Hydra Invasion

[Guppyman]

While doing water changes today I noticed that one of my tanks which was just set up a few days ago has about 200 hydra clinging to the top of my box filter. I have rarely encountered them in all my years of fish keeping. They are way to small to photograph, but they are very cool looking. They're probably surviving on the loads of baby brine shrimp I feed daily. What's amazing is I have checked almost 200 tanks very closely and only found them in one tank. Very strange. Since there aren't any fry in this tank, they don't pose any real problem. Truth be told - they're pretty interesting. If the guppies don't eat them - I'll have to treat.

Did manage to get a pic. If it doesn't show up here - check my photo gallery.

Guppyman

 

[justDIY]

very neat, in a distrubing sort of way

 

[Allivymar]

Ewwww LOL

Awesome pic tho; the tentacles came out very clear.

Btw, if you decide you need to be rid of em, and the guppys don't touch em, you have 2 options I can think of off the top of my head.

Gouramis apparently chow on em. I haven't had any personal experience with that; well, I may have LOL but never knew it.

Panacur (its a large animal dewormer) works wonders. A few grains per 10g knocks em right out and doesn't affect the fish. This I HAVE done, as I had an infestation in my 55g that came in with some plants. Is why I'm not sure about the gouramis. Some of those plants went into the tank with the dwarf gouramis, but I never saw hydra. Did the gouramis eat em? I'll never know LOL

If you need some info on where to order Panacur, let me know.

 

[Guppyman]

You wanna talk about disturbing. I shot a stream of bbs across the colony. You should've seen those suckers grab them shrimp and collapse their tentacles to get them into their stomach. Very creepy!

Yes, I would like to know where to get Panacur. I live in a high farming and horse area, so possibly it's readily available around here. Give be a back up source - just in case.

If I bring a gourami in, next thing you know I'll have a community tank. 8O

Thanks. - Guppyman

 

[Allivymar]

I grabbed mine from here: http://www.springcreekgoatsupplies.com/Pharmacy.htm

That lil packet will prob last forever...

 

[tennhound]

What are HYDRA? and what fish will eat them? :?

 

[Guppyman]

Hydra Description

See: http://www.northern.edu/natsource/INVERT1/Hydra1.htm

 

[myriam]

Ok, I'm clueless here--what's a hydra?! They look weird in the pic but I haven't any idea what they are.

And Gman, how entirely bizarre that they showed up in just one of your hundreds of tanks 8O

 

[myriam]

Oops, I posted on this thread without refreshing the page first--hence I didn't see the link Gman put up. I just read that site. Weird! They are like some kind of prehistoric tiny creature.

 

[Guppyman]

Weird! They are like some kind of prehistoric tiny creature.

That is exactly what they are. I double checked all of my tanks today and could not find a single specimen in any other tank. This is very strange because that tank has only been running about a week or so - if that long. I'm getting about 10 new strains of guppies tomorrow, so I double and triple checked the tanks that have been seeding to make sure they are perfect. Also getting 1 dozen albino corydoras sterbea. You talk about a beautiful catfish. These are unbelievable. I haven't had the great photo touch lately, but I'll LYK when I post some pics.

 

[Sati]

I know hydras only from the video games I've played. That's pretty cool though. To be honest I would be very excited to find some life that I hadn't intentionally introduced into a tank. I'd probably get them their own tank if it were me, just to watch them. I'm curious :]

 

[Allivymar]

Bleaugh. I hate having life in my tanks that I didn't put there.

I've dealt with snails, nematodes, and hydra. The loaches chowed on the snails and nematodes, but I had to resort to the Panacur to rid the tank of the hydra. I especially wanted to rid my tank of the hydra, as they can be dangerous to fry (they catch n eat em) and I dunno if or when my angels will decide to stop wrestling and start breeding.

 

[myriam]

How totally creepy that they can catch and eat the little fry with their tentacles. Way weird.

Gman I totally wanna see your new cories!

 

[Guppyman]

I know what you mean about the curiosity. Myself, I have always been fascinated by microscopic pond life of all types. And I LOVE snails of all kinds - even common pond snails. When I get too many in a tank, I just crush the very young ones and the guppies and corys gobble them up. Free food! I'm in no hurry to see the hydra go - as long as they don't spread throughout the fish room. Knowing myself, I'm probably destined to see if I can get them to latch onto a newborn guppy. One that is of course deformed or premature, which would need to be culled anyway. - Frank

 

[myriam]

Gman, are all your guppy tanks connected somehow? I guess I'm just wondering if the hydra's eggs/spores/whatever can move between tanks. But I'm sure you've already figured this out

 

[Guppyman]

Gman, are all your guppy tanks connected somehow?

No, they are all isolated from one another. I don't even use a net from one tank to the next without disinfecting it first. FYI, I am in the process of building a 54 tank centralized system, as I expand the operation to my 400 tank goal. A high powered UV sterilizer should help that situation from developing. - Frank

 

[Sati]

Bleaugh. I hate having life in my tanks that I didn't put there.

Oh, I love it! My own little ecosystem in my home. It's amazing! Nature is so awesome :]

I know what you mean about the curiosity. Myself, I have always been fascinated by microscopic pond life of all types. And I LOVE snails of all kinds - even common pond snails. When I get too many in a tank, I just crush the very young ones and the guppies and corys gobble them up. Free food! I'm in no hurry to see the hydra go - as long as they don't spread throughout the fish room. Knowing myself, I'm probably destined to see if I can get them to latch onto a newborn guppy. One that is of course deformed or premature, which would need to be culled anyway. - Frank

I'd do the same. And I also love snails :] I don't love just fish, but all aquatic life.

 

[Allivymar]

Heh I love nature. Where it belongs LOL I don't consider my tank natural in any sense other then it has living things in there. Its (totally selfish moment here!) for my pleasure and enjoyment, and I want to see the things I put in there, not things that came along for the ride and wind up blocking my view LOL or squirming around the bottom of the tank. I love looking at all the cool things that live in oceans n lakes n forests etc...in the places they belong.

Now when I do the SW tank, I'll expect hitchikers. But not in my FW tanks

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

Sell them to a school biological class, they love doing stuff on them.

 

[myriam]

Gman, will this 400 tank system be in your new facility? The one in the pix here? And what exactly is a "centralized" system?