ID this brown growth please

[wiszmaster]

I've developed this brown growth over the past few months ... the red scales seem to be flatworms? they are enjoying the brown growth & using it as a great source of food - they strip it down to the branch.


http://marcoprechel.com/gallery2/d/13407-2/brown2.jpg


Larger version available here:

http://marcoprechel.com/gallery2/d/13403-1/brown2.jpg

[TimTen]

I hate to say it but those look like hydroids to me, a very happy colony of them. I would yank that rock and put it in some Kalk water. Have they spread all over yet.

[ReeferKeith]

I agree with the above. Hydroids. The brown things are most certainly flatworms.

[drummereef]

Hydroids are ruthless. I'd isolate the problem now and save yourself the headache. Short of baking the rock, I've had no luck with them. Hopefully those flatworms aren't all over either. :(

[avshockey311]

I cant belive those few zoos are surviving in the middle of those.

[dcombs44]

I would assume the hydroids are a correct label.

Those look to be the dreaded red flatworms. When they die, they give off toxic juices. If they have a mass dieoff they will crash your tank. Those are not reef safe flatworms. You need to siphon out as many as you can and consider using flatworm exit.

[wiszmaster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8883606#post8883606 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TimTen
I hate to say it but those look like hydroids to me, a very happy colony of them. I would yank that rock and put it in some Kalk water. Have they spread all over yet.

close enough to all over ...

http://marcoprechel.com/gallery2/d/13229-2/IMG_3416.JPG

[wiszmaster]

anybody else?

if it is hydriods .. what is the recommended .. 'fixing' procedure?
nothing short of cooking the rock?

[keinreis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8884519#post8884519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wiszmaster
anybody else?

if it is hydriods .. what is the recommended .. 'fixing' procedure?
nothing short of cooking the rock?

Red flatworms... they seem to eat it well.

[keinreis]

Honestlty I would try some of the flat worm exit stuff. you added a mandrin for removal, because they are rumored to sometimes eat them, but you have them bad. most would not recomend adding a mandrin in a tank as new as yours, as the pod population is still developing.

as far as removal of hydroids. I have no answer, but I would not add any fish rumored to eat them as your bioload is goint to get crazy if you ad a new fish to solve a problem everytime one comes up. I say remove hydroiod effected rock, cook it, and use flat exit and STOP BUYING FISH!

[avshockey311]

kalk paste them. It may take a couple of times, but that is what worked for me. Don't do them all in one shot though...do a little section at a time, and I would probably recommend a 5-10 gallon water change between each killing spree.

[wiszmaster]

alright - i busted out my trusty little blow torch - and took that big rock on the top left side of the tank & burned the hydroids..... i'm guessing that shoudl take care of it for that rock ... but for the right side ... its all over the rocks on the bottom, and i justnoticed some on rocks in the back etc..etc..

so this weekend will be fun ... will probably end up yanking all of the rock out, and doing the blow torch method on most of it ... unless someone has better ideas?

whats the kalkwater deal?

[TimTen]

Do you have a QT where you could move most of your corals. If so you may want to think of using medicine for the Hydroids and Flat worms. I had to use medication(hydrox, Sp?, can't seem to find it again) on hydroids, it killed all my snails and some of my soft corals. I have not dealt with flat worms so not sure about that medicine. I wouldn't add anything to your tank and watch the nutrients going in, your going to have to make some tough chioices soon.

[TimTen]

Go to the store, purchase some Pickling Lime. Mix it with water till you have a paste. Get a syring, fill it with the paste and start injecting it into the tubes. Be very careful to watch your PH as this may cause it and raise. If you cook to much of your rock with a tourch you may end up crashing your tank. People have also mentioned Keyhole Limpets as being able to eat these but have never heard anyone with first hand experience. Also some have said just getting a syring with a little vinager in it will kill them. Just what ever you do go slow and keep an eye on your parameters.

[keinreis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8885348#post8885348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TimTen
Go to the store, purchase some Pickling Lime. Mix it with water till you have a paste. Get a syring, fill it with the paste and start injecting it into the tubes. Be very careful to watch your PH as this may cause it and raise. If you cook to much of your rock with a tourch you may end up crashing your tank. People have also mentioned Keyhole Limpets as being able to eat these but have never heard anyone with first hand experience. Also some have said just getting a syring with a little vinager in it will kill them. Just what ever you do go slow and keep an eye on your parameters.

If I know him he already has the rock all out and is going crazy with the torch in his garage! :D

[wiszmaster]

no .... just 2 rocks .... then the torch ran out of gas ...

i'll have to go slow ... maybe a rock every few days or so ... but i'll probably end up yaning most of the rock out & into rubbermaids .... maybe mix up new water & let them sit in there for a few days as well ... not sure - but this sucks!

[drummereef]

Personally, I would remove the rock from the tank and manually remove the colonys by chiseling them off. I know it sounds drastic, but it's been the only thing to get rid of them for good. Just make sure you get all of them or they come back with revenge on their minds. :)

[frazier]

I don't know if I have these or not? I have 3 or 4 things that look like those.. they look like Aiptasia with long tube's..but they are really small... can even get a pic of them..

[frazier]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8885255#post8885255 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wiszmaster
alright - i busted out my trusty little blow torch - and took that big rock on the top left side of the tank & burned the hydroids..... i'm guessing that shoudl take care of it for that rock ... but for the right side ... its all over the rocks on the bottom, and i justnoticed some on rocks in the back etc..etc..

so this weekend will be fun ... will probably end up yanking all of the rock out, and doing the blow torch method on most of it ... unless someone has better ideas?

whats the kalkwater deal?

can you do that with a lighter too.. I only have like 3 or 4 of them on one rock?

[Ursus]

If you only three or four, then just hit them with the kalk paste.

[foresteronw]

I thought I had hyrdroids in my tank but they don't look anything like this. The stems mine have are much shorter, 1/4 inch tops and they are red/brown. They don't spread like that either, just form small groups here and there. Are there different types of hydroids?

[foresteronw]

the first one is a whicked super close up the second is the same colony but further away
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/busa413/hydroids.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/busa413/Picture045.jpg

[Dr.FuManchu]

These guys are the polyp form of a jellyfish, the medusa Larvae are stacked in their little tubes like a stack of coins. They are called Nausithoe punctata. Origin: Indo Pacific
They are relatively hardy and long lived under metal halide lighting and will form attractive carpet like growths.
Taken from The Complete Book of The Marine Aquarium: Vincent B. Hargreaves
for reference-
http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/inverts/others/jellyfish/Npunctata.htm

[Dr.FuManchu]

Wizmaster, dont kill these, it appears people try to keep this particular Jellyfish. If you dont like them see if someone will trade you a clean rock for yours. They are harmless.

[ct_vol]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8883784#post8883784 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by avshockey311
I cant belive those few zoos are surviving in the middle of those.

lol I thought the same thing... Kill the dang things... They spread like the plague, and I'm not sure that they don't sting things if they don't overgrow them... I can't imagine anyone else wanting them...

[wiszmaster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8890745#post8890745 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dr.FuManchu
These guys are the polyp form of a jellyfish, the medusa Larvae are stacked in their little tubes like a stack of coins. They are called Nausithoe punctata. Origin: Indo Pacific
They are relatively hardy and long lived under metal halide lighting and will form attractive carpet like growths.
Taken from The Complete Book of The Marine Aquarium: Vincent B. Hargreaves
for reference-
http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/inverts/others/jellyfish/Npunctata.htm


BUMP ... can anybody else confirm, or deny this?

[wiszmaster]

bump?!

[iamwhatiam52]

They look like Myronemia hydroids to me. There is another current post on them here.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1007142

[wiszmaster]

nice!

[bstricklin]

first pic looks like dandelions :P Try Scott's TurfBuilder.

jk

I wish you luck getting rid of that stuff!