Medusa stage hydroids... 3 weeks into cycle. What should I do? Any CUC that will eat these or should

Lemony Lemons · Apr 30, 2014

I'm 3 weeks into my cycle on my 90g. I don't have any fish in my tank as of yet either.

I have hundreds of these things on my glass (and probably my rocks but I can't see them because they're clear).

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That's what they look like up close. I tried to take a pic but I had to blur the picture and snap it through the reflection because they wouldn't show up in the pic otherwise so sorry for the crappy quality. They're the white dots on the glass.

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I'm wondering about snails, etc. it seems I can't find anyone who has had a critter eat these except for one random forum I came across a person saying tiger cowries will eat them.

Has anyone successfully gotten rid of these? Will it get worse? Go away once the cycles done? I didn't see any of these in my other tank ever!

Any help or input would be greatly appreciated!

shred5 · Apr 30, 2014

The little small ones on the glass I have never seen cause a issue just wipe them off..

Some hydroids especially larger ones can cause a real issue and grow out of control but I have never seen the little ones on the glass cause a issue..

Lemony Lemons · Apr 30, 2014

shred5 said:
The little small ones on the glass I have never seen cause a issue just wipe them off..

Some hydroids especially larger ones can cause a real issue and grow out of control but I have never seen the little ones on the glass cause a issue..

I've wiped them, they return within 30 mins!

GGuy · Apr 30, 2014

Those type aren't the nasty hydroids that people freak out about. Is your tank new? I had the same issue with mine about a few months in after adding live rock. They eventually will go away on their own, however they are dependent on nutrients, so if you feed heavy they will stick around for a while. They will develop into white strings that attach to live rock and could sting corals, however I didn't have any issues with them.

Lemony Lemons · Apr 30, 2014

GGuy said:
Those type aren't the nasty hydroids that people freak out about. Is your tank new? I had the same issue with mine about a few months in after adding live rock. They eventually will go away on their own, however they are dependent on nutrients, so if you feed heavy they will stick around for a while. They will develop into white strings that attach to live rock and could sting corals, however I didn't have any issues with them.

Yes, new tank - 3rd week of my cycle so overfeeding isn't an issue now. I'm planning on moving over some of my 30g guys into this tank, along with my corals so I hope they're gone soon. I won't move my corals into a tank with something in it that's going to sting them!

I've got brown hydroids in my 30g. Pain in the butt. Working on those and a bubble algae problem at the moment too.

It's always something! I'm just worried about my critters safety, and the look of the tank too - white specs aren't pretty.