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Help! Struggling as a beginner

ConnorClemens7

Seedling
Joined
15 May 2019
Messages
3
Location
Bury St Edmunds
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Hello all, looking for some help with some new developments in my planted aquarium. I have an ADA 60f, using a cookie+ light with CO2 injection. Tank has been set up with plants for about 4 weeks now, had no problems at all before today. I added 14 red cherry shrimp 2 weeks ago, I’ve since added 12 blues and 6 yellow Sakura.

Today I’ve seen some concerning black thorns growing in different areas of my tanks. Some bits look like tiny black hairs almost, whereas others looks like tiny black sticks.

I’ve also discovered another peculiar specimen. They almost look like what I can best describe as some strange anemone. They have tiny little bodies attached to the plant, with 4 or more tentacle coming off them which retract if poked. I’ve attached some pictures for reference.

This is my first experience with a planted aquarium and up until now I have encountered no problems at all so would just appreciated some advice/guidance on the matters presented.

Thanks all!

- Connor
 
You seem to have hydra and staghorn algae. Worth looking at images and verifying to be sure.
The forums here have a bunch of great advice for dealing with both if you search with those terms.

Hydra isn't ideal in a shrimp tank and you'll want to find a way to eradicate those pretty fast. Some worming medicines tackle these and are available from aquarium stores and the usual online sources.

Hydra advice here
 
Hi Natasha!

Thank you so much for your help, I did manage to identify the staghorn algae, but I never would’ve found the google terms to enter to find Hydra.

Since adding the shrimp I have seen 2 die over the past couple weeks. 1 cherry a day after it was added, and I found a yellow one dead today around 5 days after they were originally added. Is the hydra possibly to blame for this?
 
Hi Natasha!

Since adding the shrimp I have seen 2 die over the past couple weeks. 1 cherry a day after it was added, and I found a yellow one dead today around 5 days after they were originally added. Is the hydra possibly to blame for this?

What age are your shrimp? Lots of reasons why shrimp might die in a newish home. Younger shrimp are definitely at risk from hydra, they can grab and kill juvies. Mature shrimp are, as far as I know, mostly unharmed by by hydra though they do sting them and may stress them into dropping eggs. Definitely worth eradicating them asap.

P.s some people suggest cutting/crushing hydra, while others suggest that they can regenerate from partial body parts. If going for a manual process I'd recommend trying to remove them from tank rather than crushing. Also there's a good chance they are reproducing in your tank at the moment so a water treatment is probably best to get them all.

Hope this helps.
 
Hey there, the hydra pose little issue and will often disappear over a month or two once a tank matures. Scrapping them off with the shyphon hose as you water change is worth doing. Failing that gastropex is shrimp safe at the stated dose and deals with hydra.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
Back again!

Still picking out hydra as and when I see them, they seem to congregate in a very specific part of my tank so they don’t seem to hard to manage, but they do seem to be reappearing.

New development; planaria. Some on the glass, some in the substrate. Should I continue just doing what I’m doing and let it all work itself out?

Seeing a lot of information online saying this should be eradicated immediately as I have a shrimp only tank, but would just like a second opinion. I just don’t want to lose any shrimp because of these little buggers.

Thanks again ya’ll

-Connor
 
I had planaria in a shrimp tank once. They used to come out mostly when food was added or when the lights went off.
I bought a product from eBay simply called "No Planaria" and following the instructions on the packet I ended up with no planaria.
I added some food to the tank to make sure they all came out of the substrate waited a minute then added the No Planaria. Easy. 100% shrimp safe.
 
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