# Hydra?



## hookedonfishtanks (Feb 23, 2008)

I believe I have hydra in my shrimp tank, I got a batch of shrimp in that came with a bunch of snails, which I thought I had gotten rid of but I have seen snails here and there so I know I still have snails.

I have been seeing what I thought was a spore of some sort, but the numbers keep growing, they are on the glass, plants and wood in the tank. They are small with a white appearance a thicker base (thicker than the tentacles) and appear to each have four tentacles. Hydra is the only thing I can find that looks like that.

Does anyone know how to safely remove hydra from a shrimp tank?

Thanks in advance

If my post is in the wrong place I apologize, I wasn't sure where to put it.[/i]


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

I have heard of some products that will get rid of them but I am not sure any of them are safe for shrimp. 

I get them when I start seeing a lot of copepods. Wil see nothing for a while, then start to see a lot of copepods and then see a hydra explosion. Once the copepods are almost gone, the hydras die off. 

I would say that feeding less is a good place to start. Starve the hydras food and they will go away. This may help if their main food isn't the baby shrimp. I have tried to find a fish or crustacean that will eat them but have not been able to yet.


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## hookedonfishtanks (Feb 23, 2008)

Thanks. I have yet to see one eat a baby shrimp, although that doesn't mean that they haven't. They are very small hydra, barely viewable.

I will feed less and see if that helps.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

If you can take the shrimp out of the tank, you can raise your temp to over 104 degrees for a few hours. That will kill off the hydra without adding any medicine to the tank, and any live plants you have should do fine.

There are also fish you can get that will eat the hydra, three-spot gourami and paradise fish are two that come to mind.

Freshwater hydra is also very sensitive to salt in your tank. 0.3-0.5% for five to seven days. I *think* your shrimp will do ok with that, but you should definitely check.


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## hookedonfishtanks (Feb 23, 2008)

Thank you. How would you go about removing shrimp from a tank? I mean I think I could get several out but not all of them, they are fast and hide easily.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Lots and lots of chasing...and looking, very carefully. Multiple nets will help. Basically it stinks 

I did forget to mention that it won't face the underlying problem of *why* the hydra is flourishing. I agree that feeding less is probably a good approach.


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## hookedonfishtanks (Feb 23, 2008)

I am going to feed less, which will be next to none compared to what I feed now. I have no idea how the hydra came to be, I noticed them about a week ago and it took me forever to figure out what they were.

I cleaned the glass of the tank and that got rid of a few, I also did a small section gravel vac which got rid of a few.

I think I am going to take the route of feeding less and doing more cleaning and more water changes and hope that gets it under control.

Thanks again for your help.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Hydra is one of those things where if it's not present in your tank, it won't be a problem, even if you are overfeeding or something (as opposed to algae). So it might be worthwhile to eliminate the current hydra anyway.


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## FishGirl (Mar 31, 2008)

Here's a link you may find helpful.

http://aquaworld.netfirms.com/Predators/hydra.htm


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Hydra? Weren't they one of the metal bands of the '80"s? Didn't know they were into fish though. Hmmm. Learn something new every day.


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## hookedonfishtanks (Feb 23, 2008)

Thanks for the advice everyone. I ending up doing a lot of research and decided to go with fenbendazole, I used 1/10 of a gram and it killed all of the hydra. The planaria or nematodes died but I can still see a few so I am thinking of re dosing. I had no shrimp deaths and no snails deaths.


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

I wouldn't worry about the nematodes and planaria. The hydra are the only ones that would have had an effect on the shrimp as far as possibly eating them. Save the dose and use it if you have a hydra problem again. That's what I would do anyway. 

If you do decide to redose then let us know if the planaria and nematodes die finally. Also let us know if the shrimp still show no ill signs from it. I would do a water change soon just to make sure that long term exposure doesn't wind up taking out the shrip anyway, if it is even a worry or possibility.


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## hookedonfishtanks (Feb 23, 2008)

24 hrs after dosing I noticed the hydra was losing it's "limbs" and wasn't moving, after 48 hrs they were gone, I did a water change at that point but do plan on doing another.

If I dose again I will let you know what happens and will also post again if I see any ill effects from the meds.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

The planaria and nematodes should clear up just fine naturally as long as you aren't overfeeding and are doing regular water changes.


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