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Re: getting rid of hydra
> Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 19:20:30 -0600
> From: David Mentjes <dmentjes at execpc_com>
> Subject: getting rid of hydra
>
> Does anyone know of a safe and effective way to remove/kill hydra in a tank
> that currently contains several juvenile Melanotaenia praecox and some live
> plants? Unfortunately, the hydra are doing as well as the rainbowfish
> since I feed the tank baby brine shrimp on a regular basis. An
> acquaintenance mentioned a two day course of Fluke tabs has worked for him
> in the past. What is the active ingredient in this medication? Has anyone
> else used it successfully? Will it do anything negative to the fish,
> plants, or biological filtration? Any helpful advice is appreciated.
Feed them to your larger Gouramis. That bit of trivia (and mandatory
on-topic part) out of the way, there *is* a pretty easy way.
About 3 drops of full-strength (37%) formaldehyde (drugstore "Formalin",
and not the weak fish-shop stuff) for every 5 gallons does it nicely, as
I recall. The first dose does very little, so you must repeat about
every other day for three or four treatments until they are all gone.
Stopping all live foods apparently isn't an alternative for you. It is
quite effective, tho.
Formalin is quickly absorbed into organic debris in the tank and/or
filters, so that is why you need to keep hitting it. Overdosing doesn't
seem to help, and could be hard on the fish.
Wright
--
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntley1 at home dot com
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