Hydra in Newt tank

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dipsydoodle

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Hi, well as the title says I have hydra in my newt tank. How do I get rid of them?

I've read they thrive in dirty conditions and they thrive in clean conditions - so as you can see the advice I've read is not very accurate.

As far as I am aware my tank is clean; I regularly change half the water; although the last few times I've taken everything out and "steralized" it to get rid of the hydra. I've had the gravel sitting in boiling water, the rocks, the plastic plant, their food bowl (so everything); I filled the tank with hot water yesterday (obvioulsy after taking the newts out) and wiped it all clean and siphoned the hot water out.

I did have a real plant in the tank but it just caused so many problems that I got rid of it; did the hydra come on that? I feed my newts frozen blood worm. There were so many snails on the plant that I got fed up of it and went for a nice plastic plant instead.

Many Thanks
 
I wouldn't completely clean the tank anymore, that just restarts the whole cycling process over again which just adds to the problem. A little bit of hydra won't hurt anything and the easiest way to control it is to either reduce the amount of bloodworms your feeding or switch to a different food source. Bloodworms tend to sour very quickly in the water which just helps feed the hydra and other microscopic tank inhabitants. Also do at least a 10% water change each week until your problems gets under control.
 
Disrupting the tank and starting again was not the wisest of choices. As Justin said, you now have to start the whole cycling process again which will cause stress to your newts.
Live plants are a very good aid in keeping water quality, i´d strongly recommend you don´t dismiss them entirely, give them another chance. Yes, they are more "work" than fake ones, but they come with a whole lot of advantages that fake ones just cannot provide.
I really do hope bloodworms are not the only food you offer to your newts. They are not complete at all, and will eventually lead to deficiencies if used alone. Variety is the key, specially if it includes earthworms, which are the very best.

I suposse after taking tha tank apart, the hydra problem should be solved, but if it´s not, you can find other threads in this forum that say how to get rid of them, just use the search function.
 
I am only giving blood worms at the minute as one of my newts isn't eating propely (I've had this one about 4-5 weeks). When he eats regularly I will introduce variety. I have tried wax worm (as suggested on here) but after the initial stalking they lost interest and every time I've put it in they just walked away.

I normally feed one newt as much as he'll take and then I put a few blood worm in a little feeding dish (in the water) for him to eat if he is still hungry (generally he is) - they aren't in for very long; and the other bloodworm go on the "land" - where the newt who isn't eating properly likes to sit during the day (he likes to go in the water too).

I have searched the forum on how to get rid of hydra; I found nothing that I didn't already find; except to use copper (which I can't for the newts).
 
Clean and Dirty are relative terms. Hydra need pristine water chemistry, but like water with lots of organics in it to support their food like protozoa and copepods. Unless you have very small newly hatched larvae, I wouldn't worry about them. In the case of caudate rearing, only the very largest species of hydra are a threat to larvae. Where the real pain comes from is when they devour your daphnia and other live micro-foods intended for your young caudates.

Removing them is tricky, if not impossible without the use of medications from the vet. While exceedingly effective on killing hydra, there is no clear data on their safety to caudates.

Plants can be sanitized with a supersaturated solution of alum or lime. (go for the alum, lime is dangerous to handle). Shoot for a pH of about ten. Then soak your plants/tank decorations/ etc. for ten minutes or so. Rinse the sanitized things in clean tap water, then let them sit in a container of water for a few days and observe them for any more invaders. If none are noted add them back to your caudate tank.

A complete tank tear down has very little chance of getting rid of hydra, as the can live for YEARS in microscopic cysts. They can then "hatch" out again when conditions are right. :eek:
 
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (at the comment they can live for years).

I have no plans to breed my newts - they are both male (I think). IF one is female and there are eggs then I'd remove them to a smaller container.

Thanks for the info on getting rid of them; I might give it a a go. If they cause no harm to my newts then I will not be so worried in future. Thanks :)
 
Not to fear.

I think just about every aquatic colonist learns the value of quarantine from hydra. I used to breed anabantoid fish. Their babies are extremely small and are easily paralyzed by hydra. I had quite a few magnificent tanks with luxurious hydra carpets going for quite a while!
 
Yea, I didn't realise plants needed to be quaranteened. It was my first (and last) real plant.
 
That is a shame. Go for the real plants, just give them a few days in a jar before adding them to a tank. trust me when I say, they are far more beneficial than fake plants. (in my opinion) For one, real plants do not have to be removed and cleaned every week or so.
 
I did actually have them alone for a few days before putting them into the tank; when I put them in the tank, I got snails.
 
Snails, hydra and planaria are probably the most common live plant ride alongs. thankfully, the "alkaline treatment" with the alum or lime is very effective at killing of these critters.
 
Since you are not going to breed the newts i´d say be happy that you have hydra!!!!! Having invertebrates in the water is a good sign, snails, Cyclops, nematodes, ostracods, all help make the tank more natural and equilibrated. I have a rich variety of invertebrates in my tanks and i love it.
 
Dipsy, have you read this article:
Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Invaders: Algae, Snails, Worms and Other Critters
I think it will set your mind at ease. There is no possible way to maintain an aquarium long-term without getting some of these kinds of pests. Even without the addtion of the live plants, your tank would eventually have some kinds of critters. But if you do your partial water changes and debris removal diligently, they will probably never be disastrous. Just accept them.
 
I'm more happy about it now. I've been keeping fish for 16ish years now and I can't say I've ever noticed stuff in their tank; however their tank is much bigger.

I have a gravel hoover to use which will pick up dropped food; although not much of it gets dropped. I put their food in a bowl so it's easy to clean; I put food on land (easy to clean).

Well azhael, I don't have plans to breed the newts; however if one is female and the other male then I may have unexpected eggs - however like I said I have a smaller container which I move the newts to when I'm cleaning that eggs could go into.

I got rid of the snails - I was told they were pests and that they would take over my tank ASAP. I'm just wondering are snails good to have in a newt tank? I've been reading and there are some disaster stories.

Sludgemonkey; I've also had planaria (or something similar) in my tank too; I even posted to ask what they were. Seems like I've got everything haha. So long as it's all healthy then I'll be ok. Don't want to harm my little newts. Oh and looking at what Azhael said it looks like the little un-identified bugs I had are cyclops.
 
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