I recently discovered a strange organism growing in my tank, which could only be described as a strange micro tree! It was about 3 - 5 millimetres in length and had anchored itself to my glass and driftwood, it had a thin body and around 4 branch like arms at the end (see picture).
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| Genus Hydra |
After a few hours of searching on the net I came up empty handed and decided to post a picture on the forum of which I belong (DIYFK), after a few hours the culprit had been identified as Genus Hydra or just Hydra.
I have now read through as much as I can find out about Hydra and have noted some interesting facts about it:
- It is a freshwater polyp
- Can grow up to an inch or so, if left untreated
- The tentacles can sting and capture small prey and can kill small fry
- They can detach and reattach around the tank to find the best spot for food
- Produce buds which detach and form new Hydra
- More likely introduced from an external source
I watched these little critters over a 24hr period whilst I worked out exactly what they were and from what I have notice they reproduce at a high rate and tend to anchor themselves at low to medium flow rate areas.
There are a lot of suggestions on how to rid yourselves of Hydra, ranging from chemical / bleaching treatments to Snails. I will be trying a few over the next week or so and I will be sharing my results, so check back for updates.
P.S. I will not be trying any chemical / bleaching treatments as I do not have a spare tank to place my current stock in and I do not wish to endanger them.
