Houston, We have a problem

[planereefer]

So I recently setup my 50G cube with some LR and sand I got from a 3 year old established tank and recently have started my initial cycle. 2 Turbo Snails, 2 Narsassas Snails, 1 Fighting Conch and 2 Hermit crabs came with the live rock and live sand. So far they are doing good, but with these recent findings I'm curious if I should get a few CUC members to take care of what the others aren't. Recently I've noticed a few new additions and curious what they are.

I think these are hydroids and I'm hoping there is a biological way to control their growth.

I think this is a black sponge but it's a real, real, real dark red. I'm not sure if this is good or bad

Some green bubble algae

and here is some other algea that I found.

lane:

 

[Pkunk35]

Get the hydroids out before you start seeing them elsewhere (very annoying), they can be challenging to remove at times. Best method I have found is to cut them out of the live rock, kalk or joes juice seem to have very limited effect on them. Make sure to get all the tubes or else they bounce right back.

 

[planereefer]

I've read that some nudibraches will eat Hydroids. Anyone confirm?

 

[ClownFan]

There is one nudi that does but I can't recall the name. Not really a solution anyway since your tank is cycling and it will not have sufficient food once the hydroids are gone. Since there is no livestock in the tank, now is the time to get rid of pests. I completely agree to either remove the rock with hydroids (tough to see but it does look like them) all together or at least break that rock so that none remain. The bubble algae also need to go sooner rather than later. It can reach plague proportions fairly quickly. Again, best to pull the rock and scrape them off, dunk that rock in a bucket of SW or douse the spot with peroxide, swish and put back in the tank. If you can't remove the bubble algae rock, take a siphon hose and scrape/suck the bubbles off. If you pop one the siphon should pull the spores too.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the sponge as it can be easily removed at any point by hand or siphon. Don't see algae in the last pic.

 

[planereefer]

It might be tough without taking the whole aquascape down as the hydroids or snake polyps (I'm getting conflicting responses and I've found conflicting images) are on one of the rocks that acts as part of the base for the rockwork. There is livestock in the tank that came with live rock and live sand I got from another member on the forums. 2x Narsassius Snails, Hermit crabs and Turbo Snails and 1 fighting conch. They do nothing but eat

 

[Isoprene]

Im telling you from almost exactly the same experience, do WHATEVER you have to do get rid of those hydroids NOW! I thought (as a beginner) o no biggy they look just like aptasia ill just hit them with aptasia-X....ooo how funny that sounds now. I have done it all from aptasia-X to manually pulling them out, to placing superglue epoxy over the affected areas and letting them sit for 3 weeks to suffocating them (big white ugly patches all over my beautiful reef) then peeling the glue off to find ....o they are just fine and bounce back in 1 week.

 

[Isoprene]

This is my experience but the only success I have had was this 1 peppermint shrimp who ate hydroids and nothing else. It wouldn't touch my mojanos or my aptasia but for some reason it would go after the hydroids. A lot of people on here might say this is impossible because everywhere I read it says that these shrimp don't do that. But mine did...unfortunately he died, I think my wrasse got him. This was long ago, haven't tried any other shrimp since then. And the other shrimp I used to have would not touch them either.

 

[planereefer]

This is my experience but the only success I have had was this 1 peppermint shrimp who ate hydroids and nothing else. It wouldn't touch my mojanos or my aptasia but for some reason it would go after the hydroids. A lot of people on here might say this is impossible because everywhere I read it says that these shrimp don't do that. But mine did...unfortunately he died, I think my wrasse got him. This was long ago, haven't tried any other shrimp since then. And the other shrimp I used to have would not touch them either.

I think that's what I'm going to do, I just have to find a way to get the rock out and clean it, since it's part of the base of the aquascape, I want to be able to put it back without it being able to be undermined by a critter.