Will Honey Gourami Eat Hydra?

[Fiend1981]

I've recently noticed a pest called Hydra in my 15g planted tank.  They are visible on the glass, some of the plants, and the hardscape. 

I've done some research and it seems that many of the Gourami family are often recommended as a good removal source.  I've seen 3 Spot/Blue, Sparkling, and Paradise as helpful for this issue.  I am wondering if anyone has experience with Honey Gourami working for this as well.  The Honey Gourami is a more timid fish than some of the others that have been mentioned and I don't know if they will hunt and remove the Hydra. 

I want to get rid of them but would prefer to avoid chemical removal to avoid hurting the plants and invertebrates.

My tank currently has 3 Julii Corydoras, 4 Otocinclus, and 4 Amano shrimp.

Any suggestions and/or personal experience with this would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Guppysnail]

Hydra are a natural part of an ecosystem.  I keep 3 types in all 8 of my tanks because I find them fascinating.  They really don’t harm things other than microfauna.  I understand they can be unsettling to some folks. Here is a video that may help you out. 

 

[Hannah Parker]

Your 15gal sounds perfect for a little predatory center-piece fish to eat some of them (possibly). I don't know how voracious a honey gourami would be, but I would figure a betta would be fairly predatory as well. 

[Fiend1981]

I appreciate the responses from both of you.  I had watched the video that Guppysnail posted which got me looking into Gourami as a solution to this.  As Hannah Parker mentioned I'm also not sure if the Honey Gourami would be voracious enough to go after them.

I love how the Honey Gourami looks but I might settle for the Sparkling Gourami as an alternative.  It sounds like the Sparkling Gourami would definitely do the job.

I'd prefer the Honey Gourami.  Anyone that has personal experience with them as a solution for Hydra would make my day.

[Josh G]

I’m sorry that I’m not able to answer your question. But since I am also planning to get a honey gourami for my 10 tank, I thought I would mention that, if it were me, I’d still go honey gourami.

[Fiend1981]

Nice looking tank Josh G.  I appreciate the advice.  The Honey Gourami is definitely what I am leaning toward.  Just want these hydra gone though. 

I think they contributed to some baby Otocinclus dying.  I've read they can sting and cause harm to baby fish.  The baby Otocinclus had been visible for about 2 weeks and as soon as I noticed the hydra I never saw a baby Otocinclus again.

[eatyourpeas]

I noticed some hydra love today:

[Solstice_Lacer]

If you're still having hydra issues, I've had success just putting a little hydrogen peroxide on a sponge and wiping them off the glass. A small amount of h2o2 won't hurt anything else in the tank, it can even help a little. It's the sequel to water after all 😜

[AK Aquatics]

I’ve recently had a stint with Hydra hitchhiking on plants from another local hobbyist. Luckily enough they went into a Guppy tank and it cleared up in a couple days! Savage little guys haha!