Digitate Hydroids obsession

keithadaniels · Feb 2, 2014

[h=5]I need help getting rid of digitate hydroids (not colonial hydroids). My 29g biocube that is about 2.5 months old has many. This is my first saltwater tank.

I've tried boiling water in a syringe. That works but more are showing up and in spots I can't reach. I've read that lynx nudibranchs love them but can't find a place on the web that sells them. I've also heard of a product called Hydroxs (Hydroxs from FishNth). But have not been able to find any stories of people who used it, let alone successfully. I don't think panacur is an option since I have snails and coral. I did have a few colonial hydroids but was successful in removing them. But they could be in places I can't see.

There is so much conflicting info on the web.

I fear that they will get out of control and that I'll have to spend every day hunting and killing the ones I can reach. And who knows I might be making things worse.

Sorry for the long post but I'm loosing sleep over these horrible critters and thought maybe I could get some solid advice on what to do.

I feel like trying the lynx nudibranchs but I'm not even sure if they are available to purchase.

Thanks in advance for any help.[/h]

revhtree · Feb 3, 2014

Bump for answers.

Welcome to R2R!

jporter17 · Feb 3, 2014

I had them early on and they drove me crazy. Read every thread I could on them. Eventually they went away on their own over a few weeks.
No idea what caused them to appear, and then disappear but I hope yours go away as well. Other than look unsightly, they never caused harm to my tank. JP

Squishie89 · Feb 3, 2014

Could you post some photos of your hydroids?

keithadaniels · Feb 4, 2014

Here's an old pic of a couple when they first appeared.

and a video

[video=youtube_share;qCTrZALatto]http://youtu.be/qCTrZALatto[/video]

At first I thought they were spaghetti worms. But the spaghetti worms are smooth. These are very long, have barb-like feathering, and a thicker white bulb tip. They've been in my tank for a couple of months, almost as long as I have had the tank. And they are multiplying.

Usctom · Feb 4, 2014

definitely hydroids. I'v had them and the only thing they ever bothered were zoanthids. They will go away on there own. It may take weeks or months.

benny z · Feb 4, 2014

i have them in my nano also. my montis were receding and i couldn't figure out why until i finally saw them sweeping at night, and stinging them.

i have been taking a toothbrush to them as i see them...in a nano this is pretty easy to do. would love to get rid of them once and for all.

NanaReefer · Feb 4, 2014

I've had the Digitate Hydroids in my tank for the past 2yrs. At first, from reading up on them I too was crazy trying to get rid of them. I was obsessed! Worried I was going to lose my corals & my fish were going to get stung.
Well I worried for nothing

They do seem to come and go. I've lost NO corals nor fish. I no longer worry about them and yes I still have several in my tank.

jservedio · Feb 4, 2014

I've had nearly all manner of hydroids and they seem to be the only hitchhiker pest I have: the same ones you do, the ones that look like clear stars on the glass, and even the lovely colonial ones (at least mine were neon green). For the first two I listed there is really nothing you can do at all about them - they will bloom and then die out. Keep an eye on them and if they are really bothering something, manual removal with some foreceps or toothbrush will do the trick. You could try reducing broadcast feeding a bit or run a filter sock to cut back on particulates, but I don't know if that would be effective in speeding up their die off.

Just be thankful they aren't colonial hydroids - they are a pain. I tried for months to get rid of those and the only way I finally took them out was covering them with a pancake of epoxy and superglue.

NOTE: None of the hydroids I had (including colonial) were ever a detriment to my coral. I had colonials living in contact with zoas and acros and neither of them receded or were hurt.

keithadaniels · Feb 5, 2014

So I guess I should deal with them with the hopes that they will mostly go away.

Squishie89 · Feb 6, 2014

I have been battling hydroids recently, I have probably about 4-6 different kinds. At this point I am just trying to let them run their course. They don't seem to be bothering anything but me. I also am praying my future copperband will help.

tanked37 · Feb 6, 2014

NanaReefer said:
I've had the Digitate Hydroids in my tank for the past 2yrs. At first, from reading up on them I too was crazy trying to get rid of them. I was obsessed! Worried I was going to lose my corals & my fish were going to get stung.
Well I worried for nothing They do seem to come and go. I've lost NO corals nor fish. I no longer worry about them and yes I still have several in my tank.

Ditto. This is where I stand. Every so often I notice a couple, and they generally don't last that long.

blitz49 · May 26, 2015

I know this is an old thread, but I had something similar to Digitate Hydroids, didnt' know what it was at the time, but I killed it while dipping my zoa in hydrogen peroxide. Hope this info helps others.

hejjo · May 26, 2015

I used to have so many hydroids you would think I was farming them. There was so many that they would tangle together lol.

Never bothered anything thankfully.

After all the research I found that eventually their numbers will dwindle n it's jus something you have to ride out.

It may take months but I have noticed I have about 30% less than I used to 2months later.

If one is bothering a coral remove it with tweezers. none of my coral were bothered n I had millions of them lol.

Eventually you'll learn to look past them and jus laugh about it n b4 u know it they will be gone.

Darth George · Feb 22, 2017

I'm battling a small outbreak now. This particular variety is definitely bothering the coral. Duncan's closed for a week, recession on neighboring zoas and a new Apple Jacks favia had been looking really bad. I just found them before the lights came on 2 days ago. Just super glued the last one. Just monitoring for now.

Saltyspatune · Apr 26, 2017

jservedio said:
I've had nearly all manner of hydroids and they seem to be the only hitchhiker pest I have: the same ones you do, the ones that look like clear stars on the glass, and even the lovely colonial ones (at least mine were neon green). For the first two I listed there is really nothing you can do at all about them - they will bloom and then die out. Keep an eye on them and if they are really bothering something, manual removal with some foreceps or toothbrush will do the trick. You could try reducing broadcast feeding a bit or run a filter sock to cut back on particulates, but I don't know if that would be effective in speeding up their die off.

Just be thankful they aren't colonial hydroids - they are a pain. I tried for months to get rid of those and the only way I finally took them out was covering them with a pancake of epoxy and superglue.

NOTE: None of the hydroids I had (including colonial) were ever a detriment to my coral. I had colonials living in contact with zoas and acros and neither of them receded or were hurt.

did they look like theese I know this is old but I have them too and just wanna have the satisfaction knowing that maybe ill get rid of them

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 26, 2017

Saltyspatune said:
did they look like theese I know this is old but I have them too and just wanna have the satisfaction knowing that maybe ill get rid of them

@Lionfish Lair could you look at these please.