Please tell me what this is.....

I have something growing on one of the rocks in my tank. I just noticed it the other day and have no idea what it is. If anyone has any ideas please let me know and also any advice on how to get rid of it would be appreciated.
Thanks a lot!!

Tank is 55 gal freshwater.

it looks like some king of algae or fungis. you should test your water.

I agree, it does look like some sort of algae. I have tested my water and everything appears to be within normal parameters. I've also done several partial water changes just to ensure everything is alright.

I don't know what it is, but it looks cool! Not very helpful, am I?

Pamela
aka Lizard

Wish the picture was a bit clearer, but it looks like a hydroid colony to me (colony of hydra's) Some colonial hydra just continue to bud and the "babies" never get detached from the parent colony, but others bud into medusa's which detach from the colony and swim off to start a new colony, in this case, you would have these things popping up everywhere in your tank. I'd need a clearer pic to confirm which one, and if in fact it is a hydra. Hydra's are not harmful to your fish, and I'm actually quite surprised that the fish haven't made a tasty snack of it.

Had a hard time finding a photo of a really similar hydra, but I did find this one. This website has a close up, but it looks like your colony is larger and more developed. Strange that you only noticed it now

Pic of hydra

yeah lookslike hydra too me

Here is a better picture of this stuff. Is this hydra? Is it harmful and should I try to get rid of it? If so, how? Thanks.

Thats definately gotta be hydra, and Mogo is right, the fish might find them as a tasty treat.