living thing

[fish48]

probably a type of hydra it's been quite happy living in one of fish tanks for the past two months

 

[FranciscoB]

Not Hydra (genus Hydra), but yes a hydrozoan (Hhylum Cnidaria). Very cool!
It should not be a problem unless very abundant, and only to the smallest of fry.

 

[Magnum Man]

are those dots eggs or larvae in it???

& how big is that???

 

[Back in the fold]

Never seen that before !

 

[FranciscoB]

are those dots eggs or larvae in it???

& how big is that???

I don't believe those are eggs or larvae. Instead, I believe those are algal cells. As corals, these things have a facultative symbiotic association with algae. They can survive without them but will do better with them. But I truth I don't know for sure. I see similar sized white and brown bodies.

 

[fish48]

I don't believe those are eggs or larvae. Instead, I believe those are algal cells. As corals, these things have a facultative symbiotic association with algae. They can survive without them but will do better with them. But I truth I don't know for sure. I see similar sized white and brown bodies.

I thought maybe is food particles but then it's only a guess

 

[FranciscoB]

It is possible but I don't believe so. These things are mainly carnivorous, eating tiny ciliates and other small forms. All those cells are of one type/size/color (green ones) and then similar to that the white ones.

 

[jaylach]

COOL!!!!

 

[Colin_T]

Monitor it, maintain it, record information about it, and keep posting pictures and updates on it. That is something you rarely see in freshwater aquariums and any information you gather could be useful to science.

 

[connorlindeman]

I had one of those in my 40g. You could see it move every few days, getting larger and smaller.
Very cool!

 

[emeraldking]

probably a type of hydra it's been quite happy living in one of fish tanks for the past two months
View attachment 321858

How big is it now?

 

[fish48]

How big is it now?

parts seem to break off and regrow

 

[Back in the fold]

parts seem to break off and regrow

Don’t look to outer space for strange life forms we have plenty of strange right here . That thing is coolio !