Brandy Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 So my lucky lucky pea puffers have been feasting on daily baby brine and constantly available snails. I noticed some cute little hydra a week or two ago, and thought, "oh, cool, new puffer snax" but now things are starting to get out of hand: I am a little floored that my adorable little predators haven't fallen on these sessile beasties with relish. But no. So now...Suggestions? Step one, stop feeding brine daily...I know...but if there was an excuse to get a new fish... Does anyone think they will get around to tackling this or should I put a guppy or two in there to clean it up? Other options? It is a small tank, so it would need to be a pretty small fish, that is still big enough for 3 (lazy) puffers to ignore. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Well I know honeys will eat them 😁 but I have no idea how honeys would do with pea puffers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 3, 2021 Author Share Posted March 3, 2021 1 minute ago, Hobbit said: Well I know honeys will eat them 😁 but I have no idea how honeys would do with pea puffers. Yeah, I thought about a sparkling gourami but I am not sure how that would play out with the puffers either. The tank is half densely planted and half wide open. The lower half is packed with plants. The upper is just clear space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 I bought a female molly years ago to be on hydra patrol in one of my tanks, and she's done an excellent job. She's one of those black and gold ones you can get anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanni Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 You could try assasin snails, they are usually too big for pea puffers and they'll eat the hydra most of the time. If not, you could always try dog dewormer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 14 minutes ago, Brandy said: Yeah, I thought about a sparkling gourami but I am not sure how that would play out with the puffers either. The tank is half densely planted and half wide open. The lower half is packed with plants. The upper is just clear space. I have sparkling gouramis and so far I haven't seen them make a dent in the hydra population in their tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 3, 2021 Author Share Posted March 3, 2021 1 minute ago, Daniel said: I have sparkling gouramis and so far I haven't seen them make a dent in the hydra population in their tank. Grumble....The voice of reason prevails. I will put a guppy in. She will take care of it, I have no doubt, and she has another place to go if the puffs get grumpy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 I have a similar issue in my cpd tank. I'm sort of stuck continuing to feed small food because of the batch of fry growing out in a breeder box attached to the tank. I think the little buggers are occasionally stinging fry, but I hate the idea of medicating just to be rid of them. I'm assuming guppy's won't work in the breeder box (I pipette them out wherever I see em), but could they work with adult cpds? The tank is unheated and hangs around 71F. The hydra don't seem to bug the adult cpd, but I don't like seeing them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_ball34 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 dont feed for a day or 2 and he may go after it and if you add a guppy watch it like a hawk and make sure the puffer doesnt go after it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 3, 2021 Author Share Posted March 3, 2021 I will report on guppy vs hydra progress. the puffs are young and have not bothered with guppies before, they are old enough to sex, but no mature breeding colors on the male yet. I assume the agression will eventually ramp up. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 You're so lucky to have such mellow little puffs. I had hydra, cyclops, snails ... And they quickly devoured everything in their path so I'm assuming they'll do the same with anything else I try to add. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 Lol. They are clearly spoiled. I see a famine in their future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kabong Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 I had an issue with hydra getting out of hand in my Dwarf Emerald Rasbora tank. Ended up buying Planaria Zero on Amazon. Worked like a charm. Within 3 days the polyps all shrank up and were gone. Since I share plants I noticed some starting in my Cherry Shrimp tank a couple weeks later. Planaria Zero...and they were gone. If you're interested in any, non-professional, pics I posted the 3 day cycle on IG at the end of January this year. Kabong1978 <-- IG account 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 Well, sadly I must report the score... Guppies: 0 Hydra: 9000 They, peck and recoil. Each guppy has tried a few times and then started avoiding them. Even my giant forever-hungry momma. Amusingly, the puffers come out to investigate...like "hey, whatcha doin'?" The guppy turned around and followed one, at 4x his size he was like "Woah, woah, I'm out!" I will just starve the tank of brine, it is not essential. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) 12 hours ago, Kabong said: I had an issue with hydra getting out of hand in my Dwarf Emerald Rasbora tank. Ended up buying Planaria Zero on Amazon. Worked like a charm. Within 3 days the polyps all shrank up and were gone. Since I share plants I noticed some starting in my Cherry Shrimp tank a couple weeks later. Planaria Zero...and they were gone. If you're interested in any, non-professional, pics I posted the 3 day cycle on IG at the end of January this year. Kabong1978 <-- IG account Did you notice any effects on other tank inhabitants? Namely, snails. I've heard Planaria Zero and Fenbendazole can be hard on snails, and nerites in particular. On top of that, folks often report that it seems to stick around in the water column for 3+ months. I'd dose my tank to clear these buggers up, but I like my snails too much to do it (Yes, even my bladder snails). 37 minutes ago, Brandy said: Well, sadly I must report the score... Guppies: 0 Hydra: 9000 They, peck and recoil. Each guppy has tried a few times and then started avoiding them. Even my giant forever-hungry momma. Amusingly, the puffers come out to investigate...like "hey, whatcha doin'?" The guppy turned around and followed one, at 4x his size he was like "Woah, woah, I'm out!" I will just starve the tank of brine, it is not essential. This is disappointing to hear, I was looking into picking up a pair of guppies to keep in a smaller tank just for hydra duty. Guess that can go out the window. Edited March 5, 2021 by Schwack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kabong Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 32 minutes ago, Schwack said: Did you notice any effects on other tank inhabitants? Namely, snails. I've heard Planaria Zero and Fenbendazole can be hard on snails, and nerites in particular. On top of that, folks often report that it seems to stick around in the water column for 3+ months. I'd dose my tank to clear these buggers up, but I like my snails too much to do it (Yes, even my bladder snails). I have ramshorn snails, what I now think are New Zealand Mud Snails, cherry shrimp, and amano shrimp. I don't have any nerite snails. I didn't notice any affects. Everything except the hydra seems fine including the young snails and the fry I had in the tank. I followed the instructions to the letter including the recommended water change after treatment. If you try it just make sure you use the correct dosage... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 (edited) This has been helpful for me as well...ugh I don't want to treat my tank with Planaria Zero (or anything else, actually). I keep licorice gourami and chili rasboras. My hydra outbreak is really out of control now (they're over every square inch of glass just about, and also on my plants) because I feel so much BBS. I actually see them catch and sting the BBS (which is kinda cool, I will admit). I stopped feeding BBS on Saturday and I haven't seen any reduction. I'm afraid my fish will eventually starve or just become weakened and succomb to disease (they're all wild caught, unfortunately). I have Xtreme Nano and I also bought Sera Micron from Co-op and it arrived Saturday. Xtreme Nano pellets are too big for the chili rasboras (a couple of them can eat them...but many of them spit them out), and my licorice gouramis are just not at all into any food that isn't moving. They probably eat a couple of pellets of Xtreme Nano per day...but...yeah I'm not sure how long it is safe to continue trying to starve my hydra. EDIT: can't treat with Planaria Zero because it's practically unavailable in the U.S., apparently Edited March 17, 2021 by Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 17, 2021 Author Share Posted March 17, 2021 I used a siphon and a razorblade to clear the glass--I held the siphon right next to the blade, taking them out as soon as they were free of the glass. I waited a week, and then fed MUCH less, but more often. Using the same theory as other fish feeding, I started feeding tiny quantities that they clean up in under a minute. So far, so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenStateGoldfish Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 This may be an old wives tail or a myth, but I heard that pond snails (not bladder, not rams) eat hydra. I have never had hydra so I am not speaking from experience here, but I do keep snails in all of my tanks so maybe thats why 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 (edited) I can't say that it's anything more than just a coincidence. But... I had hydra on my glass and rocks. Then, I got a couple of Scarlet Badis. I could never see what they were eating. But, I can't find any hydra. Edited April 2, 2021 by Frank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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