hydroid removal

[reefy_joe]

I am in the process of setting up a "native biotope" in an eclipse 3. I planned on adding a dwarf seahorse (H. zosterae) or two, after everthing had settled down. I have had live sand and dead coral in there for some time (>6 months), and recently added some macro algae (or is it seagrass?) from the intercoastal waterway. I know I have hydroids, I can see a giant one attached to a rock I just put in. What now? I dont want to kill everything. I really cant move on with this project unless there is a way to kill the hydroids but not the good stuff. Any ideas? How 'bout a freshwater dip for the whole tank?

[hmott]

I think peppermint shrimp will eat them. I'm not sure if you can leave them with dwarf's but you could toss them in to cleanup the hydroids before they are added.. but who knows if they will come back. I don't do dwarfs so I really can't help but peppermints would be my first guess at a solution.

[reefy_joe]

Sounds good! Like I said I havent got the dwarfs yet so we'll give it a shot. Thanks alot!

[coralnut99]

I don't know that Peppermints will do them in. Aptasia, sure hydroids, I dunno. I've never heard of them eating them. They can be very invasive, and tough to get rid of. In fact you may never get rid of them completely. I stripped the tanks down when I knew I wasn't gonna win. That's why some folks keep horses in "sterile" quarters so that droids and aptasia don't pop up. Even more so with dwarves. Good luck w/ the peppermints if you do it. Keep us posted.

[mattjk]

I bought some Hydrox, but mine just started to go away by itself...

[reefy_joe]

Okay, turns out I jumped the gun and incorrectly ID'd the hydroid. I pretty sure it was a rock anenome. BTW, this must be the peppermint shrimp's favorite food, because it dug and scratched that rock anenome out within two minutes of getting in the tank.

About the hydroid's - I'm still sure Ive got to have them because the mud I collected has everything in it. But, I haven't seen any tiny jelly fishes, or swiderweb-looking things.

I have since read that limpets will also eat hydroids, so I think I will get one, a keyhole limpet.

Two things still aren't clear...1) Can you keep the peppermint shrimp with the dwarfs? I have another tank so taking the shrimp out at the first sign of harassment seems like a good option. But I have no experience with this, might the shrimp just gulp down the dwarf?
2) Say I watch this tank and ***-UME there are no hydroids, and then add the dwarfs. How can you tell hydroids are hurting your seahorse? Does it just die?

1 more comment, I have read that hydroids are quite fond of baby brine shrimp (BBS) and that they seem to appear in force when you start feeding them to the seahorse. I am planning on feeding the dwarfs copepods instead, separately cultured of course. Does a copepod diet reduce the chance of a bad hydroid infestation?

[coralnut99]

Is it possible it was a small aptasia?

Hadn't read about limpets eating Hydroids. Keep us posted on that one.

peppermints are carnivores like most shrimp. I wouldn't put them in the same tank with dwarfs.

Hydroids work much the same way as anemones. they definitely sting, and can grab hold of smaller dwarfs. particularly babies. Hydroids will grab hold of almost anything that floats by.

Feeding BBS definitely keeps hydroids happy and multiplying. You may have problems growing pods fast enough, and feeding them at a small size. Dwarfs do very well on enriched BBS. It's a catch 22: there has to be plenty of food for dwarfs, and it's also food for hydroids too.

[reefy_joe]

Thanks for the info coralnut99.
Here is a link to a recent thread mentioning hydroids as limpet food.

http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=15808&

I think maybe Ill take out the shrimp, put in the limpets, let that go for a while, then add some BBS, see what happens, if I still cant see any droids, then order the dwarfs.

Also, theres some pics on this thread showing hydroids on little baby seahorses...
http://www.syngnathid.org/ubbthreads...b=5&o=&fpart=2

[coralnut99]

Reading through that thread made me realize I made a wise decision in not going any further with dwarfs. All in all, they probably take as much dedication, if not more, than their full-size brothers and sisters.

In readin through it though, one thought did come to mind, and I remember mulling it over, befor I gave up: would a UV accomplish what those folks do chemically? In other words would it kill off the ones that haven't attached to anything?

[reefy_joe]

I understand that the hydroids have a few different stages, including one that's in the substrate and rocks, one that's swimming around, and one that's stuck on things. I dont think just the UV thing would work because it doesnt get the little guys that are in the sand, whereas the chemical stuff can. But, I like the idea when combined with other solutions like natural predators. One day they will probably have some anti-droid drops or something. If I do end up with them on the seahorses, I would be willing to do the panacure thing, but that stuff is expensive. A bottle is like $100!

[coralnut99]

Mattjk posted about something called Hydrox earlier in this thread. May be worth reading into. Your right about the various stages, even worse there's a gazillion different types. Just for your info. floridacollector.com sells limpets for dirt cheap. Although Bob's a little overworked, and the weather in the Keys has probably slowed him down more, you can't beat his prices. You just have to work with him.

[coralnut99]

Reefy_joe, Speaking of bad weather in the Keys...........How bad did old Charlie do you? Hope all is well.

[reefy_joe]

Coralnut, thanks for the heads up! I came across that website awhile ago, and requested a quote. I had forgotten. I remember thinking it was a weird website but I just looked at it again and requested a quote for more stuff. That's exactly the stuff I am into and VERY inexpensive! Saves me from swimmin' around looking for the stuff anyway...lol. Fortunately, charlie did not bless me with his presence; Im on the east coast... You probably felt more of it in PA than I did.

[coralnut99]

You're right about letting him poke around for the stuff. Maybe not as much fun, but definitely cheaper. Like I said, dealing with Bob takes a little patience and understanding. He's a one-man show, and you know what that means. I think he gets 2 bucks for limpets. Just be prepared for what he sends. He often sends by-catch. Stuff that you didn't order, but he throws in to try to compensate for your shipping costs. Oddball fish, crabs, etc. His water is also loaded with hydroids. So be careful with your acclimation and don't put any of his water into your system.

Actually Charlie's effects arrived in my neck of the woods before it hit the Fla coast. We had a week of rain that had the Delaware running really high. It's still way up there, and very muddy even in the upper reaches where I live. Folks in central Jersy got the worst of it. If you know folks that lived on anything called river road, or sumthin-brook drive, you worried about them.

[Ishkabibble5710]

email www.floridapets.com and see if they have keyhole limpets they are .99 a piece.

[reefy_joe]

thanx!! still havent heard back from florida collector...let you know how it goes.

[coralnut99]

Floridacollector can, by his own account, be a littel slow. A one man show, collection to shipping. I've read nothing but good things about Florida pets, though no personal experience. But their livestock comes from the exact same places, and should be treated similarly upon arrival. Quarantining is critical.

[Schumacher]

buy about 8 hoses for the three or more

[Seahorsewisprer]

Very interesting thread. I realize there are many types of hydroids. I had peppermints clean my tank of them. They were a very limited problem. I also had a six line wrasse that ate them. I don't think the limpets did. I put a few in the sump of my tank to expirement. The hydroids stayed with the limpets.

Be sure to reasearch the hydrox/fenabozole/panacure quick fix. It will kill the hydroids, but I've never seen a thread by a dwarf keeper that used it and still had dwarfs after a few months...

[reefy_joe]

Wow that thread is old. Well, the biotope thing never panned out. I never found a local source for the dwarfs, and I never could keep any macroalgae (seagrass) alive for very long. Maybe a bigger system is required for macroalgae. I did get peppermints, and I guess they ate the hydroids. I did alot of experimenting with low maintenance, "natural biosphere" type stuff and learned alot. In my other tank I have a resident hydroid that my peppermint has never gotten around to eating. Anyway, thanks for getting me back on RC!

[rkl303]

--I'll come back with my comment later after i find out if I am right or not---

[insiderart]

Is your 3g acrylic? I have read where the rasping of the limpet is so strong it can scar the acrylic. After reading that I didn't try it myself so I can't speak from experience.

[Diane_B]

I've heard that too, Terri. But I think it's only the larger ones that you might have to worry about. The smaller ones... the kind that multiply in reef tanks.... I've never had any problems with those scratching my small acrylic tank. HTH

[Seahorsewisprer]

Originally posted by rkl303
--I'll come back with my comment later after i find out if I am right or not---

Could this be some hydroid research?

[Diane_B]

Not really. There are plenty of hydroids in the large horse/reef tank, but they aren't dangerous there, so I leave them be.


edit: sorry... didn't notice the quote you were referring to at first.