Hydroids

I'm not sure if I have them, but this is a pic I found off of Google. I can't get my camera to focus on them.  They just started appearing on the glass about 2 weeks ago.  They are clear/white anemone jellyfish starfish, looking LOL.  And the only reason I said Hydroids is because a couple other people said that's what they thought they were.  I'm just needing more opinions. 

Edited by love2skiutah - December 06 2013 at 1:43pm

Looks like pods in that picture. Here is a more detailed picture of them.



They are a pain. I have heard stories of some success using "Blunt-End Sea Hare" (Dolabella Auricularia) as well as a very unlikely option of panacur(horse dewormer). I have never tried either of these but found lots of info about using both while researching it a year or so back trying to help a friend. I really hope they are just pods but that picture has me scared. Try taking a picture of them through a magnifying glass if you don't have a macro lense.

Those are not "pods" and I have never known them to be a problem. This is not hearsay, but my own experience with setting up many dozens of my own tanks. These show up in new tanks and usually disappear within a month or so after they appear. Here is a close up from one of my new tanks. I suspect they do well at first because of the early hatch of Copepods (a variety of which are seen near the hydroid in this pic) or some other early tank resident that dies back leaving these to die off too.
Aloha
Mark




Edited by Mark Peterson - December 06 2013 at 2:09pm

Seems I have Hydroids to but not the free swimming species but in colonies. As Kraze4acans said in my research as well the only thing that ate them was the blunt end sea hair. I'm not sure if it is reef safe though because I decided to try to manually remove them. And the horse dewormer to kill them off, but as he said is a very unlikely option and I would definitely do more research on the effects it could have on all your other tank friends. Sorry to hear you have these guys in your tank such a pain I feel ya though. Keep us updated

I think in small numbers they are not a problem but when the numbers get high they can cause damage to corals. Aaron your numbers are a little high but with it being early in the life of the tank you might not ever see a problem. You tend to run a ULNS and that does effect there ability to thrive. Once your system is running and your filtration is tuned you may not ever see them again.

Hydroid Jellies. I wish I had them in my tank too as I want to get a better photo of them than I currently have.

Note to self: Adam and Mike have hydroids in their tanks don't get frags from them. Lol

Totally just kidding, guys and me all the frags you want!

There are more than one type. Some appear to be pretty stationary and grow in clusters. Pretty easy to deal with because they grow in the same area. The other type are mobile and move around (this sounds like the type Aaron has) the mobile ones seam to be the bad ones that cause problems.

They are Staurocladia oahuensis (hydroids) and are common in most reef aquariums (I've had them in various tanks over the years...amazingly my current tanks are the only ones I've never seen them in.) Their population will wax and wane (like most other critters) with the nutrient levels. Usually aquarists will see a population boom for a couple months...then rarely see them again.

In a reef tank, they're usually not a problem (other species of hydroids cause problems to coral...these usually don't). However, they can be bad news to fish fry and seahorse tanks. If I remember correctly, Panacur is used to treat them, but it's pretty nasty stuff on inverts.

Long story short - I wouldn't worry. Enjoy them as part of your tank diversity.

Love the feedback guys. I really appreciate it.