Aquarium pest

Question
I have an unknown pest in my aquarium that is multiplying rapidly. They are very small and white and if you look closely, the look like a small stick with lots of little branches on one end. They are attached to all the surfaces in my tank and sway with the current. What are they and how do I get rid of them? Thanks a lot!

Answer
Hi Mandy;

They sound like a little creature called "hydra". They are totally harmless unless you have newborn or newly hatched  baby fish. They are feeding on other organisms in your tank from having a lot of organic waste in there. Cut back on how much food you feed the fish, do some gravel vacuuming and weekly 25% water changes. The organisms that the hydra feed on will starve out without the extra waste to thrive on. In turn, the hydra will slowly disappear too. If your fish aren't too small, they will also eat the hydra if they are a little hungry. Cut back on how much food you feed and they will view the hydra as food. It's perfectly natural and what the fish would do if they were out in the wild. If you choose to try to get rid of the hydra by medicines or chemicals keep in mind that anything that will kill hydra can also be very hard on or kill your fish.

Hydra are freshwater "Coelenterates", the same family as saltwater jellyfish and sea anemones. Here are links to web sites about them;

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/micro.htm

http://naturalaquariums.com/inverts/hydra.html

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/invertebrates/hydra.shtml

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins