Aptasia remover

[Brighteyes_13]

So the tank is up and running nicely. i have found what i call my problem rock tho. it has a few heads of aptasia on it, the largest being just over an inch. it also has what i think are colonial hydroids (little round brow puffballs connected by a brown thread looking thing?) When i went to the fishstore today for the aptasia he recommended a product called "tailored aquatics aptasia destroyer"

its aparently a high concentration calcium mix powder liquified and applied directly to the aptasia (he also said it may work on the hydroids?)

has anyone used this before? and if so anything i should watch out for?
and in all honesty... do you think it will work on the hydroids?

and lastly... anyone have a method to get rid of the hydroids? ive tried looking it up on the site, but short from letting the rock die seems like theres not much positive info available other than it sucks.

[Slick Fork]

If it's only on the one rock (not likely, I know) I would just kill off the rock. You will have far less brain damage and headache if you air dry the rock now, while you're still in the setup stage then you will if you try to fight these pests with half measures until they drive you insane.

[Delphinus]

With aiptasia, you can try that product (I've never heard of it, but hey it's worth a try, right?), or Joe's Juice, or do what I do, and use kalk.

But. !! Here's the catch, what I suggest, is go to U.F.A. and buy a syringe or two, and a nice stout needle. Use the needle to inject the aptasia (be quick - they retreat pretty past). If you're using kalk, be sure to inject the kalk goo at the bottom of the jar, and not just the kalk water itself (that's just a spicy meal). Using kalk (and particularly using the powder residue I get at the bottom when mixing up the kalk), I've had pretty decent success of permanent removal. The only exceptions being when I've basically "missed" getting the needle into the anemone. Then they come back after a week or two and I have to try again.

However ...

Hydroids... ugh, yeah, you're almost better off doing what Slick Fork has suggested and just take the rock out. Try drying the rock or try powerwashing it.

If it's just a small patch, you can try some underwater epoxy and smothering them. There's a pretty good chance they'll find a way around it though, especially if there are lots of them.

I tried CC stars to rid my rock of them, but they didn't do the trick.

[Brighteyes_13]

thanks for the replys... yeah the rock is pretty infested.. i think i will just remove it.

if i find further small patches of hydroids... well it may end up more difficult but for now that sounds like a good idea.

[fkshiu]

Either a hammer/chisel or a propane torch should take care of the hydroids while saving the rest of the rock that you paid all that hard earned money for.

[Brighteyes_13]

hehe, anyone in the calgary area got a propane torch they can bring by???

[Delphinus]

Have you actually tried torching them? I've been tempted, but have never actually tried it.

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Either a hammer/chisel or a propane torch should take care of the hydroids while saving the rest of the rock that you paid all that hard earned money for.

[kwirky]

one guy used a soldering torch like you buy at Canadian Tire or The Source (radioscrap). They're tiny and usually about like $10.

for aiptasia I used joe's juice to kill individual polyps and it kept them under control. I turned off my pumps for 15 minutes before hand, then completely smothered them in joe's juice. left the pumps off for another 15 minutes... sucked out the joe's juice with a big syringe taking the majority of the aiptasia polyp guts with it. Sucking out the aiptasia guts with the joe's juice afterwards is the important step, along with leaving the pumps off so you're not spreading aiptasia and joe's juice all over your tank.

worked well for me

but hydroids I never had so don't know how to deal with those

[mark]

Wondering about the touch method as well. Going to be pulling apart my tank to get the fish out so really thinking of hitting the hydroids while the rocks out.

Did try the kalk paste on them, I'm sure I heard them laughing.

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Have you actually tried torching them? I've been tempted, but have never actually tried it.

Done the hammer and chisel thing before, but never the torch thing (yet). Saw a couple guys on RC do it complete with pictures. Apparently it stunk to high heaven but it worked and the rest of the rock was fine.

I would imagine that properly cooking the rock (i.e. with frequent water changes and over the course of months) would work to but that would take a long time.