View Full Version : Hydroid advice.
JoeVandal49
04/06/2015, 08:55 PM
So i have hydroids. They are similar if not identical to those pictured below.
http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/hydroids2.jpg
I have had two colonies of these on my rock work since day one of starting my reef, so almost a year now. The colonies have remained relatively the same size as far as head counts are concerned, but the individuals themselves have grown in size over the year. They have flexable, but hard tubes that remind me of wire insulation.
I actually quite like them. They glow under actinics etc.
All year i thought they were some sort of tube worm and never gave them a second thought until i stumbled upon a couple horror threads by accident.
So heres the question, These two colonies don't appear to be the extremely invasive type, as they have spread very slowly. Do I nuke them from orbit, or live and let live?
My major concern is i have notices a few colonies formin in other areas of my rock work. The colonies range from 1-3 heads, and they also seem to be extremely slow growing. They are about the size of the end of a ball point pen, and have seemed to remain that size for months since discovering them.
Opinions? Advice?
Thanks RC!
JoeVandal49
04/07/2015, 09:37 AM
Anyone dealt with these before?
KSU_WILDCAT
04/07/2015, 10:37 AM
I have a colony or two on a few rocks and was curious as well what action I need to take.
acrohead500ppm
04/07/2015, 10:39 AM
Putty or superglue smother them, kalk paste wont kill them.
cloak
04/07/2015, 10:39 AM
If they're not bothering anything right now then you can go ahead and keep them. Just take into consideration that these horror stories that you've read probably started out the same way yours does. A few polyps here and there and then Boom! Definitely keep an eye on them. If you ever want to get rid of them you could try and smother them with some epoxy. It would be like putting small pieces of of chewed gum over the polyps. GL.
JoeVandal49
04/07/2015, 02:44 PM
If they're not bothering anything right now then you can go ahead and keep them. Just take into consideration that these horror stories that you've read probably started out the same way yours does. A few polyps here and there and then Boom! Definitely keep an eye on them. If you ever want to get rid of them you could try and smother them with some epoxy. It would be like putting small pieces of of chewed gum over the polyps. GL.
Well i have not heard horror stories of this particular variety yet, so that's why im asking for clarity. If these are going to become an issue down the line, i want them gone now.
This variety, with the growth rate so far over the course of about a year, i could easily keep these in check just by plucking them with tweezers every 6 months if they do indeed maintain their rate of growth.
I guess the concern would be wether or not these will maintain the same growth rate they have had over the course of a year.
Like i said, these colonies existed on my rock since day one of my tank setup and have not noticibly increased in the size of their population, just the size of the individual heads has grown. Im sure they have multiplied some, but not anything that is noticable. The pics i took of the colonies a year ago, look almost the exact same size as far as area of coverage is concerned.
The take up an area about the size of a quarter.
JoeVandal49
04/07/2015, 02:53 PM
Putty or superglue smother them, kalk paste wont kill them.
I would think with the growth rate so far of this variety, plucking with Tweezers would probably be the best course of action if i decide to remove them?
They are in highly visible areas of the tank and i am OCD with the display, so im not sure i could deal with looking at superglue or putty, even if only temporary.
Ill probably let them live for the time being unless i get a first hand account of this variety causeing issues long term.
So far all of the horror stories i have seen and read about have had pictures of different types of colonies. This type seems to have very little relevant discussion about. Most the info i have seen is about the very bad fast growing type of colonial hydroids which have different stocks then the ones i have, or the really long white stringy forms that seem to come and go in some peoples systems.
I would be greatly interested in any direct experience with this particular form.
JoeVandal49
04/09/2015, 05:56 PM
Anyone else dealt with these particular Hydroids?
Wonton Soup
04/09/2015, 06:20 PM
The hydroids in the picture at the top of the thread look larger than the ones I typically see in tanks but it's true that, in general, they are very invasive. They sting most corals to death and few things eat them.
In my experience, the best method for annihilation is to pull rocks that are colonized from the tank and use tweezers to dig out all remnants of each hydroid from where they adhere to the rock. I've even gone to the extent of using a magnifying glass to be sure I get every single piece of them.
Obviously you can't always pull rocks to get rid of hydroids but even if there are a few that you can pull this way it will slow their exponential growth.
Also, putty/epoxy
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