Tentacled Hydra lookin' things growing all over my tank

[rchilds]

Anybody know what these are? They seem harmless enough but they are starting to grow all over everything. The tentacles will pull in pieces of frozen brine shrimp if they can when I feed the fish. They are even growing on my powerheads.

-Ron

[Pineapple House]

I hate to be the one to day this, but you have Aiptasia problems :? They can be quite a pest. They are ugly, and will bother clams and other corals, by stinging them with their small, yet sever tentacles. In my experience, they bother zooanthid polyps often. If left to grow unchecked, they can easily take over an entire tank.

The best direct method of removal is injecting them with a little calcium hydroxcide. This is so far, the saftest was to inject them. It is likely that once you have them, you always will, since there is usually one or two hiding somewhere, waiting to reproduce. A favored method of control is peppermint shrimp. Other methods of control are the Copper Banded Butterfly(Which is a hit and miss, if you have a reef aquarium), Berghia sea slugs, which will feed ONLY on glass anemones, and many other chemical solutions.

If you have a FO/FOWLR (and are not planning on ever having a reef), why not just let them grow? Says Beth from Saltwaterfish.com, states that Aiptasia will actually get rid of Ich disease in its free swimming stage, by catching and eating it with its tentacles! Please correct me on this, i've never heard of this before :?

Good luck, and if you have anymore questions please post back :-D

PH =)

[phistio]

ditto...aiptasia anemones...best of luck! :|