What are these white worms / growths appearing in tank?

[davidjp1982]

Can anyone please shed some light on what these white creatures / things are growing on the glass and substrate of my grow out tank? I've seen them before when I was growing out Corydoras fry and I assume they are caused by overfeeding of a small 10 gallon tank? Any help appreciated - many thanks.

 

[Mike Wise]

Those are hyrda. They commonly appear when overfeeding baby brine shrimp or other micro-foods. They are basically miniature anemones, with stinging cells on the tentacles for trapping food. They have been known to catch or sting and kill fish fry. If the tank becomes infested with them, it is best to poison them with one of the aquarium medications designed for this, either a copper or organophosphate type.

 

[davidjp1982]

Thanks - would it be worth scraping off the glass and then syphoning all the sand out (only a thin layer in the tank) and rinsing the sand off in old tank water? Don't want to use any treatments if I can avoid it. I'm feeding a 1 mil pippete of BBS 3 or 4 times a day at regular intervals I guess this is too much

 

[wethumbs]

It all depends on what kind of fish and how many you are trying to feed. Instead of just feeding them blindly, take a little time to check and see if there is excess food left or not in the tank and adjust your feeding schedule and amount accordingly.

 

[Mike Wise]

Treating the symptom and not the source won't work in the long run. Hydra spores are everywhere and will recolonize the tank it there is a suitable food source.

 

[wethumbs]

If you really want to get rid of them quick. Cu treatment will wipe out the hydra population in no time. Just make sure you have a copper test kit to monitor the process.

 

[davidjp1982]

Treating the symptom and not the source won't work in the long run. Hydra spores are everywhere and will recolonize the tank it there is a suitable food source.

Wise words for wishful thinking hydra already reappearing within 24 hours.

I have 5 x cacatuoides fry at 1 months old - would it be an idea to manage the hydra manually until they grow out to be moved on and then dose the tank to kill off the hydra at that point? I really don't want to poison the fry as this is my first spawn and very fond of them!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
"Panacur" (fendbendazole) works even at really low doses against Hydra, I grind up the powder (it isn't very water soluble) and use at 0.1g per 10gallon (45 litre). I feed mainly live food and I always have some in the tanks, but when they form a complete carpet I treat them.

cheers Darrel

 

[davidjp1982]

Thanks I'll look into picking some up - does Hydra pose any real risk to newborn fry? Good to know you manage with them - I guess feeding BBS almost exclusively it is going to be something to learn to live with.

 

[gerald]

YES definitely -- even if the hydra cant eat the Apisto fry, repeated stings by hydra will weaken and kill them. FLUbendazole (poultry worming med) also works against Hydra, and seems to be pretty safe even on newborn fry. Like FENbendazole it is slow to dissolve, but you can just sprinkle it on the surface and it will slowly dissolve enough to kill the Hydra in a few days.

quote="davidjp1982, post: 80171, member: 11663"]Thanks I'll look into picking some up - does Hydra pose any real risk to newborn fry? Good to know you manage with them - I guess feeding BBS almost exclusively it is going to be something to learn to live with.[/quote]

 

[davidjp1982]

Great thanks - on my shopping list

 

[davidjp1982]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_t...T+Labs+Anti-Fluke+&+Wormer&_sacat=0&_from=R40

This looks to be the cheapest flubendazole I can find online - any good?

 

[davidjp1982]

Right - just been to the vets and picked up a 1g sachet of "Panacur" - 222mg Fenbendazole - so will try and pluck up the courage to give it a go in the main tank first as I'm hoping my adult apistos will be more resilient to any meds. Thanks all for the tips - will hopefully post back with a good result soon

 

[davidjp1982]

Panacur solved the problem thanks guys - crushed up the powder and dosed at 1/10 gram per 10 gallon

 

[Robi]

I have a similar infestation in one of my fry tanks (I feed BBS and MW's), will try Fenbendazole (Fish Bendazole 250 mg Fenbendazole Powder from Amazon). My fry was a 4-5 week old double cacatuoides when the hydra spread out, and luckily they only turned dark color and inactive, but recovered nicely with water changes and feeding with couple of them needing tank change (where they all recovered fully within a day). As you guys describe it, it was possibly from the hydra stings. I did not have any fry loss. Hopefully the medication will wipe out the hydra, they are just hanging out there and spreading to plants and surfaces. You guys use only ONE DOSE 0.1 gram/10 G of water, and wait, or repeat the dose? I read that it takes few days to clear it.

Thanks for your answer,

Robi

 

[Larry Rogers]

Those are hyrda. They commonly appear when overfeeding baby brine shrimp or other micro-foods. They are basically miniature anemones, with stinging cells on the tentacles for trapping food. They have been known to catch or sting and kill fish fry. If the tank becomes infested with them, it is best to poison them with one of the aquarium medications designed for this, either a copper or organophosphate type.

Hydra do not magically appear,they came in on something, or in rainwater or other water left outdoors uncovered to age. Some adult apistos will eat them but they are deadly to apisto fry. Larger cory species fry over two weeks free-swimming should be more of a threat to the hydra than the hydra are to them.

 

[Larry Rogers]

Can anyone please shed some light on what these white creatures / things are growing on the glass and substrate of my grow out tank? I've seen them before when I was growing out Corydoras fry and I assume they are caused by overfeeding of a small 10 gallon tank? Any help appreciated - many thanks.

View attachment 2248

Take a good look at this picture. "Branching" or "budding" is the way hydra generally reproduce. The buds separate from the parent and "tumble" away. Tumbling is locomotion by placing tentacles on substrate and flipping over to new location. If they are medicated, Poisoned, they will spore. Spores are resilient, like snail eggs. If medication is suspended before spores are killed, a week to ten days, then hydra will reappear whenever foods become available.

 

[Larry Rogers]

I have a similar infestation in one of my fry tanks (I feed BBS and MW's), will try Fenbendazole (Fish Bendazole 250 mg Fenbendazole Powder from Amazon). My fry was a 4-5 week old double cacatuoides when the hydra spread out, and luckily they only turned dark color and inactive, but recovered nicely with water changes and feeding with couple of them needing tank change (where they all recovered fully within a day). As you guys describe it, it was possibly from the hydra stings. I did not have any fry loss. Hopefully the medication will wipe out the hydra, they are just hanging out there and spreading to plants and surfaces. You guys use only ONE DOSE 0.1 gram/10 G of water, and wait, or repeat the dose? I read that it takes few days to clear it.

Thanks for your answer,

Robi
View attachment 5022

hydra in this picture are bell shaped instead of long and slender= well fed

 

[Robi]

2 month follow up. So far "fish bendazole" worked on all my hydra infested fry tanks (used in 5 tanks so far), the little white things shrunk and dissapeared. I used 100 mg/ 10 G concentration, one dose only, dispense the powder in water (shake well in a small bottle with a cover) and dose 100mg (0.1 gram/10 gallon of water). I haven't had to re-treat any tank so far. No harm to fry or any other fish (oto's or pencil-fish). Be careful, it kills any snails in the tank! I think the micro-worms could be bringing it in, more likely than the BBS (hydra is a freshwater species). At least I found a relatively easy, safe and lasting solution for this puzzling and potentially harmful problem in our fry tanks.

 

[Larry Rogers]

Micro worms are a possibility. So are snails from an outside source. A pet shop I was in in Des Moines, Iowa was totally infested and did not care. They dealt in ornamentalists and not true aquariists. Hydra can be imported on leaves pick up in th flood plain, water staged in open containers outdoors, ornaments from an outdoor pond, or even in fish bags from a contaminated source. When they are knocked loose of their substrate they suck in their tentacles and become a barely noticeable little white pellet suspended in the water until they settle on a surface. The pellet is about a millimeter across and if you pipette it onto a slide it magically becomes a hydra