sharuq1 Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Not sure if this is a coral or an anemone or what. Anybody know? I have several of these growing on a rock in the corner. This photo is not my tank, but what is pictured is what I'm talking about. The link has a few answers but I would prefer a deinitive one, 'cus I am way to inquisitive. Look at the tiny thing beside the whatever it is large corallish thing. (Sorry, I am a newb, don't know names for most things yet) ID?<--bigger picture TY for your help **Also, I have noticed what appears to be some hydroids, (some white, some brown) will they go away on their own eventually or am I to keep upsetting the tank by taking it apart every single bloody time? <frusterated> Tank is ~ 6 weeks old, no nitrite, ammonia seems to be ok (I am new to reading test kits), doing 5 gal water changes every week (tank is biocube 14), salinity 0.22, nitrate-there must be some due to some algal growth but don't yet have a kit for it.--- They are very very small, too tiny to take a pic of and way to small to inject with anything. On a side note just added xenia, frogspawn and zoo frags and 2 clownfish and I really don't want to kill them by upsetting the tank or poisoning anything if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsmith Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Try googling aiptasia to determine if that's what you have and how to get rid of it. You'll find a lot of links. Here's one: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/...ia/aiptasia.htm Aiptasias are bad b/c they can sting other corals and they reproduces quickly, apparently. I had one in my tank for months and I only saw two more after I killed it. Now they're gone so hopefully that's that. I recently bought Joes Juice to get rid of some and it works well. From what I've read peppermint shrimp aren't a very good idea b/c some like to eat corals. I just use JJ before a water change and I haven't had any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delphinus Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 (edited) A picture of the things in YOUR tank would go a long way to helping. The picture that you linked to though, unfortunately I found the star polyps to sort of overwhelm the photo and thus make it hard to really see the anemone in question, but that anemone looks more like a Corynactis sp. anemone (well .. technically a "corralimorph" - basically in between a mushroom and an anemone), and in that case, it's not really a bad pest. They're harmless and .. kind of neat actually. They are an occasional hitchhiker in on rock. But, like I said it's not really the greatest photo. It could just be a regular old aiptasia anemone ... those are indeed pests as they can, in certain scenarios, proliferate and sting corals. That's why I'm thinking a picture of the ones in your tank would help solidify what we're talking about. BTW, peppermints aren't really all that bad, but not always effective at removing aiptasia. A copperbanded butterfly (CBB) might be a better bet for removing aiptasia but the caveats with THEM is that they can be tricky to feed (mine won't touch anything but mysis). Hydroids won't really go away on their own. I have a tank with 2 CC stars and a polyp munching cowry to help de-hydroid some of my rock and even then it's a slow removal process since they only eat a little at a time. Seriously, your best bet it to take something like a large set of tweezers, or a razor blade, and scrape them off the rock. They burrow too, so you might even have to scrape into the rock for most effective control. Hydroids can be a real PITA (been there!!). I've heard it suggested to take a mini blow torch to an affected rock, or even a power washer (minus the detergent, of course). At one point I had them so bad I was considering cashing in some airmiles to get a power washer just to clean my rock. I still might have to do that before I get my next tank setup, because I don't want to move any rocks with hydroids into that tank. Edited May 7, 2007 by delphinus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharuq1 Posted May 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2007 (edited) Will sticking joe's juice on them kill 'em, maybe if I pour it on the affected area of the rock so I don't kill everything on the rock, then rinse?? Scraping the rock didn't do it. If some sort of caustic would work how long do I leave it on for? Is there an animal that would kill the hydroids and not kill my zoos/xenia/frogspawn? Edited May 16, 2007 by sharuq1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delphinus Posted May 16, 2007 Report Share Posted May 16, 2007 Not likely. I think anything that eats them will surely be damaging to a reef. I'm not really all that convinced that my CC stars and cowry are all that effective anyhow. Scraping the rock *should* work but you really kind of have to get a few millimetres off the rock itself since they burrow in. Another idea to try is get some 2 part underwater epoxy (you can get it at any fish store), and cover the hydroids with it. You can pry the epoxy off at a later date or just let the coraline grow over it (and then it will just look like part of the rock). Another Will sticking joe's juice on them kill 'em, maybe if I pour it on the affected area of the rock so I don't kill everything on the rock, then rinse?? Scraping the rock didn't do it. If some sort of caustic would work how long do I leave it on for? Is there an animal that would kill the hydroids and not kill my zoos/xenia/frogspawn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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