Hydra & Planaria shrimp safe removal.

[sdlTBfanUK]

The SL Aqua is a herbal extract so isn't actually a chemical and it had NO negative impact (they say maybe snails would die but mine didn't) so ultra simple, quick and effective. Mine was a new tank so there were only snails living in the tank at that time. The hydra I had were so tiny (tank was only a few weeks old so they were probably young) you needed a magnifying glass to see them and it would be quite difficult to remove them without disturbing the aquascaping as they were attached to wood (that is probably where they came from)! 

I have seen the traps on ebay but I don't know whether they are effective or not, but they don't look nice in the tank and how do you know if/when you have caught them all?

I think the SL Aqua Z1 would definitely be the way to go if you have hydra/planaria and you can get hold of it, it is a natural product and couldn't be easier, 1 dose and you should be done, though they say you may need to do another, but I didn't, though I doubt there were that many in my tank anyway!

Hope everything is going well with your shrimp tanks kms? I haven't seen many of my new shrimps (3 so far today, early yet though) but it is a heavily planted tank and they are adolescent size shrimps. I have put some fresh spinach and a pea in there today, hopefully that should draw them out? I checked the parameters etc yesterday and they were all spot on.

Simon

[jayc]

Traps don't work on hydra. Even with planaria, it is slow and it doesn't catch them all.

[sdlTBfanUK]

I still recommend the SL Aqua Z1 if you have this problem (AND CAN GET IT) but read on:

I got this for the betta tank, used  it once and I haven't had a problem since so that was perfect, tick, done!

I must have transferred something from the betta tank to the shrimp tank whilst there was hydra in the betta tank so then had to treat the shrimp tank and it looked to have cleared it of hydra. I have since had to retreat twice as the hydra have started to reappear after a couple of months, but they vanish within minutes of adding the powder and as that is the extent of the treatment it is so easy I will carry on using it if they reappear in the future as it hasn't any negative affects that I have seen, even the snails survived without a problem (assassins)!

Simon

Edited December 3, 2019 by sdlTBfanUK

[CrookiestoPro9991]

Does hydra has a green color? I tried to take photos of my tank of this creature since yours photos look like they are white while mine is green, I’m not sure if they are hydra in my tank! ? 

[sdlTBfanUK]

Hydra are white from my memory of when I had them, but they don't look anything even similar to your photo. They are more like a thick hair with split ends at the very top, they don't look similar to anything else so it is easy to spot and identify them!

I think JayC has it right with limpits, I also thought it might have been them earlier but believed they were only saltwater, but did a bit of reading since, and there are freshwater ones. The one in the photo must be very young as I couldn't actually see a shell. They are harmless enough, some people even think they are benfecial (like snails), so if you don't want them I would just remove them manually as and when you see them.

[CrookiestoPro9991]

I tried my best to take photos of it and this is what I got for like 30 mins of trials. The photo didn’t show the color but it is green, not white like you said. I found some reading said that the green color is due to symbiotic with another of its kind forgot the name of that. So it is hydra, isn’t it? And yes it’s very hard to spot them since they are relatively small at this moment. I took photos with my iphone 13 pro max and trust me I’m suck at taking photos on phones! ? 

by the way, I tried the link to buy the product but the link is broken, is there any way I can get it from the US? 
thank you!! 

[jayc]

15 hours ago, CrookiestoPro9991 said:

So it is hydra, isn’t it?

Yes. this is a hydra.

 

15 hours ago, CrookiestoPro9991 said:

by the way, I tried the link to buy the product but the link is broken

Yeah, this is an old thread. The website is probably out of business.

Google "SL Aqua Z1 Planarian & Hydra Cleaner", or "planaria zero" or "no planaria" and just look for the most convenient site to purchase from.

Edited May 31, 2022 by jayc

[sdlTBfanUK]

That is definitely hydra!

If you have planaria as well you will want a product that kills both so the SL Aqua may not be what you want. There are various treatments available on ebay, as mentioned by JayC above.