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I am looking at a new pet.

Ricci.WrightRicci.Wright Member Posts: 5,128 ✭✭✭✭

Hydra vulgaris

Hydra vulgaris, the fresh-water polyp, is a small animal freshwater hydroid with length from 10 mm to 30 mm and width about 1 mm

The hydra have four to twelve tentacles that protrude from just outside the mouth. They feed by extending their tentacles and waiting for food to touch the tentacles. They then bring the food to their mouth, ingest and digest the organism. Anything that cannot be digested is egested. Ingestion and egestion occur through the mouth.

Like other hydras, Hydra vulgaris cling to a base object with a "foot" pad, shaped like a disk. The Hydra moves by releasing its grip on its base and is carried away by the current. H. vulgaris can also move by bending over, grabbing a surface with its tentacles, releasing its grip with its "foot" and flipping over itself.

H. vulgaris is often used, like many hydra, as a model organism for morphallactic regeneration because they are easy to care for, requiring minimal direct care, and reproduce relatively quickly. It is reported that they do not undergo senescence, making them biologically immortal although this has been disputed.



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