Hydra Outbreak

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I bought some Hornwort last month and got the usual pond snails as hitch-hikers and also Hydra . This is only the second time in nearly sixty years that I have seen Hydra . There’s a lot of them and they devour BBS ravenously . I’ll quit feeding that and starve them out . That’s all I can think to do . I siphon them out at water changes and it’s something how that sucker foot of theirs holds on . They’re in just the one aquarium so no problem with them elsewhere .

 

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Creepy looking things . They don’t bother newborn Guppies or Platy’s .

 

[connorlindeman]

Hail Hydra!
(this is obviously a joke, the name always reminds of the villainous organization from the Marvel universe.)

 

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Hail Hydra!
(this is obviously a joke, the name always reminds of the villainous organization from the Marvel universe.)

“ Cut off one limb and two more take its place ! “ I thought that too and I tried to weave it into my post but I’m glad somebody thought of that .

 

[Essjay]

If you want to use a chemical - flubendazole. It'll also kill inverts you want to keep, so don't use it if you have ornamental snails or shrimps.

 

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If you want to use a chemical - flubendazole. It'll also kill inverts you want to keep, so don't use it if you have ornamental snails or shrimps.

Thanks for the tip but I’m not fond of chemicals and I do have some nice Ramshorn snails in this aquarium which are doing well . Dr. William T. Innes claims that a complete change of water eradicates them but he doesn’t elaborate beyond that statement . I assume that would eliminate their food source . I have way too many fish in this five gallon aquarium and I do an every other day 75% water change but nothing has changed with the Hydra . Since they aren’t harming the fish I will content myself to see how this winds up .

 

[GaryE]

They may not be able to take down a guppy fry (some species of hydra can) but they will sting your fish. You can shoot them with a pipette filled with hydrogen peroxide, or a syringe of it. You can lengthen the device with airline for precise hits. It takes time, but will reduce them considerably.

You now probably have them for good, without @Essjay 's solution. They are survivors. So consider flubendazole.

In Montreal, I had large ones that ate rainbow fry, and that stood alone. Here, they are green and photosynthesize - stumpy little things. They cluster and are easy to beat back, til you get slack and they come back.

I don't like them, and have scarring on fish. Yours look like they can do damage. They spread very easily via nets, hands, etc. They're classic pests.

 

[Innesfan]

Gouramis will eat them, especially Blue Gouramis. I'm told Mollies will too.

 

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@GaryE I wondered about that stinging you mentioned . I do see that the fish avoid them very carefully . Thank you for confirming my suspicion .

 

[gwand]

Do you think the hydra emerge as one of many creatures found in infusoria?

 

[MaloK]

They look huge !!!

 

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Do you think the hydra emerge as one of many creatures found in infusoria?

Hmmm . . . . I don’t “think” so but I really don’t know for sure . In the past on this forum several people have asked whether they should quarantine new plants and the advice was usually no but I now think differently .

 

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They look huge !!!

About 3/16 inch .

 

[Innesfan]

Do you think the hydra emerge as one of many creatures found in infusoria?

Don't know, but the only outbreaks I have ever had were in fry tanks that were being fed live BBS. I got rid of it with potassium permanganate (which I also use to sterilize new plants). In one case the fry were about to outgrow the tanks so I moved them out and cleaned the tanks with hot water (104F or more) which also kills the buggers.

 

[MaloK]

About 3/16 inch .

The only time I had those, they came with plants, In my case they went away on their own, because of the constant pressure of a large shrimp colony that didn't leave them much chances by constantly ripping them off.

I'm sure they are sill in there but, I never seen one in many months. The adult shrimps looks like there was no concern with them and I never seen them catch any babies. But they did eat a lot of seed shrimps.