Anoying "Pom Pom" Things

[MattTheFish]

Hi,
I was wondering if there are any Invertabretes that eat those annoying "Pom Pom" things that stick to the rocks. They grow rapidly and when i pick them of i take them out of my tank and they still come back the next day! My tank is a 15g tall reef tank. If there are any snails,small fish, or anything that eats them please let me know.

Thanks

[Sugar Magnolia]

Can you post a pic? I have no idea what these annoying pom pom things are, so I can't suggest soemthing to help control them.

[Doctor_Reef]

Ditto's with SM....We need a picture...you could be talking about a lot of different critters.....

[MattTheFish]

ok

[MattTheFish]

Those Brown things to the right! How do you change the size of the picture?

[gman0526]

They look like hydroids or aptasia. Just a guess

[MattTheFish]

Are there snails that get rid of them

[Sugar Magnolia]

Oh boy...that's not looking too good. It could be hydroids, which nothing that we can buy in this hobby, will eat, or it could be the polyp form of a type of jellyfish. Check this thread out - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=638479&highlight=hydroids
and this one - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=613554&highlight=hydroids.

Your best bet would be to pull the rocks that have them on them and break off the areas that are infested with them. I've got them in my 2.5 tank which will be taken care of shortly.

btw, you have a couple of rather large aiptasia in the center of the tank. Nuke them with some kalk paste or lemon juice. Just squirt it directly in their mouths and they'll shrivel up and die.

[MattTheFish]

It reads that i have to be a member to read it. So there is nothing to do but pick them off constantly! And can i just pull of those aiptasia, or do they sting because they look like anenomes.
Thanks

[Brock Fluharty]

Aiptasia are anemones. Squirt them with lemon juice. I don't think they will sting you, but they will other anemones or corals, possibly fish.

[Doctor_Reef]

Use kalk or lemon juice on the aptasia...don't pull them off... they break up and will come back in groves....

[KDFrosty]

Peppermint shrimp have been known to eat aptasia

[coral_diver]

Joe's juice injected into the center with a needle syringe, lemon juice same method as prior, sometimes a peppermint shrimp as Doctor Reef said can go after small and tiny ones only, or I have heard of some using boiling water and injecting them but can affect small areas around where it may contact. And as Doc said if you loose say a piece of the aptasia it will make a new one but you as a last resort can pull them off but you must remove the entire thing or it will come back do this only if infested. Some people have sensitivity to the stinging of them that will produce a small rash sometimes they wont hurt you like pain or anything they will feel sticky those are the stinging cells. I promise that you only have a hair algea problem also not hydroids trust me I have had hydroids of all types since I am a seahorse keeper believe me you would know if that was droids. I added to the hydroid post and they can be irradicated by diamox a de-wormer but as de-wormers do it will take out your bristle worms also so...really make sure that things are droids before you do anything like this!!! Droids are often introduced by non decapsulated brine shrimp eggs and threw a infected coral or LR such as a sea fan. Hydroids can be seen with a magnifying glass to just as a FYI. BTW I leave mine alone and it seems I only have a few tiny ones every now and then and the big ones die off at times never to come back...luck to you

[MattTheFish]

thans sooo much

[gk arshens]

I had some rather large aptasia come on some frags I bought and my peppermint shrimp ate them in one night

[gman0526]

Nice tips on aptasia, but those are hydroids. Picture for comparison. Picture from http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hitchhikercnidarians.html

[gman0526]

More info
http://web.archive.org/web/20030419123937re_/www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1999/mar/wb/default.asp

[TranZ]

I never had a peppermint shrimp but from what i read they are predator shrimp which will pick on soft corals once the aiptasia problem is eliminated.

[pilotrob]

ive had peppermint shrimp in my soft coral dominated reef for years now and have never once seen them hurt anything. ive heard camel shrimp on the other hand (which look alot like peppermints) can cause damage.

[Aquatic Realms]

Peppermint Shrimp, once the Aptasia is gone will more than often turn to eat other things in your tank that you don't want eaten.

Just a warning to those of you that have them in your system.

They won't do it all the time, but many do.

[gk arshens]

I guess I have been lucky. The only problem mine give me is they will wteal my BTA's food if I don't feed them first.

[pilotrob]

im not the least bit worried about peppermint shrimp. ive never had anything happen to any of the many soft corals in my tank, and ive had plenty of peppermint shrimp. however i have had them seal food from anemones too (along with cleaner shrimp)