How to get rid of hydroids?

Colonial...they are in small patches. Ill have a tough time finding a limpet, so it looks like ill have to manually take care of them.

MD
 
MD, will you post a picture of these hydroids? I don't know what they are, I have never even heard of them before that I can remember.

If you can't post a picture then maybe discribe them to us. :)
 
And if anyone ever comes up with a good and reliable way to get rid of these *(#$)#$@# things please let me know. Before I knew any better, I thought they were different feather dusters and used to feed 'em. I've got 'em all over my tank now, way beyond physical removal...
 
I think its still possible for me to remove them manually, but it'd be a huge pain in the a**. I tried Joes Juice with no avail. A keyhole limpet would probably take care of them but I have no idea where to find one.

Mark
 
They do look like little feather dusters. How can you tell them apart ? I have some that i think are tiny feather dusters but now i dont know .
 
I'm sure someone will come along with a better explanation, 'cause to me the difference between ID'ing a feather duster and a hydroid is one of those "I know it when I see it" kinda things, but off the top of my head, the hydroids are more "stringy" on the tentacles. Whereas a feather duster, for instance, will blow in the current, but the feathers tend to stay in their formation, but the hydroids act more like lots of tiny hairs all doing their own thing...

Hope that makes some sense... If you can get a pic of your unknowns I'd have a better chance at being able to tell which they are...
 
I have them too and need to get rid of them. It seems as mine have almost some shutes that they live in and retract into them like a feather duster does. Can I just break off the chute with some tweezers like pulling out a hair or will that not work? Do they live in the rock and this chute thing I describe is nothing. I wish someone would of taking a close up at the tank tour for me to post. There were some people that described them as hydroids.
 
Join seahorse.org and search the database/forums. Hydroids and ponies do not mix very well and there is a lot of discussion about tthem in there.

There are ways to rid them. However besides the limpet it would mean a chemical method. Hydrox/Hydrocks or Panacur seem the be the best two methods.
 
Good grief $15.00 for a limpet? I believe if you contact http://www.floridapets.com they can get keyhole limpets -their site shows out of stock but they're only $1.79 there!

I've heard limpets will eat them. I know I squished all the hydroids I saw on my nano tank a while back. They eventually disappeared.

Carolyn
 
there is also a nudibranch that will eat them...opalescent nudibranch if i remember correctly, again have no idea where to get one.

I was going to go the hydrox method a while back until i found out it can kill lots of good stuff in your tank; pods, worms, etc-- im not sure what it would do to corals.

MD
 
im strongly thinking about trying Hydrox. I really want these suckers gone off my rock which would cost way more to rebuy than some "mature" sand to replentish what hydrox kills.

MD
 
I could do that except its just about every rock in my tank that has a small patch on. Im not exactly sure it kills pods but it does say bristleworms. I just want them gone.

MD
 
Ok here we go. Now these look like they are green in color so are they feather dusters ?

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