Hydra in Zebra Tank, idea on removal?

[Linzi Zeb]

Hi,

I have numerous small 'parasites' in my zeb tank, which look like blown out umbrellas with their main stalk attached to objects in the tank. I have been doing some reading around and I'm pretty sure that they are Hydra.

I've been trying to find out how to get rid of them as people have been suggesting that they could be dangerous to fry and there are a wide range of suggestions from fish which will eat them to wiring up a battery and putting a current through them!?!

Does anyone have any ideas? Ideally some fish that's safe with zebs that will eat them or a treatment that safe for zebs would be ideal as I currently have 3 young zebs in there and finding/catching them would be something of a task! Basically, anything which will allow me to leave the zebs in the tank...if I have to move them however I will if necessary

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Linzi

[Stevie.K]

I found some good facts on Wikipedia, as I have not heard of these before.
I certainly wouldn't put current through your tank & I don't think you would either.
I would stop feeding as much & make sure all is eaten & removed if not, & increase water changes.
I wouldn't try any meds but read Mollies & Gouramis eat them, which would be safe for your zebs, you may have to reduce your flow a little, what temp do you keep your zebs in?

[Linzi Zeb]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I cleaned the entire tank out to get rid of most of the hydra, there are only a couple in the tank now and I'm trying to remove them as i see them. I currently keep the tank at 29-30 degrees celsius.

In terms of the mollies/gouramis, would I be able to keep them in a community tank with angelfish and various tetra? Just once they've fixed my problem I'd like to try and keep my zebras in a species only tank. Therefore, a species which would be ok with my angels would be an ideal temporary addition.

I'm glad you share my opinion about the current and even the meds...these hydra don't seem to be a direct threat but seem to possess a jellyfish-style sting which I would imagine would be both uncomfortable and potentially dangerous to small zebs and fry.

Thank you for your help and any other suggestions/advice you have will be gratefully received,

Linzi

[GrubbyGirl]

If you already have angels I would be tempted to try them in the tank for a while as they will eat anything moving that will fit in their mouths They can cope with the high temps too, but you'll have to reduce the flow for a few days while they are in there!

Rather than buy new fish you weren't planning on, I would give them a go first

[Jo's Zebs]

Wormer plus kills hydra and is fish safe

[Linzi Zeb]

Thanks for the reply guys!

In terms of my angels, I don't want to move my adults as I currently have 6 in my community tank, two have formed a pair and are spawning regularly and the other four are just deciding whether to flirt or not. I do however have some fry which are approaching grow out size so perhaps I could put them in with the zebras for a while? I don't want to risk the zebs or the angels though, plus there's the issue of the size of the hydra relative to the size of the angels...the angels are still quite small!

I'll look into that wormer plus, I'm always so worried about adding anything to the zeb tank in case it affects them in a fatal way but advice from an expert is the best kind! Thanks Jo!

I'll keep you informed!

Thanks,

Linzi

[Linzi Zeb]

Just to clarify Jo, the wormer plus...is it the one made by Kusuri?

Thanks,

Linzi

[jerry58]

Hi
Same as the wormer plus in my thread under this one,there is a pic

Hope this helps.

Jerry

[mistern2005]

Asolene Spixi snails will eat hydra. They won't do great in warmer waters, but for temporary use they work great.

[Linzi Zeb]

Oooh, the snails sound like a good idea. Will assassins eat them? I could keep them in community tank once they've done their stuff. I got some wormer plus today so i'll treat the tank over the weekend but a long term natural alternative sounds like an idea.

Thanks,

Linzi

[Linzi Zeb]

Update:

I've added the wormer plus and it seems to have done the trick, those horrid little hydra are shrinking away to nothing. One question though...what do I do now?

The instructions don't mention much on water changes or anything. Should I be looking to do a big water change now or do I need to leave the treatment in for longer in order that it's fully successful.

Thanks,

Linzi

[GrubbyGirl]

I recently contacted the guys who are the distributers of wormer plus (Plymouth Discus) and asked this very question. You do nothing that you wouldn't have normally done. Wormer Plus completely biodegrades in 4 days.

[Linzi Zeb]

Hey,

That's excellent, thanks for that. The hydra have all gone too.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Linzi

[Linzi Zeb]

Hi again,

A few months on and I've added some assassin snails and red cherry shrimp to the tank then disaster strikes. Last week I found one of my juvenile zebs dead. He had been acting a bit strange for a couple of days but not enough for me to take action, then it was too late. Since then I've found three worms in the tank. They are approx 1 inch long, smooth and white/pink in colour. They appear to be nocturnal and living in the substrate. Are they a risk to the zebs? What are they?

I have a picutre but I keep getting a debug mode error whenever i try to upload it, i'll keep trying

I'm guessing these worms must have come in with the shrimp/snails/plants as this tank was wormed recently!!

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Linzi

[Linzi Zeb]

...just to add the worms are about 2mm in diameter and generally larger in size than the usual 'thin-hair' type worms that are often described. They remind me of bloodworms in size but they lack the pigmentation of a bloodworm..Also I haven't ever fed bloodworm to my zebs because of the juvenile in there...