More strange stuff... ID please

Hi everyone

Any idea what these things growing on the silicone and wood, are? They seem to retract into themselves whenever they are touched and soon pop out those heads again. Almost like an anemone. Been trying to clean it off the glass and also removed the wood. Did a thorough gravel vacs after rescaping the aquarium (with different wood), but see its coming back.





Are they friend or foe? And if its nasties, how do I get rid of it?
Thanks

 

Hi Hendrik,

Is this not possibly a hydra infestation? your description seems to match.

https://fishlab.com/aquarium-hydra/#What_is_a_hydra_And_how_to_identify_it

 

Thanks everyone. I considered both planaria and hydras already. That's why I'm stumped...

@Zuraki. Thank you, for the article. The description fits, but they look different. Hydras have longer bodies and stringy tentacles. These things look more like pin cushions. The "pins" retract into the "cushion" when disturbed.

So far, they're not a problem. Just dont want it become one.

 

I had a similar case of these " anemone" thingies in my tank. I agree that it is quite difficult to explain to someone.

I searched high and low for what it could have been. It's too "active" ,in that it retracts, for it to be hydra as it occurs in most tanks. its also to "stationary" for it to be planaria.

I honestly think it is from overfeeding (that was my cause), and simply reducing the feeding and syphoning out the bodies as you see them will help. I also had them quite badly on some plants mostly the vallis that was dying in my tank.

The whatsapp group that helped me ID these things said it was some sort of fresh water jellyfish. I was unable to confirm or deny that but I found it a pretty cool fact.

Good luck with getting rid of these things regardless of what they are

 

Did some googling...
https://www.gbif.org/species/113441...may also move by,floating away in the current.

 

Thanks @Stiino and @krg007

Exactly why I'm scratching my head too.

This may be the culprit. I've been halfing the amount I feed since I rescaped. I also noticed, I didnt have 8 of the original inhabitants left. Some shrimp and Chilli rasboras cannot be accounted for...
In the rescape, I also removed that piece of Vine driftwood. I got it second hand and it was starting to decay very quickly. I've replaced it with Mopani and Spider wood. I havent noticed any more growing on the wood and the ones left on the silicone seems to stay small and not spreading.

Thank you, but still not what they look like. My phone cant take better pictures of them. Here's a quick sketch. They are just translucent white in colour, but I didnt have that crayon.

Thank you for the advice. I was concerned about the shrimp, since I read Hydra can irritate them when the walk over the Hydra. The surviving 7 shrimp doesnt seem bothered. Will still keep an eye on it...

 

I found an old video of the "hydra" retracting incase it can help with the ID

 

That's exactly what it looks like. But a fraction of that size.

After more scrutiny (with a magnifying glass) I've decide it can only be Hydra. I will continue with my "Pins and pin cushion" description.

The "cushion" part seems to be a collection on Hydras with the feet/base of Hydra making up the "cushion". The "pins" is their bodies and the "pin- heads" is their tentacles. They're just so small that you cant see the tentacles and they present as a "Pin- heads". The Hydras are less than 0.5 mm in length making it difficult to identify. They're luckily not spreading that I've noticed and I've adjusted my feeding to half of what I usually feed.

Once again, they're not a problem but will continue keeping an eye on them, before they become one.

Thanks for all the advice!