Experience w/ Digitate Hydroids?

Tristan · May 6, 2016

When I started my first saltwater/ reef tank, a couple months in I noticed digitate hydroids everywhere and I guess you could call them snowflake hydroids also on the glass. I looked online for ways to get rid of them, but most of them included dipping the rock in hydrogen peroxide or bleach and I didn't want to put chemicals in my tank. And plus, I already had corals in the tank and a Molly.

So I just didn't do anything and maybe after when the tank matured at 5-6 months, they just disappeared. I have no idea why that happened.

The tank, which is a 10 gallon, is now about 9-10 months old.

I was just looking for an explanation as to why this happened so if anyone has one please comment.

Triggreef · May 6, 2016

Probably was pineapple sponges and not digitate hydroids.

Pineapple sponges come at about that time and tend to go on glass as well. They are plentiful while silicates are plentiful (usually the first few months of set up) and then they go away mostly.

Tristan · May 6, 2016

Triggreef said:
Probably was pineapple sponges and not digitate hydroids.

Pineapple sponges come at about that time and tend to go on glass as well. They are plentiful while silicates are plentiful (usually the first few months of set up) and then they go away mostly.

They weren't pineapple sponges. My LFS has those in their Refugium and they weren't it.

Now that I think about it, it actually may have been my peppermint shrimp that got rid of them.
I had gotten two peppermint shrimp to get rid of some aiptasia that hitchhiked on a frag and spread. And if I'm right hydroids are also related to anemones so wouldn't the pepps eat them?

They went away after I got the peppermint shrimp so either they ate the hydroids or it's a coincidence.

NanaReefer · May 7, 2016

Here's my take on this. The Digitate's are filter feeders. Getting all nutrition from the water column. If the water is very clean, they'll starve out. If you feed minimal with good husbandry, they'll starve out.
The Stars I believe are members of the Jelly Fish family. I think-lol. Have yet to see them live long term in any aquarium. Why? I've no idea [emoji2]