Branching Hydroids

[Bengals888]

Hi,

Fellow R2R member helped me to ID. I could not find that much info on these other than they
are stinging type jelly fish and hard to irradicate?

I have tossed out lot of live rock already. Before I tossed out, I did a super hot water with vinegar soak for 20 minutes. The hydroids came back in full force.

Branching Hydroids and Aiptasia. Aiptasia-X bottle is almost empty. I am ready to give up now since funds are no longer available.

Is the only option to toss out sand and all live rock. Nuke the tank with fenbendazole?

There is nothing that will eat branching hydroids?

It is a 25 gallon AIO, can be done, just a lot of work. In your experience, how would you tackle this.

I had mixed caribsea dry rock and LFS live rock mix. The dry rocks never started coralline algae on them. Been almost 2 years now. I use a single AI Prime HD. That is not my concern though.

All water parameters check out. Phosphate is a little high. I use phosguard, carbon, and purigen.
RO/DI. Always have diatom on sandbed. I have not upgrade my RO/DI yet, still using the
RO buddie and replaced all filters. The DI stage is now the BRS DI unit.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I wish I had a better article on fenzo.
I have had other reports that it didnt fully nuke the tank.

Another option is to try to starve them. coral snow. It binds organics. Use it and keep the sump and chambers as clean as you can

Def Check the tds for silicates.
Gfo will help pull the silicate.

 

[BenitaSolo]

I just dosed my tank with fendbendazole to get rid of branching hydroids. I lost a bunch of GSP and 2 toadstools. I did not lose the 1 astrea snail I didn’t take out or any of my mini brittle stars. I did not think the toadstools would die. Pretty bummed about it.
I have other soft corals. Know that your Xenia, gsp and toadstool, gorgonians, anthelia, most snails, and most star fish will die.

OH AND I SHOULD MENTION... the hydroids didn’t all die. I will be trying again. Literally none of the other corals missed a beat. I would dose again if I weren’t battling dinoflagellates at the same time... ugh

Also are you from Cincinnati? Basing that one your name...

 

[Bengals888]

Sorry I was not clear. I meant if I nuked the tank, I would remove all sea life. Just nuking tank.

My concern was it is also in the sand. So its like either tossing out all rocks and sand, nuking empty tank to start all over which is costly.

Not doing anything, the stuff keeps growing in numbers.

Thanks, my TDS reads zero. I don’t think silicates show up on TDS meter?

Good to know the fenzo didn’t do the job.
Honestly, I soaked the wavemaker that was full of hydroids in 100% peroxide. Used a bottle brush to remove it. The stuff just came back!

Tired of the AIO sump area, it is near impossible to clean certain areas of chambers. Hoping to switch to sump type system some day.

 

[Bengals888]

So if I moved all sealife from the AIO and starved them out for like 30 days? Would they still come back when food/waste is re-introduced in the tank?

I don’t know how hydroids reproduce, once dead, stay dead? lol

I have learned critters in marine life don’t stay dead especially the nasty ones.

 

[Mikedawg]

Assuming you are going to remove all living things from your tank, you can use bleach to kill hydroids 100% and then use Sodium Thiosulfate to neutralize the bleach.

 

[BenitaSolo]

So if I moved all sealife from the AIO and starved them out for like 30 days? Would they still come back when food/waste is re-introduced in the tank?

I don’t know how hydroids reproduce, once dead, stay dead? lol

I have learned critters in marine life don’t stay dead especially the nasty ones.

What's the tank stocking list? I am having a hard time understanding the resistance to the fish bendozole. Did you read through the 'mega' thread here on reef2reef? I will be trying again. Don't bleach your rock. That's dumb. You can use fenbendozole and save the biodiversity on the rock.

You don't really mention the hydroids impact on the tank. Do you have any fish? Some say you can starve the hydroids out by making sure they don't get any food from broadcast feeding. Turn the pumps off when you feed, feed less and don't broadcast feed.

"Always have diatom on sandbed" Could you be dealing with dinoflagellates? I don;t see how your PO4 could be high if you're running those phosguard and purigen. What's your PO4 and what are you using to test it?

 

[WV Reefer]

Do you have any pictures of the hydroids?

 

[BenitaSolo]

Do you have any pictures of the hydroids?

Do you want to see branching hydroids in general or his branching hydroids?
Here are mine:
https://imgur.com/F0ddDoq
https://imgur.com/J70vjo8
https://imgur.com/tnUp5lv

 

[WV Reefer]

Do you want to see branching hydroids in general or his branching hydroids?
Here are mine:
https://imgur.com/F0ddDoq
https://imgur.com/J70vjo8
https://imgur.com/tnUp5lv

I know what they look like. I want to see the OP’s hydroids.

 

[Bengals888]

Hi,

Pics attached. Please confirm they are BH.
The heads don’t look the same, although they might not have matured?

I had skunk shrimp, peppermin shrimp. Various snails. Tuxedo urchin and Yellow Corris Wrasse.
I said I had because I screwed up with cleaning the sump, had enough peroxide to kill the shrimp :-(
I have a frogspawn, duncan and star polyp.

I am avoiding meds since others have said it does not wipe them out. I rather remove all livestock if I went that route.

Hence soaking rocks as first measure so not sure why that is dumb.

They covered the rocks so I tossed out quite a few.

 

[Bengals888]

I use API test kit. Reads .5-1 for phosphate.
I’m trying acurel phosogate pads.

I don’t see the clear flower like stems sticking out of the center on mine. If not BH, what are they?

 

[WV Reefer]

Thanks for the pic. They look similar to the ones that I had in my 12 Gallon. It really is a food issue. If you stop “feeding” them they will go away. Mine were growing on and around the Corals. I would have to tweeze them off to keep them from stinging the Corals. Some Corals didn’t mind them but a few did.

(Just for reference since you are concerned about your parameters, I run a natural system with no skimmer and no filters. My phosphate levels would keep most reefers up at night.)

I don’t think it’s your parameters..... just clean up your feeding schedule. Scrape them off of the equipment and walls, get as many as you can and then go on a strict feeding schedule. If you feed the Corals, stop until you get it under control. Mine have never been back.

 

[BenitaSolo]

Thanks for the pic. They look similar to the ones that I had in my 12 Gallon. It really is a food issue. If you stop “feeding” them they will go away. Mine were growing on and around the Corals. I would have to tweeze them off to keep them from stinging the Corals. Some Corals didn’t mind them but a few did.

(Just for reference since you are concerned about your parameters, I run a natural system with no skimmer and no filters. My phosphate levels would keep most reefers up at night.)

I don’t think it’s your parameters..... just clean up your feeding schedule. Scrape them off of the equipment and walls, get as many as you can and then go on a strict feeding schedule. If you feed the Corals, stop until you get it under control. Mine have never been back.

That's an easy concept in a small tank. It's a bit of a stretch in a heavily stocked large tank! Aynway, I think I'll try it. About how long until you noticed the hydroids started to disappear?

 

[BenitaSolo]

Hi,

Pics attached. Please confirm they are BH.
The heads don’t look the same, although they might not have matured?

I had skunk shrimp, peppermin shrimp. Various snails. Tuxedo urchin and Yellow Corris Wrasse.
I said I had because I screwed up with cleaning the sump, had enough peroxide to kill the shrimp :-(
I have a frogspawn, duncan and star polyp.

I am avoiding meds since others have said it does not wipe them out. I rather remove all livestock if I went that route.

Hence soaking rocks as first measure so not sure why that is dumb.

They covered the rocks so I tossed out quite a few.

There are definitely more stories of success with fendbendozole than failures. It may take multiple attempts or even mulitiple methods but there is very little to risk... in your case some GSP and maybe some snails...
The hydroids have several life stages and don't necessarily spend all of these live stages on the rock. All soaking the rock does is kill everything on it. You'r saying you don't want to nuke the tank. How is soaking some rock and throwing other rock away not nuking the tank? Looking at the one pic you posted your hydroids are prolific and everywhere at this point.

Have you read the Hydroids thread yet?

 

[Bengals888]

That is exactly why I tossed some of the rocks out. Cleaned the wavemaker and tank walls, sump.

Nuking the tank is what you did with the fend while having your livestock in the tank. You stated it did not rid you of the BH. So you saying using fend does not wipe the live rock? Of course dosage matters

I have read that hydroid thread, its either the fend meds or bumping up the water temp.

I have already cut back on feeding drastically.

 

[WV Reefer]

That's an easy concept in a small tank. It's a bit of a stretch in a heavily stocked large tank! Aynway, I think I'll try it. About how long until you noticed the hydroids started to disappear?

I would rather work in my 75 Gallon than the small reef any day!........it’s a 12 Gallon long so it's only 8” front to back.

The hydroids have to eat from the water column, so just “clean it up”. Target feed all the fish so that there is no wasted food. Turn off the pumps so that the food isn’t blowing around the tank.

Keep powerheads and glass clean of hydroids.Not a lot of work at all in a large tank or a small tank...... these are things most people do regularly anyway in regards to general maintenance.

Each week I noticed fewer and fewer hydroids.

 

[BenitaSolo]

That is exactly why I tossed some of the rocks out. Cleaned the wavemaker and tank walls, sump.

Nuking the tank is what you did with the fend while having your livestock in the tank. You stated it did not rid you of the BH. So you saying using fend does not wipe the live rock? Of course dosage matters

I have read that hydroid thread, its either the fend meds or bumping up the water temp.

I have already cut back on feeding drastically.

So you took rock out, scrubbed everything and they still came back?

Adding a Medication than targets a small amount in the live stock is nowhere near nuking the tank or rock. Pods? Unaffected. Algae? unaffected. LPS? Unaffected. Zoas, SPS, hermits, coraline, fish, anemones? Unaffected. Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria? Unaffected.
Soaking rock in vinegar water? Ummm. The rock will soak and hold the vinegar. Throwing the rock away??! I have way too much growing on the rock to even consider throwing it away.

Was I 100% successful, no. Not this try. I would say I knocked down about 50% of them. It’s a start. Plenty of other have been successful. My psuedo successful experience doesn’t me much. Maybe I didn’t mix it well enough. Maybe I weighted it wrong. Who knows....

Do what you want. Bendozole works. Throwing your walk away will also work.
I’m going to take my 50% reduction and work on target feeding the fish and not feeding any of the coral. Maybe it’ll help.

 

[BenitaSolo]

I would rather work in my 75 Gallon than the small reef any day!........it’s a 12 Gallon long so it's only 8” front to back.

The hydroids have to eat from the water column, so just “clean it up”. Target feed all the fish so that there is no wasted food. Turn off the pumps so that the food isn’t blowing around the tank.

Keep powerheads and glass clean of hydroids.Not a lot of work at all in a large tank or a small tank...... these are things most people do regularly anyway in regards to general maintenance.

Each week I noticed fewer and fewer hydroids.

Thanks for the tips! I’m going to continue to target feed and observe. Your successful experience gives me hope !!
Oh I agree 100% on working in my big tank vs little tank on everything except dealing with pests.

 

[Bengals888]

Thanks for the tips! I’m going to continue to target feed and observe. Your successful experience gives me hope !!
Oh I agree 100% on working in my big tank vs little tank on everything except dealing with pests.

Hi,

Did you try another round of Fend? Did it help at all?
What was your dosage? 1/8 teaspoon per 10 gallon?

Have you seen any reduction in yours?