I feel like I've dealt with hydroids on and off in earnest since I started this hobby. Most of the time my tanks were modestly stocked with coral, I rarely fed, and any outbreaks were fairly self limited. I basically gave up on trying to eradicate them after I nuked a tank only to have them return from some unknown origin.
My latest encounter with them is in a nano tank I have. I've started really trying to decorate and make a beautiful mixed reef out of it and it's been going well. However the hydroid population is starting to quickly climb. The odd thing, I can't find any distinct colonies. I see a few really small ones stuck to rocks here and there, but nothing that could amount to the number of Medusa hydroids I see stuck to my glass. I've not noticed any effects on my coral or fish YET, but with the rate they've been increasing, I'd like to intervene before they do. I want to feed my corals and see them thrive but I don't want to feed the hydroids either. It's a real dilemma.
Everything I've read is with mixed results. Peppermint shrimp, worming medication, sea hares, nudibranches, copper band butterflies, etc. It all seems hit or miss.
Was just wanting to have a discussion to see if anybody has had anything make a difference in their battle with the hydroids.
My latest encounter with them is in a nano tank I have. I've started really trying to decorate and make a beautiful mixed reef out of it and it's been going well. However the hydroid population is starting to quickly climb. The odd thing, I can't find any distinct colonies. I see a few really small ones stuck to rocks here and there, but nothing that could amount to the number of Medusa hydroids I see stuck to my glass. I've not noticed any effects on my coral or fish YET, but with the rate they've been increasing, I'd like to intervene before they do. I want to feed my corals and see them thrive but I don't want to feed the hydroids either. It's a real dilemma.
Everything I've read is with mixed results. Peppermint shrimp, worming medication, sea hares, nudibranches, copper band butterflies, etc. It all seems hit or miss.
Was just wanting to have a discussion to see if anybody has had anything make a difference in their battle with the hydroids.