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Hydroids????

3K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Alice 
#1 ·
Since adding a couple of pound of live sand to my 45 about two months ago I have noticed a population or what look like hydra on my glass. They are maybe .5 - 1.0mm and appear to have eight to ten arms that each branch into two additional arms. Under 40x magnification they appear to have a primitive circulation system. Should I be concerned or happy. Any guesses or help would be appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I did a search on www.reefs.org and there were about 13 threads listed there, you might want to try that. I looked in my references here at home and saw no mention of the larval stage of hydra, only the fixed stage where they grow in, generally, brown fluffy, fast spreading clumps. They have a nasty sting and unless there's been some new research done, not much eats them. Hand removal is your best option but gloves might be a good idea as some species are potent enough to sting humans.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

~Alice

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Reefkeeping is my life; I can't afford a hobby too!
 
#4 ·
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).]
 
#5 ·
Hey,

A side note on the sting of these little buggers......I was snorkeling off of Lanai a few months ago and ran into a huge mass of these guys. It felt like I instantly had painful Poison Ivy over my entire body. I could see them in the water and swam for shelter over the reef.......for some reason, they stayed away from the reef. I itched for about an hour after getting out of the water.

Have a good one......
 
#6 ·
Wow! Thanks for the first hand info guys.
PITA, indeed!

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Reefkeeping is my life; I can't afford a hobby too!

[This message has been edited by Alice (edited 12-04-2000).]
 
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