Hydra

[shaz3271]

Hi

i have found hydra on the glass in my shrimp breeding tank not sure how it got there i have not added anything new for at least 4 month


i have read that Flubendazole gets rid of it but my tank has loads of trumpet and ramshorn snails in , as well as the 100 or so cherry shrimp,

i dont think i am willing to use Flubendazole , does anyone know another way to get rid of them without having to kill my snails...

please help

Sharon

 

[WILDER]

Only harmful to baby fish.
Cut back on feeding and a gravel vac gets rid of them.

 

[shaz3271]

Only harmful to baby fish.
Cut back on feeding and a gravel vac gets rid of them.

so they dont eat baby shrimp?

hard to do a bottom clean cos of all the moss and shrimp,

sharon

 

[WILDER]

Not sure on baby strimp to be honest.
Ask in tropical chat..

 

[garuf]

Don't do it Hydras are tiny! I've had them before they seem to prefer sub par conditions, increase water changes, clean the filter and see if they go.

 

[shaz3271]

Don't do it Hydras are tiny! I've had them before they seem to prefer sub par conditions, increase water changes, clean the filter and see if they go.

i cleaned the filter and did a water change this afternoon, thats when i noticed them.

im worried there eating my baby shrimp

Sharon

 

[5teady_2012]

Sharron, i read this elsewhere and it may be useful to you

Ive read that they can eat baby shrimp, didn't want to take that chance. And they can have a nasty sting to small animals. I just don't want a crazy amount of them in my tank. heres a link with some info about them.

Useful link to hydra

Also found these great pics of hydra and going by what i seen in your tank, these are 100% them

Wayne

 

[shaz3271]

Thanks for that wayne

still none the wiser how to get rid of them though.

hope im not looking at a full strip down

Sharon

 

[5teady_2012]

Thanks for that wayne

still none the wiser how to get rid of them though.

hope im not looking at a full strip down

Sharon

Will they actully eat the baby shrimp?

If not cant you leave them, or are they too much of a pest?

 

[WILDER]

Just maintance by doing gravel vacs, and cutting down on food.
Flubenol is a wormer but it kills snails.
No longer on the market now flubenol, you can buy wormer plus.

 

[shaz3271]

Thanks for that wayne

still none the wiser how to get rid of them though.

hope im not looking at a full strip down

Sharon

Will they actully eat the baby shrimp?

If not cant you leave them, or are they too much of a pest?

not 100% sure but my guess would be they will,

they must have come in with plants ages ago and i have not noticed them before

 

[shaz3271]

Just maintance by doing gravel vacs, and cutting down on food.
Flubenol is a wormer but it kills snails.
No longer on the market now flubenol, you can buy wormer plus.

i already have it in just realy dont want to use it,,,,,,,is it safe for shrimp anyway , im not sure.

 

[WILDER]

I doubt it if it kill snails.

I would just cut down on feeding.
Gravel vacs.

 

[Egmel]

Just maintance by doing gravel vacs, and cutting down on food.
Flubenol is a wormer but it kills snails.
No longer on the market now flubenol, you can buy wormer plus.

i already have it in just realy dont want to use it,,,,,,,is it safe for shrimp anyway , im not sure.

Flubendazole (the main ingredient in Flubenol and wormer plus) will kill off all your snails and will mean that you wont be able to re-populate the tank with them for a long time (months going by some people's experiences I've found on the net), I'm only re-populating mine now after 2 tank moves, a re-scape and a year since I used the stuff, which should be plenty long enough but I'll let you know how it goes

According to Bloo, it doesn't harm shrimps, she has used it several times with no adverse affects.

If I ever have to treat fish with it again then they are going to be treated in a separate tank so that I can keep my main tank snail safe

 

[Colin_T]

Hydra can live in tanks for months without being noticed. Then when a food source becomes abundant they grow in size and number. They eat baby fish and shrimp and anything else they can trap with their stinging tentacles. They are a menace in breeding tanks.
You can try adding salt to the water or copper but that will kill the shrimp. Because the tank is infested with them I would suggest taking out any shrimp you can and putting them in a new tank. Then treat the tank with copper, leave for a few days and then flush it out. Refill with clean water and put the shrimp back in.
You should always clean plants before putting them into a breeding tank.