Removing hydra from shrimp/snail tank

12

u/Emuwarum Helpful User Nov 17 '24

Ramshorns do eat hydra.

It's not safe to keep assassins with mysteries or neritids, you need to separate them.

8

u/Garylee18967 (Moderator) 20+ Species Bred Successfully Nov 18 '24

Thank you, finally someone talking about this. Ramshorn snails are amazing hydra prevention but if the outbreak is already to bad they will not be able to tackle it though. Fantastic advice all around!

2

u/Vindamant Nov 19 '24

I don't know where I can buy ramhorns

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u/Vindamant Nov 17 '24

I haven't had any issues i have had new baby mystery snails walk on top of my assassin snail but if I feel like anyone is unhappy I can move them to another tank but again I've had zero issues

4

u/Emuwarum Helpful User Nov 18 '24

You'll only know they're unhappy when the mysteries are walking around with open wounds. Separate them before that happens.

2

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

I don't know where I'd put the snails they have been together for over a year and no issues the nerite snails have been with different assassin snails over the course of 3 years and came from a place living with assassin snails

1

u/Emuwarum Helpful User Nov 18 '24

And it's very lucky that they haven't been hurt yet. They should still be separated.

You could get a second tank.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '24

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4

u/Emuwarum Helpful User Nov 18 '24

They will hunt larger snails. It is not safe.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '24

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1

u/Emuwarum Helpful User Nov 18 '24

They will still get injured even if they don't immediately die.

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

Yeah my assassin snail is isn't actually a big snail eater I feed them mostly brine shrimp or blood worms they also eat micro guys from the glass but they seem extremely active and healthy

6

u/AmandaDarlingInc Neritidea Snientist [& MOD] Nov 18 '24

I may be perceived as biased but I'd never recommend assassins and neritids. Neritids are really peaceful and will let anyone close enough to bite. Regarding the hydra, if you wanted to change the stocking you could swap out the other snails for spixi.

3

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

I've had an assassin and nerite together for 3 years but it definitely can depend on the assassin snail

I think they are very much like how Bettas are like some Bettas are safe with shrimp while others aren't

Some assassin snails are safe with nerites while others not

And depends on the species of nertie At least this is what I've gathered from my experience

I've never heard of spixi I'll research on it

4

u/AmandaDarlingInc Neritidea Snientist [& MOD] Nov 18 '24

My immediate response to that is that some raccoons are safe with babies. Is it worth it? Sure until the state is taking both your baby and your raccoon away.

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

It doesn't seem i can get spixi snails legally here:(

3

u/AmandaDarlingInc Neritidea Snientist [& MOD] Nov 18 '24

Bummer. If you happen to be stateside look for a seller within you state lines. While they are not allowed to be trafficked they are uuuusually findable if you really peruse it. Legal to own, illegal to sell across state line. Except for Maine. Maine hates everything.

Great little hydra munchers though.

3

u/EmpressPhoenix9 Nov 18 '24

Is there a local guide or how can I go about in the global scheme of what aquatic snails are legal in each country?

4

u/AmandaDarlingInc Neritidea Snientist [& MOD] Nov 18 '24

Not really and in the US we have the Lacey Act. https://www.fws.gov/law/lacey-act Some of it's outdated and some of it's very important. Trafficking and illegal import/export of mollusks can have a big impact when it eventually gets out of control. For example, I'd have to get licenses to keep GALS in the lab even though I can just go hunt some down in Florida.

I use fish and wildlife a lot to determine what can cross state lines here. If I'm looking for import lists I go to distributors and see what they've accrued. Most countries have their own version of wildlife management that help set things like endangered, invasive, white listed, black listed etc.

The best thing to do is to find the binomial of the snail you're curious about and look for it's legality in whatever state/province/country you're looking for it in. Another thing you can do is google what's native to you and where you can find it. I've also gone to my LFS's to ask what they don't keep in the store that they can get for me (this usually requires me to commit to a few dozen per species but that's fine in a lab).

2

u/EmpressPhoenix9 Nov 19 '24

I have found locally just recently an amazing blueberry mystery snail but I can't snatch it as my bigger tank isn't ready. What I was curious about was the Apple/Mystery confusion give that pomacea canaliculata is indeed very plant destructive and I can't find pomacea bridgesii anywhere.

5

u/AmandaDarlingInc Neritidea Snientist [& MOD] Nov 19 '24

The taxonomy and ID of Ampullariidae is really a real struggle. I have a great article on the family but it's in print on my desk I think.

Brigesii is sort of a misleading taxon and here is something on apple snail nomenclature: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286415619_What_are_apple_snails_Confused_taxonomy_and_some_preliminary_resolution

2

u/EmpressPhoenix9 Nov 19 '24

Yes but when deciding if they will eat plants one species eats and the other doesn't.

2

u/AmandaDarlingInc Neritidea Snientist [& MOD] Nov 21 '24

Oh man, in my personal opinion an omnivorous snail will eat a plant if it is hungry, even the scavengers. That being said, they're not my focus in captivity and all my knowledge is literature based, I don't keep them except when working on projects like invasion reduction etc.

u/gastropoid would know more

5

u/n000t_ Nov 18 '24

I spot treat hydra with excel, in a syringe. They curl up & die immediately. Make sure not to overdose your tanks though.

3

u/Omen46 Nov 17 '24

No planaria will kill all hydra but your have snails will need to be removed.

2

u/Min-Oe Nov 18 '24

This is the one, OP. It's worked for me in a couple of tanks. Just gotta keep all your guys in a bucket with a bubbler for a few days. Plenty of water changes, for both your tank once it's planaria free, and for the bucket quarantine whilst it's running.

2

u/Omen46 Nov 18 '24

Yeah I used it once and did two 50% changes following then put my snails back in and only lost 1

2

u/metasymphony Helpful User Nov 17 '24

Any chemical planaria/hydra treatments or dewormer is super dangerous to nerite and mystery snails, potentially for months after use.

Hopefully your assassin snail is male and doesn’t multiply but they are dangerous to all other snails regardless of size, it’s just a matter of time.

I have the same problem with hydra and trying to deal with it by feeding the tank less (especially less protein) in hopes that ramshorn, pond, bladder and mystery snails will eat more hydra. They do eat it a bit and the situation is slowly improving.

1

u/Vindamant Nov 17 '24

I only have one assassin snail and he or she hasn't been with other assassin snails since they were a few weeks old

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

Also my tanks diet has not much protein they mostly get zucchini and algae wafers every once and a while and brine shrimp,with that algae stuff in it and that's not alot mainly being directly hand fed to my shrimps and assassin snail

2

u/Camaschrist Nov 17 '24

I had Hydra in my mystery snail only tank. I wanted to switch substrate so I nuked tank with hydrogen peroxide. I was freaked out by them because the Facebook fish groups I was in made them seem like the end of the world. I didn’t have many and could have probably dealt with them more conservatively. I am glad you are aware of the dangers of some of the chemicals used for hydra. I’ve heard bad outcomes months later from residue but also heard those that used them with snails in while they treated doing fine. Not worth the risk.

2

u/RighteousCity Nov 18 '24

What's hydra?

2

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

They sting and can kill snails and shrimp and hurt smaller fishes I believe they are a type of small jellyfish (???) but I could be wrong tbh I don't know a whole bunch about them

2

u/RighteousCity Nov 18 '24

That seems cool though! I didn't know there could be fresh water jelly fish!

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

They are just Cnidaria so not exactly jellyfish but related to them They are a sign of a healthy tank actually but they eat small organisms and can hurt larger ones which sucks

I'm suffering from success

2

u/RighteousCity Nov 18 '24

Ah! That makes sense!

2

u/jalzyr Nov 18 '24 edited Nov 18 '24

I mean, I have had green hydra for a while. Like herpes, it never truly goes away in my tank. I have snails, a lot of snails. 5 Nerites, 2 Mysteries, a handful of MTS and an unknown amount of Bladders, MiniRams and Rams. And Amano Shrimp. The “best” way to get rid of it is a medicine, Fenbendazole, but it kills snails and can keep on killing if not properly handled after treating. I didn’t want to chance it or deal with moving everything out of the tank, boiling, waiting, etc.

There are multiple ways to remove though. I tried mollies+sparkling gouramis. It worked perfectly but it took several months, couldn’t feed the fish because they needed to be coaxed into eating the hydra. They also ate all my copepods that I loved and frogbit roots, which then all died. It sounds like you have small shrimp so unsure if it would be a good idea to add these fish. The fish didn’t touch my Amanos but they did nip at my Nerites antennae. The fish were rehomed after they brought the hydra population down, but shortly after.. the population went back up. I was elated when the snail’s antennae grew back, long and beautiful. I tried blackouts as well because they are alive from algae and the light keeps them alive. That didn’t work. I never tried the hydrogen peroxide though but it would be a great way as well.

I gave up and, carefully, took a piece of paper towel and slowly wiped them up the glass, making sure no hydra pieces are pushed off of it. Is it fool proof? No. Did it bring my green hydra population down? Yes. Do I have to wipe away 10-15 every month? Yes, but that’s all that pops up. My snails get to thrive and my shrimp and snails don’t get little stings from them, as the hydra stay a little amount, in a little corner. Before literally throwing in the towel, their population took up almost 30% of the glass walls of the tank. Probably why I didn’t do the hydrogen peroxide at first, but now that I think about it, it’s such a small amount now that I could do it that way without possible overdosing.

1

u/Vindamant Nov 17 '24

I know snails are more sensitive to treatments so I thought I should also as here

1

u/Daddy_Nasty The Nastiest Nov 17 '24

Gouramis will eat them

3

u/Vindamant Nov 17 '24

But will they eat my shrimp

3

u/yourlilneedle i love me a rammy! Nov 18 '24

Yes

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

That wouldn't be a very good idea then lol

2

u/Daddy_Nasty The Nastiest Nov 18 '24

Sorry didn’t mean to downvote. I have honey gouramis they dont mess with my shrimp. Will they eat a baby if they see one? Absolutely I watched an ember tetra gobble one up last week. But if your colony is settled they won’t be able to do damage especially if you only get one

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

My colony isn't settled this would be their first batch of shrimplets and I only have 11 or 12 shrimp total only 3 females the rest are males

1

u/guacamoleo Nov 17 '24

I have hydra and shrimp. The shrimp are reproducing, it's not a problem

2

u/Vindamant Nov 17 '24

My 2 shrimps seem to have had there babies but I haven't seen any shrimplets so I'm a tad bit concerned

3

u/guacamoleo Nov 18 '24

They're very hard to see at first. I would look for ages and only find one or two. But after a few days suddenly they were all over

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

I'm just more worried for these guys since they are harder to keep than Cherrys and I've been waiting MONTHS for them to have babies My one female was due to "give birth" around November 14th

2

u/guacamoleo Nov 18 '24

Do you have floating plants? The baby shrimp hide in my salvinia, and I've never seen hydra form there, so maybe it helps them survive long enough to get big. Which if they're like cherry shrimp will be quick

1

u/Vindamant Nov 18 '24

All my stocking including plants are in the description:D but yes I have floating plants (duckweed, red root floaters and Amazon frog bit)

Removing hydra from shrimp/snail tank Help