hydriods

ScubaGirl · #1 07-17-2011, 01:36 AM

Not too worried about jumpers. We have a pexiglass cover that covers almost the whole tank. We did it when we were under construction and just never took it off. Seems to be working ok. Our trigger is a jumper but he has been kept in so far (knock on wood).

Thanks for all your advice and encouragement. I needed "the boost". Much appreciated!

monocus · #2 07-17-2011, 03:58 AM

it looks like you have aptasia-nothing like my hydroids.i'm getting upside down jelly fish from mine.the end of the stalk(pollup) pulses on mine.they eventually break off and i get upside down jellyfish.try prodding the head.if it retracts into itself you have aptasia

Delphinus · #3 07-17-2011, 04:14 AM

The third picture in particular (the side profile), there's no doubt those are hydroids. I guess some of the others could be small aiptasia but they don't usually stay small like that for very long and end up being unmistakably anemones (if they were). These look like the same hydroids I had. For what it's worth, they never really bothered anything but they just looked fugly. They started dwindling on their own after I added a potter's angel to my mix. Whether that's coincidence or not I can't say but I did read somewhere that pygmy angels might eat them. I'll see if I can find the link.

ScubaGirl · #4 07-17-2011, 03:46 PM

First thing I thought with the polyp things was aptasia too. However, they are growing outward (spreading) like a carpet on the most part. I definitely do have a few new aptasia though. I count 5 that are obvious. In the same time frame they individually have grown larger, maybe 2-3x the size of each of the little polyps you see in the pics and definitely retract. I haven't tried touching the little guys though. I am going in to clean all the powerheads, etc. before the blackout (for dinos) so I'll check it out and let you know. Maybe I'll grab a couple of pics of the aptasia too so it's easier to compare them against each other.

I'll look into the compatibility of the angel in my tank. I'd much rather have a nice looking fish control the issue than me have to deal with it manually.

waynemah · #5 07-17-2011, 03:55 PM

The hydroids I had looked alot like the 3rd pic as well. The stems are very firm. I was able to peel off carpet like pieces at a time.

ScubaGirl · #6 08-19-2011, 11:18 PM

Ok, dinos seem to be non-existent (once again, YAY!) so ready to attack the hydroids. Anyone with experience doing the epoxy? I have small patches of these on almost every rock in the tank. It will be an extensive job.
I'm full of questions:

Should I do one rock at a time or start replacing the live rock in my tank?
Doing one rock at a time will be a lengthy process and I will have to dismantle my whole rock work. Have any of you done this successfully? Any issues arise?
Should I do it over a couple of days for less trama to the live stock?
What brand of epoxy did you use?
How long to leave it outside the tank before returning it to the water?

Here we go for a ride on the crazy train, LOL.

ScubaGirl · #7 08-23-2011, 10:32 AM

Bump.

Thank you in advance!

gobytron · #8 08-23-2011, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monocus

it looks like you have aptasia-nothing like my hydroids.i'm getting upside down jelly fish from mine.the end of the stalk(pollup) pulses on mine.they eventually break off and i get upside down jellyfish.try prodding the head.if it retracts into itself you have aptasia

Those are hydroids for sure...
upside down jelly fish??

Hydroids will also retract when you touch their "crown"

I have tried every trick in the book to rid my tank of these as they do sting some corals and can grow prolifically.

NOTHING works though.
The epoxy trick might work if you have 1 localized patch of them but in my experience, they just grow through or around the epoxy in little time.
now I just suck it up.