# Salt or Bleach? (The lesser of 2 evils)



## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I have a Hydra out break. The only thing going from the infected 10 gallon tank to the new 20 gallon tank will be the live animals, (who hopefully don't have any attached to them), and the live plants.

The live plants DO have Hydra on them. The only way to get them off I assume is to do a salt dip or to bleach them. Problem is, I've got snails, shrimp and Dwarf frogs, (all who do not do well with salt.... or bleach I'm assuming lol). I've got Oto's too who can be very sensitive.

I was told that if I salt dip them, (Then rubbing the leaves to get the dead bodies off), and rinsing well with clear water, some salt may still stay on/in the plants and kill the critters. Someone told me the salt could leach out of the plants later. Is this true? Would rinsing under running tap water, rubbing the plants gently under the water and then soaking them in clear water for a few hours get rid of all the soap? (Anyone know the salt to water ratio and the salt dip method?)

Would it be safer to bleach them? I've read this will kill many plants. (You can see from my sig' the types I have). If it would be safer, how do I do this? (I've never done it before). Method and bleach to water ratio is greatly appreciated! (Will any bleach remain and kill my animals even after thorough rinsing under tap water, gently rubbing under tap water and soaking in clear water for a few hours after?

Thanks so much and sorry for the lengthy post - just wanted to be as detailed as possible.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Hydra isn't a big deal unless it's in a fry tank. They are too small to harm almost any adult fish. They could even be seen as a good thing, a mini clean up crew. With light feeding they should die back on their own, some fish eat them. If you plan on breeding in your tank though it's worth getting rid of them. They can kill or damage small fry.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Thanks. I wasn't too worried until I saw my snails and shrimp jumping when they crawled across a Hydra. They are stinging them. (Could also be why my RCS won't breed). Otherwise, I'd just let them be, lol.


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