Aiptasia Filefish and Hydroids (colonial or otherwise)

[merkmerk73]

Anyone tried to use Aiptasia eating filefish to control hydroids?

I have a nasty infestation of colonial hydroids - they look like little teeny white umbrellas, but are distinctly not aiptasia.

In the past when I had those medusa hydroids on the glass for a month or so, I saw the filefish gobbling them up, and it would make sense to me that they'd go around gobbling these little hydroids up.

 

[blaxsun]

The only problem with filefish is that once they exhaust their favorite food source they go after your corals.

 

[mosreef]

Did the filefish take care of your hydroids?

 

[merkmerk73]

Did the filefish take care of your hydroids?

I watched it eat a few and then ignore them and pick at LPS

Also, they were jellyfish polyps and turned into little baby jellyfish when then died in the tank somewhere

Pretty much just solving itself

 

[I3rendangalloway]

Struggled w/ colonial hydroids for months - had them take over about 15% of my reef. Added an aptasia eating file fish little 1.5" from my LFS. Wiped them out in about 2 weeks. Empty stalks with the occasional hydroid that fluoresces - although its only a matter of time. Very happy with the fish. Model citizen in the tank thus far coral wise, eats pellets and flake but will explore the purple gorgonian...

 

[I3rendangalloway]

Filefish amongst the colonial hydroid skeletons