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Mike Olson
11-19-2006, 07:41 AM
I have these brownish/beige ,things growing out of the rock in a couple of locations around the tank...they look like little pom poms with a stem! They are delicate and retract if touched. They also grow fast but dont seem to sting other corals or zoos that they come in contact with....they dont seem to be bothered by other corals either. Here is a pic that shows them amongst some zoos....has anyone seen these before? Let me know please!
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/180_Reef_November_007.jpg

P.S. If you save the pic...you should be able to zoom closer...sorry for the crappy camera! Ha Ha!

butters88
11-19-2006, 09:04 AM
Does their base have little vein-like growth that is hard to pull out?
I believe there was an old ID thread on here concluding they are most likely a type of encrusting gorgonian. I may be wrong, but I hope that helps!

Mike Olson
11-19-2006, 07:28 PM
It could be...I forgot to mention that they are all attached like a vine...with the vine portion attach to the rock and the stems rise up from there....One of the LFS's told me it could be a form of hydroids, I think that was the word! But they dont seem to sting, maybe they just overwhelm nearby corals...I dont know!

vanreefer
11-19-2006, 09:03 PM
they look like hydroids to me as well can you get a closer pic mike?

If they are on a short stalk with almost like a feather dusterish head they are probably hydroids... and you should get rid of them before they start to spread... they can break off and float around the tank until they find a new place to grow.
Thay may not have an effect on those zoo's but I have lsot most of an SPS colony to them

But see if you can get another pic

This was the best image I could find by googling hydroids
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/img/hydroids1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/picture_pages/faq_hydroids.html&h=372&w=432&sz=61&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=638k3hJwdHGqoM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhydroids%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26h l%3Den%26lr%3D

HTH
Dan

Xtasia
11-19-2006, 09:18 PM
Looks alot like..


http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Cnidarians/Hydrozoans/Hydropolyps/Winnah_anemones_YAY.jpg

From Wet Web Media:
it is a fairly common nuisance hydroid, Myrionema... somewhat handsome looking to me, but is admittedly a problem... can be a plague. They will sting corals and clams and are invasive as you have noticed.

- I've seen alot of people with it. Not sure how to deal with it but all sources conclude it is invasive and stinging. Maybe take the rock out of the tank and use a tooth brush on it... rinse with RO thoroughly (maybe do a 'swish' with salt water in a bucket to do another rinse since they spread so easily and it appears your system is favourable to it)

g'luck.

Delphinus
11-20-2006, 01:54 AM
Looks like hydroids to me too. They can spread quite badly and burrow into the rock quite deep so removal can be a challenge if they do spread. Unfortunately manual removal is probably your best bet. There was some talk about Panacur as a possible treatment but it is not a good thing, it will kill all worms, shrimp, etc. .. Only a last ditch effort.

Since adding a copperbanded butterfly I think I have fewer of them. Can't say I've seen him go at it though, so could be coincidence.

Mike Olson
11-27-2006, 05:41 AM
Looks alot like..


http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Cnidarians/Hydrozoans/Hydropolyps/Winnah_anemones_YAY.jpg

From Wet Web Media:
it is a fairly common nuisance hydroid, Myrionema... somewhat handsome looking to me, but is admittedly a problem... can be a plague. They will sting corals and clams and are invasive as you have noticed.

- I've seen alot of people with it. Not sure how to deal with it but all sources conclude it is invasive and stinging. Maybe take the rock out of the tank and use a tooth brush on it... rinse with RO thoroughly (maybe do a 'swish' with salt water in a bucket to do another rinse since they spread so easily and it appears your system is favourable to it)

g'luck.

Thats exactly what it is.....great! I have plucked them out and they tend to grow back slowly... there are 3 places they grow on various rocks...I actually had scrubbed them off with a brush andplaced the rocks in RO for about 2 days when I did the move...I then cycled the rock through the tank again! HARD TO KILL! Thanks everyone for the responses....I will post if I find something that works!

mark
11-27-2006, 01:52 PM
Would kalk paste, like one does for aiptasia work?

Ruth
11-27-2006, 02:17 PM
I think Christy waged war on these things for a while and maybe she will wade in. I am not sure what kind of shock and awe strategy finally worked but it may have been the old pressure washer technique.
IIRC the kalk paste and other tried and true (yeah right) aptasia remedies does not work on these b's.

christyf5
11-27-2006, 02:30 PM
Yep, those little buggers have really deep roots. The only way I've managed to clear areas for anything long term is by getting out the hammer and chisel. The pressure washer route didn't cut it as their little tubes they live in are ultra tough.

These are the ones I have, not as pretty as yours Mike :wink:

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/img/hydroids2.jpg
Pic taken from reefs.org: http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/img/hydroids2.jpg


I have a large patch in my nano at the moment and its clearing a wide swath through my zoos. Time to have another whack at it I guess.

Delphinus
11-27-2006, 04:22 PM
I don't think kalk will work as a treatment (believe me I've tried this) because you just don't get enough contact time. Even if you shut off the pumps, all it takes is for a fish to swim by and it floats off.

One thing that was suggested to me, so I'll forward the suggestion along, is to smother them with underwater epoxy.. I haven't tried it yet myself though, but it seems like it could be worth a shot..

Mike Olson
11-28-2006, 01:40 AM
All because I bought a tiny clump of zoos from someone....at first I thought they were kinda neat...little golden brown pom poms- they must be some form of star polyp! IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS! Ha Ha! I dont want to take that rock out now since I have 2 bubbletips deeply entrenched and various nice zoos....a rock and a hard place! I noticed some on another rock that I can take out....I might try break the rock to see how deep the little veins go...The rock shall become the guinea pig for eliminating Myrionema!