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Re: shrimp/snail experiements, tweezers, and hydra



Hi, All!

Sorry I didn't respond sooner... I do use tweezers, and I think my problem 
was that I wasn't pushing the stem down deep enough. I use a short, but 
sharp one I bought for a few bucks from a hardware store last year, and the 
extremely pointy tip always ends up piercing the point of contact on the 
stem. If I push too hard into the substrate, the tweezers just rip through 
and down the grain of the stem. Then begins the cursing. I probably just 
need a different type. The fact that the stems were insecurely anchored 
made it so that minor disturbances, as caused by MTS's, would be enough to 
loosen their foothold. Anyhow, I got rid of my Cardamine lyrata a long time 
ago. The roots growing out from every dang leaf node was really pretty 
annoying. Somebody requested the plant, and I was happy to part with all of 
it. For trimming, I use a cheap pair of cuticle scissors; a bit rusty now, 
but still very sharp. I don't remember the last time I had a tetanus shot, 
either. But it's not like I use them for their intended purpose... ;)

Now, an update on the hydra problem I wrote about earlier this month... 
I've been freaking out for the past couple of weeks because their 
population was steadily growing. I could even see new ones "budding" out of 
old ones. I put a larger guppy in the tank, even some dwarf rasboras (an 
impulse purchase), and nobody did more than "nip" at the hydra, out of what 
seemed like curiosity than predation. They'd asterisk up quickly enough 
that even the tentacles were left unharmed. I was so disgusted, I went 
ahead and purchased Bausman's fish tonic. Today, I followed the recommended 
dosage for eradication of hydra but it seems that it was only maybe 80% 
effective. The ones that are still on the glass appear either unharmed or 
slightly damaged... On the bright side, my snails have not been visibly 
affected. The directions say to wait six days before adding more. I have a 
feeling that the ones that "let go" and fell into the gravel are going to 
bounce right back in a matter of days, with more determination than ever to 
drive me to insanity. If this tonic indeed fails to work, I have one last 
trick up my sleeve... I'm going to try and get my hands on some Panacur 
(fenbendazole) and nuke these creepy nasties once and for all. It's 
squeamish human against yucky coelenterate... Make no mistake about it. *I* 
WILL win... I simply may have to come to terms with unintended casualties. 
I don't know how Panacur would affect my snails, but to paraphrase Spock 
(from Star Trek), "The needs of the aquarist outweigh the needs of the 
snails."

'Til next time...

Sincerely,
Naomi