One day your aquarium is healthy and flourishing, and the next, it is infested with Hydra – seemingly out of nowhere! So now what? You probably want to know if your guppy’s eating habits can help play a role in all of this. Well, we have the answers to ‘if guppies can eat Hydra.’
Guppies do not typically eat Hydra. This diet choice could be due to the toxic nature of the Hydra. Although Hydra may not cause much of a threat to adult guppies, it is the stinging cells found on the tentacles of the Hydra that are possibly too much for the guppy to handle.
Diet plays a role in keeping your guppies happy, healthy, and colorful. So it is critical to know what you can and cannot feed them. Join us as we explore what guppies can and cannot eat as well as tips and tricks to keeping your guppies safe.
Do Guppies Eat Hydra?
As much as we would hope for an easy removal system of Hydras in our guppy tanks – thinking maybe, just maybe, our guppies can play a role in all of this; The unfortunate answer is that guppies do not usually eat Hydra.
Guppies are omnivorous in nature; In other words, they eat both meat and plants. However, Hydra is one of the organisms that guppies tend to shy away from. This tendency could be due to the toxic nature of the Hydra.
Hydras are predatory creatures and inject their prey with neurotoxins. The neurotoxins are injected by their tentacles which carry sophisticated stinging cells within them.
Although Hydras do not pose much of a threat to adult guppies, due to the guppies’ size, it is the stinging cells of the Hydra that the guppy might consider too much to handle – making Hydra literally a pain to eat.
What Do Guppies Eat Instead Of Hydra?
As guppies can eat both plant-based and meat-based meals, feeding guppies are relatively uncomplicated and straightforward. An everyday and simple meal you can provide for your guppies are dry flakes for tropical fish.
Additionally, guppies can eat live food such as brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, blood worms, and chopped earthworms. These are great options to feed your guppies as they have a lot of nutritious value to give.
There are some pros to the aforementioned live food, though. For instance, brine shrimp can be frozen and fed to your guppies at your convenience. Similarly, some of the food you can even catch in your backyard! You just have to be willing to get a little dirt on you.
Also, your guppies can even eat some vegetables like shredded lettuce or finely chopped cucumber. These vegetables may be a great addition to your guppies’ diet, especially if their dry flakes have a high protein percentage but a low vegetable content percentage.
Is Hydra Safe To Keep With Guppies?
Although Hydras may seem like a minor pest – especially when considering they do not pose much of a threat to fully grown guppies – the reality is that they pose a danger to your guppies’ livelihood.
Hydras are strictly carnivorous. They feed off of fish fry and even small adult fish! Hydras have been known to eat guppy fry and thus pose a real threat to the livelihood of your guppies.
How To Eliminate Hydra
To protect your guppies’ fry, you might consider ways to get rid of Hydra in your tank. Below are some useful tips and tricks to help eliminate those pesky Hydra.
Tip #1- Physically Remove The Hydra
If you are fortunate enough to have a small infestation of Hydra, physical removal may be an option for you. However, it is probably best not to try this if you have a large infestation, as it may take a lot of additional time and effort.
To start, you can opt to manually remove Hydra from artificial rocks and plants through deep cleaning. First, remove the plants and rocks from the tank and soak them in a 10% bleach solution for about 10-15 minutes.
After soaking, thoroughly scrub and rinse the objects with plain water to avoid leaving any bleach residue. Allow to air dry and return at your convenience.
Tip #2 – Add Hydra Eating Fish
Add fish that eat Hydra. Some fish are known to eat Hydra, and this may be a great option as it is a less disruptive way of eliminating Hydra from your tank. Such fish includes Three Spot (Blue) Gouramis and Mollies.
However, be careful when introducing new fish to your tank, as some fish species do not live harmoniously with each other. Snails have also been known to eat Hydra, so you may consider adding snails such as pond snails to your tank.
Tip #3 – Adjust The Temperature In The Tank
Turn up the heat. You will have to relocate your fish for this step. After safely relocating your fish out of the tank, turn up the heat to a minimum of 104 degrees Fahrenheit for about 2 hours. Afterward, turn the heat down.
Proceed to vacuum the gravel as some Hydra may have fallen to the bottom of the tank. Next, do a complete water change or a large water change (50%) to remove the hot water. Lastly, make sure the water is back to its original temperature before returning your fish to the tank.
Tip #4 – Prevent Hydra Spread
Keep a prevention mindset. Applying the following tips will help slow down the spread of Hydra and thus give you more time to address the problem.
Make sure not to overfeed. Overfeeding your fish will provide the Hydra with multiple food sources and encourage speedy growth.
Also, inspect any new live plants before introducing them to the tank. This may help prevent accidentally introducing Hydra to your tank.
Conclusion
Hydra can cause damage to the livelihood of your guppies’ fry. So it is best to implement ways to keep your guppies safe and secure.
As guppies do not typically eat Hydra, there are many available options that will not only provide them with excellent nutrition but are also unlikely to cause discomfort.