# Controlling-exterminating Hydra



## Hades (19 May 2017)

Hello,

I'm reading and nosing around here for a while so decided to make an account, but this is actually my first message here so:
_*Hi there! *_

I will start with a question, I hope that's ok...
I am currently cycling a tank for shrimp so no livestock yet. A week or two ago i saw the first hydra and by now their numbers are growing... 

Since i know they are not ideal with young shrimp i would like to remove them before i introduce the shrimp.
I know there are some chemical products that can be used but i am not really fond of that. For what i read these can stay active in the soil for a while after the cure which is not ideal, snails will probably die and i risk to loose some of the bacteria in the filter...
So I would like to try other ways first.

I read some things about the 'battery approach' but this can possibly leak copper in the tank... I wonder what the long term consequences will be in that case?

There are some fish that eat them so also that would be an option. Not ideal because i am not planning to have fish in the tank but anyway: if there would be a real "Hydra-exterminator"-wonderfish i would consider adding a few for a while..

Anybody here that has experience with one of the above? Or any tips or advice?
Thanks in advance
cheers
hades


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## Nelson (19 May 2017)

Panacur.

http://www.planetinverts.com/killing_planaria_and_hydra.html


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## zozo (20 May 2017)

And after that some natural hydra predators could prevent them from comming back that fast..  Labyrinth fish sp. (Gourami), black molly, platty, sticklebacks, greatpond snail which is also an occasional worm eater.

Feeding life food like daphnia from a natural source is a common cause to get infected with hydra. So if it is this you buy in the lfs, you might want to consider growing your own controled daphnia culture from a clean batch. Or switch to mosquito larvaea, which actualy are predatory as well, that's why they don't grow them together with daphnia.

I think there are more natural predators for hydra, but that's a shot in the dark.. Most aquarium fish are omnivorous and partialy predatory, so keeping them hungry with a lean diet will trigger them to search and clean the tank more vigorously and eat things they might pass on with a full belly. I feed a lot daphnia and also froozen food. I have one tank containing only tetra's it regularly is infested with planaria, comes with the froozen food. Another tank, containing several predators, Dario Dario, Trichopsis pumila, Oreichtys and at least 2 different Lymnaea snail sp. Gets the same diet, but till now i have never seen any planaria nor hydra. I tried to find out and dropped some live planaria in it, i've seen the Oreichtys eat it..  Could also be the pondsnail helping it i do not know. 

Only know that the tank with the highest risk of getting it yet never had any of both..


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## Hades (20 May 2017)

Thanks for the answers Neil and Zozo!

I would like to avoid the use of chemicals in the tank as long as possible, i have ada amazonia soil in the tank and prefer not to possibly contaminate the soil with medicine residu for a longer period...
So i will try adding some of the 'right' fish for the job and see how good they are in "dehydrating"  my tank...
I think hydra came in the tank with introduction of plants since i haven't put any food in it so far. There's lot's of other critters in there by now so i'm afraid the hydra have a continous food source available that's why they are rapidly multiplying i guess...
Adding fish surely will help to take away that foodsource and make it harder for the hydra.

I'll update if i have any success...
Cheers


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## zozo (20 May 2017)

If it's a pest they multiply faster than they can be eaten.. It's worst than cherry shrimp. My Darios, pumilas hunt shrimp fry and the oreichtys occasionaly grabs an adult.. But they just can't be stopped if the numbers are high enough.

If you have to possiblity to house the fish temporary somewhere els.. Hydra dies off at 42°C, most plants can take it for a short periode.. But fish don't.
That is the most non chemical and effective way to kill Hydra..


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## Hades (20 May 2017)

That might be a possibility aswell... Thanks, good tip!
No livestock yet, except some snails, so that is not the problem.. I'm not sure if i can get to those temperatures with the heaters i got actually but i'll look into that!

But are you sure the plants can take that? I have quite a lot of bucephalandra in the tank and don't want to risk killing them since i love them deeply 
I also wonder if this temperature will have some consequences for the bacteria in soil and filter. 
I don't want to cause a major die off in that department...


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## zozo (20 May 2017)

I do have no personal experience with the so called Vienna method of killing Hydra.. It's an oldtimer trick, from hearsay most plants can take it, so obviously most?? As said it's a very old ancient trick, from times there were far less aquatic plants available than today. All plants from these days are the absolute hardy plants since aquarium keeping wasn't yet as subtile as is today.Than there surely will be some that don't. So i can give you no garanties or what so ever other than it kills the Hydra very effectively.

I'm just saying..  Since you don't like to use chemicals.

Personaly, i would remove most of the snails i like to keep and use Neils suggestion..


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## anthonyd (29 May 2017)

I use no planaria to eradicate hydra for good in my shrimp tanks.
Rising the temp over 45 degrees kill hydra but they eventually come back.
You can control hydras in tanks with spixi snails if you dont want to get down the chemical route but the amount of no planaria needed to kill hydra is so small that it wont affect the tank or the active substrate.


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