# Hydra strategy advice



## aec34 (27 Dec 2020)

So... got some hydra appearing in my 20l shrimp tank (planted pretty heavily, 11+  cherry shrimp, set up about 2 months, no CO2, no snails, weekly 30-50% water changes). They appeared a bit after an outbreak of cyclopes, and I’m assuming this is connected - I don’t feed my shrimp but let them graze on what they find. This also coincided with the removal of their old almond leaf, and I kid myself a few hydra went away when I gave them a new one for Christmas, but I suspect this is wishful thinking...

The shrimp don’t seemed bothered, but I’m worried about what happens if they start breeding, which I’m hoping will be soon:  some saddles are appearing, and they bred in the old tank (biorb).

Strikes me I’ve got 3 options - and I would welcome advice:

1. Don’t worry about it. There aren’t loads of them, and hopefully as they pork their way their way through available food they’ll go away so as to be unnoticeable - and some babies will survive...? But more babies = more food...

2. Attempt to dose with Panacur or No Planaria. I’m a bit scared about this because I only have a very small volume of water, and _really_ don’t want to overdose by accident (and liquid solution Panacur is £30/bottle?!?). Is No Planaria an easier and cheaper option?  Any advice on dosing levels?

3. I’m really not keen on the electrode option... 

...and there are no ‘fish libraries’ as my husband pointed out, so I can’t borrow a beast to eat them.

Ta!


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## Geoffrey Rea (27 Dec 2020)

Personally have let hydra run their course and they’ve disappeared of their own accord @aec34 , watchful waiting approach. These have all been heavily planted tanks though.

Given the outbreak of cyclops beforehand, maybe others can advise as to whether this is connected.


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## dw1305 (27 Dec 2020)

Hi all,


Geoffrey Rea said:


> Given the outbreak of cyclops beforehand, maybe others can advise as to whether this is connected.


It is, but only indirectly. When you have a lot of small live food you tend to get a Hydra boom, but only if the Hydra were already present in the tank. Yours will probably become inconspicuous again, but if you do want to get rid of them fenbendazole ("Panacur") is very effective.

Old aquarists used to associate <"Hydra with feeding Baby Brine Shrimps">, but that doesn't really make any sense, Hydra are entirely freshwater organisms, so they can't have come with the Brine shrimp eggs. <"My "Hydra" tank"> was one where I fed a lot of live food, some _Daphnia_, but mainly Grindal and Micro Worms.

I know that Hydra are really common in ponds etc, but are often very inconspicuous and <"can subsist for years on very little food">.

cheers Darrel


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## aec34 (29 Dec 2020)

Geoffrey Rea said:


> These have all been heavily planted tanks though


Thanks both - I’ll let my frogbit get wilder to see if that helps, and tough it out for a bit


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## aec34 (5 Jan 2021)

Ok, some of the hydra are getting pretty big now, and now I’ve got berried shrimp so time for Panacur. 

Do people recommend getting tablets, or 10%/22% suspension? And what dose should I aim for? I’m not totally infested, but I’d feel happier for the sake of the new arrivals if the hydra were fewer.

Treasure trove of options:
Search Results : VetUK Selling Pet Drugs and Pet Products to Pet Owners online. 

My concern is that this is for my 20l tank, so I’m very anxious about overdosing and killing the shrimp. (No snails.)


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## Wookii (5 Jan 2021)

Whenever I get a few Hyrda making an appearance, I mist them with a little Excel, they are generally gone the next day - I've always assumed the shrimp eat the corpses.


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## dw1305 (5 Jan 2021)

Hi all, 


aec34 said:


> Do people recommend getting tablets,


I used the <"Panacur Granules Sachets"> and just ground the powder with a pestle and mortar. 

cheers Darrel


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## veerserif (5 Jan 2021)

Seconding the recommendation for Panacur C dog dewormer, the 22% fenbendazole mix. I dose 0.1g per 10 gallons (so roughly 0.1g/40L), and get results in 24 hours or so. I crushed it into a fine powder with a rolling pin, and sprinkle the powder straight into the tank.
Functionally that probably means the barest pinch of powder will be enough for your tank since it's very small.


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## aec34 (6 Jan 2021)

Brilliant - thank you!


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## Karmicnull (8 Jan 2021)

Just to give the alternative view, I used Genchem no-planaria on my 12L shrimp/cuttings tank a few weeks ago when I had a pile of baby shrimp that were smaller than the hydra, and it worked perfectly.


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## aec34 (8 Jan 2021)

Karmicnull said:


> Just to give the alternative view, I used Genchem no-planaria on my 12L shrimp/cuttings tank a few weeks ago when I had a pile of baby shrimp that were smaller than the hydra, and it worked perfectly.


Great - how straightforward was dosing on a little tank? That’s my primary concern in all this


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## Karmicnull (8 Jan 2021)

It comes with a teaspoon in the pack, and the dosing was 1 spoonful per 50 litres for the first dose going down to 1/4 spoonful for the 3rd dose on day 3.  For mathematical convenience I assumed my tank was 12.5 litres, and measured out 1/4 spoonful, 1/8 spoonful and finally 1/16th spoonful.  And then rounded them all down a bit for safety.  The hydra p[retty much pegged it after the first dose.  It did occur to me that I could have been more accurate by mixing in a larger amount  with 20mls of water and then just adding a measured fraction of the water.  Of course I only thought of that afterwards, so I faffed around with tiny measures obsessively.  My shrimp ignored the whole thing.  But they were noticeably more active by day 4.  I hadn't realised how subdued they had become with the rise of Hydra.

Cheers,
  Simon


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## aec34 (8 Jan 2021)

@Karmicnull, thanks - that’s really useful.


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## aec34 (12 Jan 2021)

Posting this here for the sake of completeness: updated version of a link I’ve seen linked elsewhere on UKAPS to accounts of using Fenbendazole on shrimp tanks against hydra - 
Kill Planaria & Hydra


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## not called Bob (21 Jan 2021)

Apparently pondsnails will eat then. I used some aptasia x and that worked fine, but the electro wand is also a good way if you toast all the flesh to prevent multiplying the problem.


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## aec34 (21 Jan 2021)

I ended up dosing 0.05g panacur (no, that isn’t very much - I invested in some little scales). I didn’t grind all of it fine enough, so I had a little snowy patch in the tank. 
Within a couple of hours all the hydra lost their tentacles. I did a 50% water change the next day. We’re now a week on and no sign of the hydra, and the remaining powder has dissolved. Shrimp seem quite perky, and berried shrimp still ok. Success! 👍


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## sparkyweasel (21 Jan 2021)

not called Bob said:


> if you toast all the flesh to prevent multiplying the problem.


It worked for Hercules.


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## MissATV (3 Feb 2021)

aec34 said:


> I ended up dosing 0.05g panacur (no, that isn’t very much - I invested in some little scales). I didn’t grind all of it fine enough, so I had a little snowy patch in the tank.
> Within a couple of hours all the hydra lost their tentacles. I did a 50% water change the next day. We’re now a week on and no sign of the hydra, and the remaining powder has dissolved. Shrimp seem quite perky, and berried shrimp still ok. Success! 👍


Hello, 

Can I ask you how did you dose the Panacur? I have seen some hydras in my tank and bought a 1.8gr satchet of crystals of Panacur but not sure what to do with it next. 
Do I measure 0.05 grind it and add it to my tank or do I mix it with tank water before? If yes how much water? 

Thanks!


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## Wookii (3 Feb 2021)

MissATV said:


> Hello,
> 
> Can I ask you how did you dose the Panacur? I have seen some hydras in my tank and bought a 1.8gr satchet of crystals of Panacur but not sure what to do with it next.
> Do I measure 0.05 grind it and add it to my tank or do I mix it with tank water before? If yes how much water?
> ...



As @veerserif details above, if it’s the 22% powder, you need 0.1g per 40 litres.

I’ve had to use some today for Planaria. I just measured out what I needed, (0.15g for my 60 litre tank), added to a small mixing bottle with some warm tap water, gave it a through shake until it had dissolved (or rather gone fully into suspension, it doesn’t seem to dissolve fully), and poured it into the tank.


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## dw1305 (3 Feb 2021)

Hi all,


MissATV said:


> Can I ask you how did you dose the Panacur?


I powder it with a <"pestle and mortar"> and tip it in. Rather than try to weigh out really small amounts, I divide it <"into portions by eye">.


dw1305 said:


> Rather than trying weigh out 0.1g in 10 gallon (~50 litre), if you buy the 1 g sachets, pour the sachet out and divide it into five equal portions by eye. Each portion will then treat 100 litres of water.



cheers Darrel


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## aec34 (3 Feb 2021)

Hi @MissATV yep, what @Wookii said. I measured by tipping onto scales on a bit of paper, ground it up best I could with the back of a spoon, then dissolved it in a bit of water before chucking in. (I needed such a tiny amount it was easier to put a weight on the scales then add on top of that.) It all looked a bit The Wire.
Don’t worry if you still end up with white bits in the tank - they eventually dissolve.


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## Barbara Turner (3 Feb 2021)

I used a liquid Panacur with equal success, It made me smile as I bought it from pets at home so had to create a fictitious dog, they even asked me it's the name and how old it was.  I'm not sure if they would have sold it to me if I would have said it's going in the fish tank...


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## Hufsa (3 Feb 2021)

Barbara Turner said:


> I used a liquid Panacur with equal success, It made me smile as I bought it from pets at home so had to create a fictitious dog, they even asked me it's the name and how old it was.  I'm not sure if they would have sold it to me if I would have said it's going in the fish tank...


If it helps any I once had to buy baby diapers for a horse


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## Wookii (3 Feb 2021)

Hufsa said:


> If it helps any I once had to buy baby diapers for a horse



That must have been a tiny horse🤣


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## MissATV (6 Feb 2021)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I powder it with a <"pestle and mortar"> and tip it in. Rather than try to weigh out really small amounts, I divide it <"into portions by eye">.
> 
> ...




Thanks Darrel, 
I will do it like that then. Do I need to do a water change after or can leave it in for a few days? 

Also is it worth treating the whole tank (has all adult fish in and no shrimps) if I only saw 4-5 and I removed them manually? Could they still be present but maybe not visible to the eye? Or there is such a thing of only a handful which won't get out of control.

My main concern is I use the same tools to clean the shrimp tank and I am afraid I will transfer some over where they could cause a head ache to shrimplets.


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## Barbara Turner (7 Feb 2021)

I understood it to be snail and shrimp safe. 
I would do regular water changes afterwards, as you you will be killing off any worms you have in the gravel causing a possible nitrate spike.


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## dw1305 (7 Feb 2021)

Hi all, 


MissATV said:


> Do I need to do a water change after or can leave it in for a few days?


I'd probably leave it for a few days. I carry on with water changes, but I only change a small volume of water (every day)


MissATV said:


> if I only saw 4-5 and I removed them manually? Could they still be present but maybe not visible to the eye? Or there is such a thing of only a handful which won't get out of control.


I always have them, but they only become apparent in tanks where I feed a <"lot of small live food items">, and particularly micro-worms. 


Barbara Turner said:


> as you you will be killing off any worms you have in the gravel


I'd be less worried, it only kills nematodes, Hydra and Planaria, it doesn't effect annelid worms (or leeches).

cheers Darrel


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## MissATV (14 Feb 2021)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'd probably leave it for a few days. I carry on with water changes, but I only change a small volume of water (every day)
> 
> I always have them, but they only become apparent in tanks where I feed a <"lot of small live food items">, and particularly micro-worms.


How odd I fed some whiteworms(quite large) and brine shrimp recently. I also introduced some new guppy grass off ebay and I blame it on it. I dont think they're thriving though I can see 1-2 in each of my tanks now so tomorrow I'll take the plunge and add the panacur to them. I am quite nervous to not affect the livestock, its fully safe for fish right?


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## Fuzzy Shaq (13 Nov 2022)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I used the <"Panacur Granules Sachets"> and just ground the powder with a pestle and mortar.
> 
> cheers Darrel


@dw1305 I'm battling some hydra at the moment. How many days did you dose with the pancur? I can't seem to find an answer on Google.


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## Courtneybst (13 Nov 2022)

Fuzzy Shaq said:


> @dw1305 I'm battling some hydra at the moment. How many days did you dose with the pancur? I can't seem to find an answer on Google.


Anytime I've had hydra I did one dose and that was enough.

In fact I just did a dose yesterday on my new tank.


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## Fuzzy Shaq (13 Nov 2022)

Courtneybst said:


> Anytime I've had hydra I did one dose and that was enough.
> 
> In fact I just did a dose yesterday on my new tank.


Thanks for the reply. How long do you leave it in the tank? I've seen online some people dose it 3 times in a week. How quickly did you notice results?


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## Courtneybst (13 Nov 2022)

Fuzzy Shaq said:


> Thanks for the reply. How long do you leave it in the tank? I've seen online some people dose it 3 times in a week. How quickly did you notice results?


It's not something you need to remove. You add the dose of Panacur and you'll notice results within 24 hours. Usually after a couple of days the hydra will be all gone.

I have no idea why people are dosing multiple times in a week, unless their tanks are plastered with hydra lol.


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## Fuzzy Shaq (13 Nov 2022)

Courtneybst said:


> It's not something you need to remove. You add the dose of Panacur and you'll notice results within 24 hours. Usually after a couple of days the hydra will be all gone.
> 
> I have no idea why people are dosing multiple times in a week, unless their tanks are plastered with hydra lol.


Thanks for clearing that up for me, so much conflicting information on shrimp diseases. I've kept fish tanks and disease wise are very easy to spot and treat.
Now I'll play the waiting game and hopefully the little buggers will be gone 😃


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