Soft hydroids

[RokleM]

I've searched here and on other various sites. Does anyone have a fix for the soft (not hard colonial) hydroids that like to stick directly onto zoa's? I've seen a few reports of possible fixes including melafix, but nothing conclusive.

They are all encrusted frags on disks, so easily removed and treated individually.

Manual removal is not an option. I've done that a couple times and they just come back.

I have melafix, revive, hydrogen peroxide, RO/DI (obviously), and can acquire anything else.

[MUCHO REEF]

Wow, sorry to hear that. Are they fantail or polyp like in structure?

Does it appear to be anywhere in this link?

http://www.google.com/search?q=hydro...w&ved=0CBgQsAQ

I have a link somewhere on a cure I read some time ago, I will have to go search and find it.

Also, Fenbendazole, not sure of the spelling, has been used to kill them, but this stuff is very potent and I wouldn't go near it personally.

http://reeftools.com/news/how-to-kill-hydroids/#

I have never had Hydroids but there was something on line somewhere that I read about eradicating them. Geesh, where was it? Will try and find it.

Good luck, sorry I couldn't help more.


Mucho Reef

[RokleM]

Snapped a shot. Some zoa's (like these) are mildly affected, some are mostly closed.

[olemiss reb]

peppermint shrimp will control them. I had them pretty bad in my pipefish tank which gets multiple daily feedings of cyclopeeze and ova causing hyroid numbers to explode. I removed the 12 line wrasse from the tank and added a few pepps. The pepps went to town on the hydroids. They are still in the tank but the numbers are drastically diminished. Zoas are not irritated anymore.

These were mine--

[RokleM]

That might be worth a try if no one has an out of tank treatment. I can easily get a couple shrimp. Thanks for that info.

Anyone else?

[MUCHO REEF]

Wow, you learn something new everyday, I didn't know Peps would knock of droids. Great post ole miss.

As with any treatment, and I'm sure you already know this, I would manually remove as many as much/many of the droids as possible. If Ole Miss is correct, and I'm sure he is, I'd shoot for a couple of peps and see. Or, remove a small rock with hydroids on them to a small tank or bowl for half a day and place a pep or two inside and see what happens. Just a thought as I hate adding any chemicals if there a predator that will do the work for me.

Either way, good luck and please share the results. I'm gonna save this thread for future reference.

Mucho

[olemiss reb]

Might as well add, these are the zoas today after having pepps in the tank since March. i honestly thought the hydroids were going to wipe them out--


Before adding pepps, I read that Pteraeolidia ianthina, blue dragon nudi, dine exclusively on hydroids however they seem impossible to obtain outside of the Singapore area.

I also read that giant keyhole limpets, Megathura crenulata, would eat them.

[MikeandNicole]

I have used melafix in the past as a dip to help control them with manual removal (tweezers). I just realized though mine disappeared right around the time I tossed several peps into the tank.

[RokleM]

Added three small pepp's yesterday as well as doing a 20x recommended dip via Revive on one of the frags. We'll see how it goes.

[The Escaped Ape]

I'm having real problems battling a different sort of hydroid right now, the Myrionema variety. Adding a couple of Pteraeolidia ianthina seems to have nothing to help. Occasionally they look like they might be nibbling on the hydroids, but they've had no impact on the coverage. Physical removal is only good for a few days - it's astounding how quickly they grow back.

Finding it very difficult to get hold of Peppermint shrimp in Japan right now, but I wonder if they'd also have a go at Myronemia? Otherwise I might have to banish the affected rocks to the unlit sump for as long as possible and hope that I can keep them under control that way (might be difficult for the rocks with both coral and hydroids though).

For info (not my photo), here is what Myrionema look like.

[RokleM]

Hard to tell by the picture, but those look visibly much larger than the ones I have. IF peppermints do indeed work for the small ones, they might not work for the large ones. Just like aptasia, once they get big the peppermints may not go anywhere near it.

[A. Grandis]

Try to suck them out when you do water changes, using the tweezers to help.
That way the adults are removed and the shrimps can get the new born ones.

Grandis.

[The Escaped Ape]

Originally Posted by RokleM

Hard to tell by the picture, but those look visibly much larger than the ones I have. IF peppermints do indeed work for the small ones, they might not work for the large ones. Just like aptasia, once they get big the peppermints may not go anywhere near it.

Thank you. I'm looking into other options now (apparently ZeoSpur2 has the side effect of getting rid of them), but will be trying to get a couple of Peppermint shrimp as well for some aiptasia I've got, so I'll also see if they have a go at the hydroids (which are pretty small btw).

[RokleM]

Originally Posted by A. Grandis

Try to suck them out when you do water changes, using the tweezers to help.
That way the adults are removed and the shrimps can get the new born ones.

Grandis.

They're very small and physically attached to the zoa's. Any suction would grab the zoa's as well. I will however use tweezers in addition to the pepp's and see how the combo works.

Originally Posted by The Escaped Ape

Thank you. I'm looking into other options now (apparently ZeoSpur2 has the side effect of getting rid of them), but will be trying to get a couple of Peppermint shrimp as well for some aiptasia I've got, so I'll also see if they have a go at the hydroids (which are pretty small btw).

I have an opinion of the entire ZeoVit product line, but I will keep that to myself That being said, I'll look at that product and see what it claims to do and how the side effects may work in our favor.

[The Escaped Ape]

Originally Posted by RokleM

I have an opinion of the entire ZeoVit product line, but I will keep that to myself That being said, I'll look at that product and see what it claims to do and how the side effects may work in our favor.

Yeah, I know where you're coming from. I wouldn't be buying it for any reason other than to get rid of the hydroids, as I don't run the ZeoVit system. I'm hoping it wouldn't have a detrimental effect on the tank to dose it a couple of times, which apparently should be enough to get rid of them.

Right now I'm ready to try anything.

[Falcao]

be very careful with pulling them off in the tank. If you leave little pieces in the tank I would assume it will spread.

[RokleM]

Looking at that zeo product, looks like it goes through stages of killing a certain percentage of zooxanthellae, allowing for the "pastel sps" look.

[The Escaped Ape]

Originally Posted by RokleM

Looking at that zeo product, looks like it goes through stages of killing a certain percentage of zooxanthellae, allowing for the "pastel sps" look.

Yes, I saw that too. It's making me hesitate, as it apparently therefore puts quite a lot of strain on LPS in the tank.

[RokleM]

Luckily exclusive zoa's right now (and inverts/fish).

[A. Grandis]

Originally Posted by RokleM

They're very small and physically attached to the zoa's. Any suction would grab the zoa's as well. I will however use tweezers in addition to the pepp's and see how the combo works.
...

I meant to suck far from the polyps. Turn off all pumps and siphon after removing them with the tweezers, from their bases, or at least close to their bases. That should prevent them to spread. If you can find a fine tweezers that should be great!

Grandis.

[Jarred1]

What causes hydroids to appear in the reef tank; do they come on a frag or do they come when perimeters are out of line?

[RokleM]

Bayer bug treatment MIGHT be the answer. I dipped one colony before I left SC. I will see how it's doing when I get back.

However, do not rush out and do this without major reading. This is super nasty stuff and apparently attacks the nervous system. You have to rinse very well before it enters the tank again. 1ml in 1/4 gallon of water and a 3" bristle was going into what I could only describe as an "invert seizure".... violently twitching and folding on itself like I've never seen (which isn't a surprise given it's attacking the nervous system).

[MUCHO REEF]

Any updates?

[RokleM]

Bayer did indeed have an impact on them, however did not eradicate. I have been traveling, so I tried a dip on the other frags I hadn't dipped yet last weekend and will continue to monitor their progress.

My hunch is a mixture of dip and manual will be the eventual fix.

[impur]

Any update on this?