Is this Hydra?

[MrB15hop]

Hi guys..

As per the title really. I'm pretty sure that I'm looking at Hydra, just wanted to be certain before I figure out how to deal with it...

I spotted a few on some leaves last night, but today I've found a load, sitting right in the middle of the front glass.. (where I've made it difficult to clean) on a dirty bit...

I'll admit that maintenance has been slack the last week or 3... but now I'm concerned about shrimplets... 🙁

 

[Djoko Sauza]

Yes, that's Hydra 100%. There is a good way to get rid of it with a cat wormer, check out this thread: https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/controlling-exterminating-hydra.49841/

I used Panacur 10% Oral Suspension myself (very low dosage of course) and all the shrimps were completely fine. Unfortunately my Nerites couldn't handle it, but trumpet snails survived and so did my mysterious pest snails. Hydra was completely gone.

They will be a problem for your shrimplets only if there's a bunch of them together as the shrimp then will get stung multiple times at once.
With the white ones you can sort of control their population by limiting the amount of tiny food particles suspended in the water column but you have the green hydra apparently and they can photosynthesize (they only need light to survive and prosper?). Most important of all don't try manual removal as they will reproduce from the bits that are left behind. Cut off one head and two more will grow in its place!

Read up on the creature, Hydra really is fascinating. And it is also the biggest pain in the ass. 🙂

Best of luck!

 

[MrB15hop]

Thank you. 🙂

That's pretty much everything I wanted.....and didn't want to hear all in one. :-/

I've seen Panacur coming up repeatedly, so it might be a trip to P@H in the morning..

My initial thought was manual removal....but something in my head told me it might be a bad idea... glad I listened to myself now.
The highest concentration seems to be on the front glass, in a patch where it's most difficult to clean, and, I assume, slightly grippier for them.

What kind of dose of Panacur should I be looking at?
So far, the most accurate measurement I can find is "Not a lot"...lol.

 

[Djoko Sauza]

Remove any carbon or purigen and start with 1ml/100l. It should do the trick, if it doesn't after 24h I would add another 1ml/100l.

After they are gone add carbon again to remove the nasty chemicals.

Make sure you dillute it very well in water before adding to the tank, it is like yoghurt consistency.

Let us know how it went!