What Is This And How Do I Kill It?

[disaster999]

can anyone help and id what this stuff is

its taking over my rocks and it seems to prevent my SPS from spreading its base. so far im only doing manual removal of this stuff. it doesnt seem like its algae. how do i get rid of it?

[Trogdor447]

is it like a fungus? does it blast off with a turkey baster?

[disaster999]

nope, theres like roots and its hard to pull out if i pick them off the rocks in a bunch

[NewZealandReefie]

Colonial hydroids imo.

[disaster999]

thanks NZreefie, seems like there isnt really a confirmed way of getting rid of this stuff. Ill mow them down with scissors and siphon them every time i do a water change

[Builder Anthony]

Maybe oral b toothbrush it off?

[NewZealandReefie]

thanks NZreefie, seems like there isnt really a confirmed way of getting rid of this stuff. Ill mow them down with scissors and siphon them every time i do a water change

Yeah I would have liked to have given you an idea of how to kill them but I'm basically also unsure, beyond manual removal there's no sure way as far as I know.

 

I had a small patch of them once, I chopped all the tops off and covered them in epoxy putty, lol. That dealt to them. Couple of months later I pulled the layer of putty off the rock. I'd say by the look of it you have too many to make that a viable option though.

 

Best of luck beating them.

[disaster999]

Yeah, I cant really epoxy putty my entire rock nor do I want to take apart my rock work. Manual removal seems like the only way. Time to get some planted tank stainless steel scissors and remove as much as I can.

[metrokat]

Is it possible to lower the water level to below the hydroids and then blast the area with a controlled butane flame, like from a creme brulee cooking torch?

[Acielot]

Is it possible to lower the water level to below the hydroids and then blast the area with a controlled butane flame, like from a creme brulee cooking torch?

Although any torch with a focused flame would work I have only had them on the glass and scraping them off worked as well as using a toothbrush then siphon.

[disaster999]

Is it possible to lower the water level to below the hydroids and then blast the area with a controlled butane flame, like from a creme brulee cooking torch?

i didnt think of that, but they are seriously close to some of my SPS and i dont want to risk RTN

 

I took a pair of curved scissors from my brothers planted tank and started going to town on them. mowing them down like grass. most of them are gone and just the "roots" are left. ill keep doing that once a week with my water changes. looks slightly better right now.