, including the hydroids.

on the bigger rocks that i can not (do not want to) take out of the tank, i'm using the two part "putty" like aquamend. i just covered them up, and i plan to keep them covered for at least a month before i remove it from the rock to see if they are dead.


J.

[singold]

I'm having the same problem with these things also. They replicate quickly growing like weeds. I have a medium sized rock in particular that probably has 30+ of these on it. I'd like to know how to rid of them, as well.

[stingythingy45]

I think they're cool........worm or not.
Besides they do help filter excess nutrients from the water.

[Aslan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12967549#post12967549 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by singold
I'm having the same problem with these things also. They replicate quickly growing like weeds. I have a medium sized rock in particular that probably has 30+ of these on it. I'd like to know how to rid of them, as well.

30 would be nice. I have rocks with hundreds of them on it. I probably have 1000+ in my 30g. They cover rocks with there tubes. I tried leaving the tank empty with just the crabs and shrimp for 6 weeks, added no food, didn't stop there growth.

My nitrate and phosphates are both 0. I do water changes. I can't figure it out.

I suck at photography but here is a shot.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s306/pledosophy/IMG_0925.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s306/pledosophy/IMG_0927.jpg

[jph]

those do not look like hydroids

[StephenInVa]

I had these in a 10 gallon nano. Could not get rid of them for the life of me. They just kept spreading and spreading. Until that is the rocks met the steamer. Lost a mushroom that I cut off one of the rocks but unfortunately it was worth it to rid the tank of these things. Funny thing... The emerald crab in the tank wouldn't touch these when they were alive. After the rocks were placed back in the tank the first thing he/she went for were the remaining tubes they lived in. Guess he/she likes their seafood steamed. :)

[tetra-tag]

I have no direct experience, but I have read that the population of featherdusters and other commensal filter feeders is related to the amount of available food-reduce the amount of nutrients available and their population will follow. Add a refugium if you don't already have one, in hopes that macro algae (chaetomorpha) will scavenge the excess nutrients feeding the fanworm bloom.

If you have a sufficiently large tank, the copper-banded butterfly fish (Chelmon rostratus) and some species of wrasse (six banded?) will reportedly (Shimek) prey on polychaetes. Same goes for the arrow crab, but I believe they will also impact your beneficial bristleworm population or other desirable invertebrates.
Perhaps try to induce the fanworms to abandon their tubes by way of a dip in hypo-saline or CO2 enriched water, then transfer them to another tank and allow them to re-establish on chunks of live-rock rubble. Then SELL them to others not blessed with the same tank diversity.

Personally, I would try to keep them so long as they aren't bothering corals.