Hydroid ?? ID and help !!

jharvey · #1 03/12/2005, 10:15 AM

These guys hitchiked in on some caulerpa sometime in the last week or two and are starting to spread!

It looks to me like some type of hydroid, but I could use some help with a positive ID and ideas on pest control.

I will be adding some pepperming shrimp to help with some aiptasia that came in at the same time. Will they help at all?\

Thanks

vince R · #2 03/12/2005, 10:17 AM

It looks like a pineapple sponge to me. Greenbean will be along I am sure to give you the exact name.

jharvey · #3 03/12/2005, 10:24 AM

pineapple sponge? I guess that makes sense, it does look like a pineapple, and it is a little spongy!

They seem to be growing inverted in low light areas. The are also starting to cover the back of the tank behind the rockwork.

Do I need to be concerned about them? Is there an easy way to get rid of them?

greenbean36191 · #4 03/12/2005, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Greenbean will be along I am sure to give you the exact name.

Scypha sponge. They are harmless, but if you don't like them you can just pull them out. Some angelfish will eat them too, but I wouldn't buy one for this purpose because most aren't reef safe and the rest are hit and miss. The sponges seem to come and go anyway.

jharvey · #5 03/12/2005, 10:31 AM

Thanks guys. My tank is only about 6 months old and lightly populated, so I am going to let them run there course.

I am having a cyano outbreak, and I am thinking that the sponges may be living off of the same nutrients, so maybe they can help clean up the water.

greenbean36191 · #6 03/12/2005, 10:39 AM

The sponges have a very limited, probably undetectable (at least with hobby test kits), filtering capacity, at least in the sense of filtering out dissolved nutrients. These guys at least will probably filter out mostly microscopic particulate matter and bacteria. As far as the cyano goes, it's fairly normal for a new tank, and usually doesn't last long, but I would deal with it like any other cyano outbreak and do everything possible to reduce nutrients.

jharvey · #7 03/12/2005, 10:53 AM

I am in the process of dealing with the cyano, hence the new caulerpa. I'll be sucking out the cyano today as part of a water change, and I will be replacing my phosphate media.

I think that I will leave the sponges. They do add a bit of interest to the tank.

Thanks for the help guys.