Help! Hydra!

I've never had trouble with hydra before. So where do they first crop
up? In my 2.5g shrimp tank, with a female holding eggs! *mutter* They
must have come in on some plants I grabbed from outside.

I'd prefer not to move the shrimp. They're red cherry shrimp and very
sensitive to changes in water conditions. That means no copper or
fluke-tabs for the time being.

Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal, but I'm
afraid a Trichogaster spp. gourami would eat the shrimp right along with
the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will eat Hydra. Does
anyone have any experience that agrees? Are mystery snails likely to
leave baby shrimp alone? Are there any other small, mild-mannered hydra
eating creatures?

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

No experience, but I have a book which says...

In small numbers, removing and vigorously cleaning infested items
under running water should work.

Otherwise, in addition to the gourami, Paradise fish (Macropodus
opercularis) will eat hydra. Also, several hours at 40 degrees C will
kill them (be sure to gravel vac after). And, it's supposed to be
sensitive to common salt and salinity of .3 to .5 percent for 5-7 days
will usually do it (after which you should work toward restoring
normal water conditions).

No clue what conditions your shrimp might tolerate, but I'm sure you
know... :-)

FWIW,

Liz


Elaine T wrote:

I've never had trouble with hydra before. So where do they first crop
up? In my 2.5g shrimp tank, with a female holding eggs! *mutter* They
must have come in on some plants I grabbed from outside.

I'd prefer not to move the shrimp. They're red cherry shrimp and very
sensitive to changes in water conditions. That means no copper or
fluke-tabs for the time being.

Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal, but I'm
afraid a Trichogaster spp. gourami would eat the shrimp right along with
the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will eat Hydra. Does
anyone have any experience that agrees? Are mystery snails likely to
leave baby shrimp alone? Are there any other small, mild-mannered hydra
eating creatures?

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

"Elaine T" wrote in message
om...
I've never had trouble with hydra before. So where do they first crop
up? In my 2.5g shrimp tank, with a female holding eggs! *mutter*
They must have come in on some plants I grabbed from outside.

I'd prefer not to move the shrimp. They're red cherry shrimp and very
sensitive to changes in water conditions. That means no copper or
fluke-tabs for the time being.

Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal, but I'm
afraid a Trichogaster spp. gourami would eat the shrimp right along
with the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will eat Hydra.
Does anyone have any experience that agrees? Are mystery snails likely
to leave baby shrimp alone? Are there any other small, mild-mannered
hydra eating creatures?

--
Elaine T

From the Advanced Aquarist Guide, Dr.Ghadially
Hydra are rather particular about water conditions and temperature, and
can hence be destroyed in many ways: i) Raising the temperature to 105F
for 15 minutes after the removal of the fish, ii) Ammonium nitrate
method, 300mg/g, repeat after 4 days if required, iii) Quinine, chlorine,
formaldehyde, copper sulphate etc are all equally effective, though
needlessly drastic, iv) Gouramis, Paradise fish and pond snails are all
reported to eat Hydra. hth

Given the presence of Cherry shrimps (you don't like to make it easy, do
you??? ;~), how about a licorice or dwarf gourami?
--
www.NetMax.tk

NetMax wrote:
"Elaine T" wrote in message
om...

I've never had trouble with hydra before. So where do they first crop
up? In my 2.5g shrimp tank, with a female holding eggs! *mutter*
They must have come in on some plants I grabbed from outside.

I'd prefer not to move the shrimp. They're red cherry shrimp and very
sensitive to changes in water conditions. That means no copper or
fluke-tabs for the time being.

Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal, but I'm
afraid a Trichogaster spp. gourami would eat the shrimp right along
with the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will eat Hydra.
Does anyone have any experience that agrees? Are mystery snails likely
to leave baby shrimp alone? Are there any other small, mild-mannered
hydra eating creatures?

--
Elaine T


From the Advanced Aquarist Guide, Dr.Ghadially
Hydra are rather particular about water conditions and temperature, and
can hence be destroyed in many ways: i) Raising the temperature to 105F
for 15 minutes after the removal of the fish, ii) Ammonium nitrate
method, 300mg/g, repeat after 4 days if required, iii) Quinine, chlorine,
formaldehyde, copper sulphate etc are all equally effective, though
needlessly drastic, iv) Gouramis, Paradise fish and pond snails are all
reported to eat Hydra. hth

Given the presence of Cherry shrimps (you don't like to make it easy, do
you??? ;~), how about a licorice or dwarf gourami?

ROFL! It's no fun to ask the easy ones. ;-) Licorice gouramis are
neat but hard to find. I do see sparkling gouramis for sale all the
time - maybe they'd do the trick.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

I had hydra problems.. until I got the lace/pearl gouramis (T. Leeri).
now the hydras are gone

I had lots of brown algae (diatom) problems... until I got
otocincluses. now I don't get brown algaes anymore

I had thread algae problems.. until I got SAEs (c. siamensis). now the
thread algaes are gone

I had massive snail infestations, picking out 20+ snails from the tank
everyday and still brewing more... until I got zebra loaches (b.
striata). now all I find are empty snail shells

and what do I have in my tank now? 4 SAE, 4 gouramis, 4 zebra loaches,
few otos, and bunch of chain loaches. hmmm... it started out as 12
danio tank! all of them has since died off over the past 4 years...
and the fish I got as my tank cleaners have outlived them...

typical case of tank maintenance necessity dictating what fish to keep!

linda

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:17:31 GMT, Elaine T
wrote:

I've never had trouble with hydra before. So where do they first crop
up? In my 2.5g shrimp tank, with a female holding eggs! *mutter* They
must have come in on some plants I grabbed from outside.

I'd prefer not to move the shrimp. They're red cherry shrimp and very
sensitive to changes in water conditions. That means no copper or
fluke-tabs for the time being.

Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal, but I'm
afraid a Trichogaster spp. gourami would eat the shrimp right along with
the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will eat Hydra. Does
anyone have any experience that agrees? Are mystery snails likely to
leave baby shrimp alone? Are there any other small, mild-mannered hydra
eating creatures?


Make a project of getting good photos of the hydras. I tried that,
the hydras disappeared.

Charles wrote:
On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:17:31 GMT, Elaine T
wrote:


I've never had trouble with hydra before. So where do they first crop
up? In my 2.5g shrimp tank, with a female holding eggs! *mutter* They
must have come in on some plants I grabbed from outside.

I'd prefer not to move the shrimp. They're red cherry shrimp and very
sensitive to changes in water conditions. That means no copper or
fluke-tabs for the time being.

Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal, but I'm
afraid a Trichogaster spp. gourami would eat the shrimp right along with
the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will eat Hydra. Does
anyone have any experience that agrees? Are mystery snails likely to
leave baby shrimp alone? Are there any other small, mild-mannered hydra
eating creatures?



Make a project of getting good photos of the hydras. I tried that,
the hydras disappeared.

ROFLMAO! My camera is terrible for aquatic photography. Maybe that's
just the cure!

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

Hi..

Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal,

1: I'm no friend of function animal tanks!

2: Macropodus opercularis: I've been keeping them for
(about) 30 years now. They do not really like eating hydra!

3: M. opercularis and Gouramis need special tanks.

4: Hydra - what kind of hydra (color!) do you have?

5: Hydra generally eat micro organism and generally multiply
in tanks with micro organism.

the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will
eat Hydra.

6: Mystery snails? I only know "normal" snails! ;-)

--
cu
Marco

"LM" wrote in message
oups.com...
I had hydra problems.. until I got the lace/pearl gouramis (T. Leeri).
now the hydras are gone

I had lots of brown algae (diatom) problems... until I got
otocincluses. now I don't get brown algaes anymore

I had thread algae problems.. until I got SAEs (c. siamensis). now the
thread algaes are gone

I had massive snail infestations, picking out 20+ snails from the tank
everyday and still brewing more... until I got zebra loaches (b.
striata). now all I find are empty snail shells

and what do I have in my tank now? 4 SAE, 4 gouramis, 4 zebra loaches,
few otos, and bunch of chain loaches. hmmm... it started out as 12
danio tank! all of them has since died off over the past 4 years...
and the fish I got as my tank cleaners have outlived them...

typical case of tank maintenance necessity dictating what fish to keep!

linda


That's one of the problems of too small a tank. By the time the
maintenance crew is established, there is little room for anything else
;~)
--
www.NetMax.tk

Marco Schwarz wrote:
Hi..


Putting a Hydra eater in the tank temporarily seems ideal,


1: I'm no friend of function animal tanks!

I find biological control of undesirable critters more reliable and
safer for other tank inhabitants than chemical control. But to each his
own!

2: Macropodus opercularis: I've been keeping them for
(about) 30 years now. They do not really like eating hydra!

3: M. opercularis and Gouramis need special tanks.

Special? What do you mean? I've kept pearl, 3-spot, and dwarf gouramis
in community tanks just fine. I can see where M. opercularis might want
calmer water and less company.

4: Hydra - what kind of hydra (color!) do you have?

Clearish white, with 6 tentacles. Probably H. vulgaris.

5: Hydra generally eat micro organism and generally multiply
in tanks with micro organism.

Ny reading says they eat somewhat larger critters. Their main diet is
daphnia, cyclops, and chydorus. They also eat insect larvae, small
annelid worms, and rotifers. All of these should be visible as flecks
or tiny critters in the water column.

In my tank, I'm guessing they're living on tiny bits of the shrimp
pellets I drop in the tank for the shrimp. I've started feeding the
shrimp more algae and have dropped the shrimp pellets to twice a week to
see if it helps.

the Hydra. I read on the Krib that mystery snails will
eat Hydra.


6: Mystery snails? I only know "normal" snails! ;-)

Normal snails? I have at least three species of snails cruising around
my tanks and I wouldn't know which to even call normal. ;-) Mystery
snails (apple snails) are Pomacea bridgesii. They're the big black or
yellow snails usually available in aquarium shops.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com
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