I’ve been dealing with nuisance Superman Rhodactis for months. I got one as a freebie and thought it was amazing. Two years later and they’ve multiplied to the point of taking over 1/8th of the rockwork in my 180, killing lots of sps in the process. I had tried numerous techniques and injected everything from vinegar to kalkwasser. They’d shrivel up for a couple of days and then come back having split into two! I gave up the fight for a long time until last week when I decided to try injecting with sodium hydroxide solution. I’ve been using Randy’s sodium hydroxide recipe as my alk supplement for pH boost for a couple of months and thought it might be worth a try since it has a pH of 14 vs kalk’s 12. I injected 3 rhodactis with a 1cc insulin syringe, using about .3cc for each one. At first, it looked like nothing happened, or a couple were ticked the same way they were with the kalk injection. Next day though, the tissue was melted and they appeared to be disintegrating! I grabbed a small siphon hose and bucket and was amazed how easily they popped off the rock! If anyone else is pulling their hair out like me over an infestation of these things, injecting the sodium hydroxide solution is the ticket—just be mindful of the amount used due to how it can rapidly raise pH. Also works great for vaporizing aiptasia!
