# What are these!?



## Mr.Shenanagins (1 Nov 2020)

Is this algae or some type of organism? The green little stems with hair like tops on the wood.


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## GHNelson (1 Nov 2020)

Hydra!
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/bugs-you-might-encounter-in-your-aquarium.35994/


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## Mr.Shenanagins (1 Nov 2020)

hogan53 said:


> Hydra!
> https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/bugs-you-might-encounter-in-your-aquarium.35994/


Ha! Indeed they are! I don’t like the recommendation for getting rid of them though. Anything else I can do?


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## lilirose (1 Nov 2020)

Mr.Shenanagins said:


> Ha! Indeed they are! I don’t like the recommendation for getting rid of them though. Anything else I can do?



Dose with Panacur (fenbendazole), which you can buy as dog wormer or paste for worming rabbits. It's toxic to snails so any you want to keep will need to spend time in another tank until you complete treatment and remove the medicine with activated charcoal. Hydra can be predatory towards shrimp and fish fry so I would want to get rid of them.


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## Mr.Shenanagins (1 Nov 2020)

Well that sucks. I have a TON of nerites in my tank and it would be a real pan to have to do that. I’ll try manual removal for now of what I can see.


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## Raws69 (1 Nov 2020)

fyi the treatment only takes a few days to remove the hydra.


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## sparkyweasel (1 Nov 2020)

Mr.Shenanagins said:


> Well that sucks. I have a TON of nerites in my tank and it would be a real pan to have to do that. I’ll try manual removal for now of what I can see.


If you leave a tiny bit of one behind, it can regrow. If you break one up, any parts left behind can _each _regrow into a new Hydra. Hence the name, - after the Lernaean Hydra.
And they don't die of old age.
So they are fascinating (you could keep some in a jar and feed them daphnia) but, as @lilirose says, they will eat fry and shrimplets. If you're not intending to breed your fish or shrimps in that tank you could leave them.
Some Gouramis will eat them if they are hungry enough, so if you have any Gouramis you could move them to the Hydra tank for a few days and not feed them.


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## Wookii (1 Nov 2020)

I had quite a few appear in my tank a while back. Misted them with Excel and they were gone the next morning.

I assumed the Excel killed them and the shrimp ate them once dead.


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## Mr.Shenanagins (2 Nov 2020)

Wookii said:


> I had quite a few appear in my tank a while back. Misted them with Excel and they were gone the next morning.
> 
> I assumed the Excel killed them and the shrimp ate them once dead.


I’ve been reading you could use excel or H2O2, I may try that first. I don’t like medicating if I don’t have to. Not worried about fry just yet.


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## Mr.Shenanagins (2 Nov 2020)

Thanks for everyone’s input, I’ll update the progress 👍🏻


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## rebel (2 Nov 2020)

Insert gourami for a few days..... maybe you need to hire James Bond for a few days


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## Mr.Shenanagins (2 Nov 2020)

rebel said:


> Insert gourami for a few days..... maybe you need to hire James Bond for a few days


Haha yeah I considered that, but I don’t like getting animals to solve a problem (snails are the exception!). The gourami would probably prefer my hydrocotyle over the hydra anyway!


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## rebel (2 Nov 2020)

Mr.Shenanagins said:


> The gourami would probably prefer my hydrocotyle over the hydra anyway!


Dwarfs might be ok but point taken.

Maybe a black Molly.....  

Hydra can kinds of disappear on their own though. Boom bust sort of thing.


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