Does Anything Eat Hydra?

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Hi,

I have a coldwater tank with hydra; is there anything I can get to help eat and control the population of hydra; it's only an 8 gallon tank. I was also wondering about maybe coverting it to a tropical tank and getting a new one for what is in there so is there anything that would eat it in warm water too? Could I if possible get suggestions for both cold and warm water.

Cleaning the hydra doesn't seem to do too much; I just seem to dislodge them from the surface and you can see them "swimming" around the tank.

 

[KittyKat]

Have you tried pouring hot, salty water over them? It cleared them out of my tank a treat when I had them a few years back. What I did was mix up salt (rock sea salt, aquarium salt or marine mix) with freshly boiled water and then syphon the mixture with an airline directly onto the individual hydra. In extreme cases, I even poured the mixture down the glass of the tank (but generally this is NOT a good idea as it could potentially make the glass crack!).

Scraping them off can result in them spreading even more, potentially.

There are a few species of gourami which will eat them, but they are tropical and as far as I know, most are too big for your tank.

 

[OldMan47]

I know of nothing that eats them. If there are no fish in the tank, empty it and clean it properly before refilling. If you have a cycled filter it would be best to try to save that but the hydra must go.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Have you tried pouring hot, salty water over them? It cleared them out of my tank a treat when I had them a few years back. What I did was mix up salt (rock sea salt, aquarium salt or marine mix) with freshly boiled water and then syphon the mixture with an airline directly onto the individual hydra. In extreme cases, I even poured the mixture down the glass of the tank (but generally this is NOT a good idea as it could potentially make the glass crack!).

Scraping them off can result in them spreading even more, potentially.

There are a few species of gourami which will eat them, but they are tropical and as far as I know, most are too big for your tank.

I have emptied the tank and poured in, hot water (very hot but not boiling) with no salt; how would putting salt in a freshwater tank affect it afterwards as I am sure I wouldn't be able to get rid of all the salt properly? I have put all the ornamets in boiling water and the gravel but it doesn't cure the problem when I can't get them off the glass.

I know of nothing that eats them. If there are no fish in the tank, empty it and clean it properly before refilling. If you have a cycled filter it would be best to try to save that but the hydra must go.

I have emptied it and cleaned it properly twice and I still have it. I have newts in the tank so I can't have the tank out of operation for a long time.

 

[KittyKat]

I don't know how your newts would react to it, but most fish are fine with at least some salt in the tank and it is even used as a cure. If you want a safe maximum, then use no more then the doses recommended for treatment. There are a few fish species which are salt intolerant, mainly of South American origin, but they are few and far between.

If you are actually emptying the tank and filling it with hot (tap?) water, then you can also use rock salt.. just be sure to rinse it before putting any animals in again. The salt is really quite easy to get out, IME (when moving equipment between my marine and freshwater tanks).

 

[Amerce]

I bought some dog wormer which had Fenbendazole and dissolved it in some water and treated the tank, it killed all the hydra stone dead after a day or so, I treated all my nets and other tanks without any adverse effect as well (just in case), and they had fish in them.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I may try the rock salt first and if it doesn't work then I'll try the wormer.

 

[drobbyb]

Any medication with copper in it will get rid of them (or so I've heard since I haven't had an outbreak myself.)

 

[grumpysteve]

i have heard mollies and gouramies eat them, and like suggested above, any meds with copper in them.

as you're suggesting turning the tank into a tropical from coldwater, you could re-home the coldwater fish and leave the tank empty for a while? try and keep the filter running in another tank though so you don't lose any bacteria

if not maybe clean everything out again, then make sure you don't over feed whatever is in there. have a strict cleaning routine, they usually thrive in dirty tanks

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

if not maybe clean everything out again, then make sure you don't over feed whatever is in there. have a strict cleaning routine

I don't overfeed; I have newts in there; they get hand fed and a bit gets put in a bowl for a while and then it's taken out - there is very little waste left over.

I do have a strict cleaning routine; I have two tanks, only one has it - and it came from a live plant and it's gradually growing more and more. It was my first set of live plants, I can tell you never again.

 

[KittyKat]

Hey, no need to hold it against all plants! Accidents happen.. it is actually considered to be good practice to disinfect new plants, by some people. I personally sell plants, but have never sold any which were from a tank where anything was wrong with it. Ok, a few snails might get into the moss, but never any parasites or diseases. That would just be cruel.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

The plants were kept in water for a few days before I put them in the tank (as I was informed I should do first). Oh I got snails as well...

I like normal plants if that counts kitty kat .

 

[KittyKat]

I've never heard of anyone suggesting keeping them in just water for a few days! "Normal" disinfection procedures can be quite extreme though.. for example, soaking in meths blue or dunking in bleach (weak solution); more moderate ones are usually soaking them in some fish meds which contain copper or an anti-bacterial med.

Alright, will let you odd Just sounds as if you had a bit of a crap experience

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Just sounds as if you had a bit of a crap experience

Unfortunately it does; however it will be a long time before I consider real plants again.