# Protozoa, Hitchhiker invert, Or???



## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Hey All, I just noticed what seems to be a new inhabitant in a quarantine tank that is housing some cherry shrimp and i am trying to figure out what it is. Unfortunately it is too small to photograph, however, they are white, about the size of a pin head, attached to the glass of the tank, and have five thin appendages that are dangling in the current. The appendages seem to retract, i.e., when i poke at them they seem to withdraw. 

Any ideas? Is it s protozoa i should be worried about or happy surprise?


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

they look anything like this thing?

http://www.isi.edu/robots/self_heal_html/hydra.JPG


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Aside from the branched stem, yes, they look exactly like that - jugging by the name hydra i'm going to take a stab in the dark and say it's going to be a pain getting rid of it.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

ya that branched stem is just its its "offspring"....and ya they are a pain to get rid off...

I think there are a couple of threads here dealing with that.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks for the help Hitch, i'll give it a search and see what turns up.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

best of luck. But dont stress out too much about it....since its too small to hunt most fish...unless you have fry or shrimplets in the tank.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

A nontoxic control for hydra is to raise the water temperature to 105F (40.5C) for about 15 minutes. You have to remove any fish or shrimp, first, of course, since this is too hot for them.

Hydra, like planaria and snails, tend to flourish when they have plenty to eat, so can be a sign of overfeeding. If you only see a few, they'll tend to disappear eventually if the water stays clean. I suspect they are commonly present in very small sizes and numbers but you only notice them when they get large and numerous enough to show up on the front glass!

They can't kill anything larger than 3/16" (4-5mm) so they aren't a real problem except with really small fry.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks for the tip Bae - eveyone else seems to be using chemicals so it's good to hear a method that doesn't involve nuking the tank. Like i said, it is quarantine tank so it shouldn't be a problem cooking them out!


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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

i had them in my tank really bad for a while, i just upped the water changes, took some of the sponge out of my filter so it increased the current and fed a teeny bit less. i still have the odd one now and then but not like before.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Are they stuck to the glass or freeswimming? If they're stuck they might be a freshwater zooid.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

No, they are not free swimming at all. They are moving, but very little and it is almost unnoticeable. They are also stinging shrimp in the vicinity. They are all to large to be immobilized by it, however, it does visibly stun them for a few seconds. 

I have been doing frequent water changes, cutting back and the food and physically removing the ones i can see. Next week i'm going to clear out the cherry shrimp and cook them out. Hopefully the will clear it all up. 

Is it possible to breed harmless zooid? In a previous post i was trying to figure out how to fill out some of the lower tropic levels in the aquarium. That could be an interesting option - the hydra, not so much.


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## Evans11 (Aug 7, 2009)

Rmwbrown said:


> they are white, about the size of a pin head, attached to the glass of the tank, and have five thin appendages that are dangling in the current. The appendages seem to retract, i.e., when i poke at them they seem to withdraw.


Does it look like this (pic below) as I too noticed a couple of these in my shrimp tank a few days ago.  No idea what it is or if its harmfull to the shrimp. Kinda cool looking though.


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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yes, that's the hydra.


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