MRIGUY,
I can tell you from personal experience that hydroids can be a PITA. My tank has been up since June and after two months I had an outbreak of hydroids. They reproduced quickly and (right in front of your eyes) if you cut one while removing. My experience was that they are: very mobile, sting any corals and nothing will eat them.
After a few weeks I refined my removal process. First, I engineered a turkey baster/credit card scrapper to remove any hydroids that I was lucky enough to have adhere to the glass or overflows. This way I could scrape and suck the little devils out of the tank - one quick movement. The trick is to leave nothing behind.
Second, is the Ca+ rich solution administered with a hypodermic needle. This is the "melting" process. Have a brine net ready because they would often release in an attempt to avoid the solution. Another suggestion is to apply a thick
kalk paste directly on the hydroid. I found the needle handy for tight places. If you have power heads in the tank remember to turn them OFF while hunting. There is nothing like have one hydroid turned into 4 or 5 after being sucked into a nearby PH.
Anyway, I kept this process up for a couple of weeks... I haven't seen any for the last month or two. If my coral could talk they would thank me.
Again, this is my only experience, but, the research I did at the time didn't lead to many options.
Good Luck,
NC
[This message has been edited by NorthCoast (edited 12-04-2000).]
PITA, indeed!
