What are these?!?

[HookedOnFish_MI]

I temporarily removed the leaf litter from my 75 gallon to catch a fish and clean all the snails off them. Shortly after, I noticed white little organisms shaped like miniature brooms climbing on the glass near the sand substrate.



What are they?
Are they harmful?
If so, how do I get rid of them?

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[MacZ]

Hydra, freshwater polyps. Only dangerous to young fry and small shrimps.

I never had them, seen them in many tanks though. Some people freak out, others don't care.

 

[Josh]

Wow. Nice camera shot too. I'd have a hell of a time capturing those. Did you remove them?

 

[HookedOnFish_MI]

Wow. Nice camera shot too. I'd have a hell of a time capturing those. Did you remove them?

I wiped the glass with my algae pad and got the majority of it that way. I see a couple stragglers I can get with another wipe too.

 

[Samala]

I tried wiping them in the beginning too, but this can fragment the little pests or just frees them into the water column so that they move to another spot in the tank.

Eventually they get to bothersome levels when feeding microworms/BBS. I've used Panacur with great success to wipe them out without hurting snails or fry.

>Sarah

 

[HookedOnFish_MI]

I tried wiping them in the beginning too, but this can fragment the little pests or just frees them into the water column so that they move to another spot in the tank.

Eventually they get to bothersome levels when feeding microworms/BBS. I've used Panacur with great success to wipe them out without hurting snails or fry.

>Sarah

Thank you Samala. I’ll see if I can find any of that.

 

[JeffInKentucky]

I temporarily removed the leaf litter from my 75 gallon to catch a fish and clean all the snails off them. Shortly after, I noticed white little organisms shaped like miniature brooms climbing on the glass near the sand substrate.

View attachment 10141

What are they?
Are they harmful?
If so, how do I get rid of them?

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

I wiped the glass with my algae pad and got the majority of it that way. I see a couple stragglers I can get with another wipe too.

Be careful when wiping because pieces/buds will break off, which is how they multiply. If you just have big fish, they are not a problem. If you have small fish, fry, or shrimp, the hydra will prey on them. The best/safest way that I’ve gotten rid of them is with Planaria Zero. It’s plant, fish, and shrimp safe, but it can kill snails.

 

[HookedOnFish_MI]

Be careful when wiping because pieces/buds will break off, which is how they multiply. If you just have big fish, they are not a problem. If you have small fish, fry, or shrimp, the hydra will prey on them. The best/safest way that I’ve gotten rid of them is with Planaria Zero. It’s plant, fish, and shrimp safe, but it can kill snails.

Thanks! Sounds like a 2 for 1 special to help get rid of those pesky snails