Hydroid Jelly Outbreak - And Leaving the Country

[brittant]

Earlier this week,hydroids suddenly sprung up across one of my Zoa frags, so I tossed it. Now, little ones are all over my feather duster's tube. This is an even bigger problem because I leave Sunday for Mexico to see my family, and won't be back until the 20th - my mother, who has no reef experience, will be caring for the tank.

I've been doing research, but have not been able to come up with an accessible solution. Is there something I can do, or do I have to sacrifice my feather duster in hope of stopping them?

Below are the ones that appeared on my Zoas, and resemble the ones on my duster:

 

[brittant]

Possible options so far:
1. Scrubbing the tube with a toothbrush and hoping the Duster doesn't get too upset
2. Supergluing the tube
3. Finding something for a Duster QT tank and hoping they aren't elsewhere already

Feedback?

 

[Odanhammer]

problem with taking the zoas and tube out is these things spread fast , and will most likely spread spores all over the tank faster if moved around too much.
No real answer to dealing with these guys. Sunlight is what makes them spread.
So either blocking the sunlight to them or manually removing them would be one of the only real options for effectively dealing with them.

Best bet would be to take the feather duster out carefully and put in a small amount of saltwater from the tank and remove any spores , as well with the zoa's. then repeat over and over again until you have removed them.
Its not an easy task , and from just doing a quick amount of reading suggests even leaving a little amount of it on anything will give it a chance to regrow.


As for superglue , it does work but might be more harmful to the duster , and may not really stop the spread.

Hope for the best , and hope to hear how it goes.

 

[Bifferwine]

I would take the risk of using the superglue gel and smother any that you see. It may not work, but it usually takes trying a few different approaches to get rid of these guys.

 

[little_fish]

Also, I couldnt find any evidence that sunlight will make these guys spread faster than normal.

 

[Odanhammer]

Reefs.org: Where Reefkeeping Begins on the Internet - Hydroids by Ronald L. Shimek October 1997 Aquarium.Net

 

[little_fish]

That is a great article on hydroids, but it says nothing about them spreading due to sunlight. In fact, the article seems to stress that they are primarily heterotrophic, and feed off of zooplankton. Only a few species seem to have any algae symbiots, but even then, they relay primarily on catching zooplankton for food.

Hydrozoans are generally considered to be primarily heterotrophic, obtaining their nutrition by preying on small zooplankton. Although a number of the species including fire corals ( Milleporina species), and fresh-water Hydra contain algal symbionts, these species are still considered to be primarily predatory. In natural situations, both the benthic and pelagic forms may be important predators on zooplankton (Svoboda, 1976; Lewis, 1992; Arai, et al., 1993; Gili and Hughes, 1995).

So i still say that sunlight isnt going to cause them to spread faster.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hetertrophic = opposite of photosynthetic; requires organic based food source for energy instead of light as it cannot synthesize energy from light.

I have also never heard that hydroids are photosynethic. They will spread and grow even in the dark.

 

[brittant]

Thank you everyone - the Zoas could not be saved, but I'll be tweezing the ones off the duster and gently covering those sections of the tube with drops of superglue.

I also doubt that sunlight is a contributing factor, at least in my case (unless we consider the 4 hours of the 10k Daylights), as my room usually has no incoming sunlight or even external lights on.

Also, found something tiny but long and flat on my glass; it was reddish-pink, but translucent, and might have had eyespots. Should I dose with Flatworm Exit again? >.<

 

[brittant]

Apparently my Feather Duster has adhered itself to the back wall of the tank, and will not budge. I don't want to hurt it... Gently wiggled it around, and even tried a credit card, but no luck. Suggestions?

 

[little_fish]

cover the tube in putty? You can get a cheap tube of water weld at the hardware store. Just make sure its safe for portable water