Liliana Araoz Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I have a brand new 20g long tank, heavily planted and fishless cycled it for 2 weeks. I introduced 5 baby ramshorn snails, as I noticed a lot of protein and biofilm building in the tank, plus all the decaying plants (dwarf saggitaria sheded a lot from transplanting it to the new tank) ...and I just noticed what could be planaria. Two or three tiny tiny worms cruising slowly through the glass... Not entirely sure if they are or not, but they could be, as one of the tanks at my LFS has planaria in it and they might have cross contaminated other tanks, and somehow I might have transfered it to my tank. Yesterday I added one betta and 3 albino corydoras, as I read online, fish most times eat them and keep them under control, also that planaria will thrive if there's overfeeding, which is not my case, however all the waste from the driftwood and plants could be an issue. What are your thoughts? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I like that sort of stuff in my aquariums, as it provides food to fishes and is otherwise harmless. Other people find it unattractive. So in the end it is a personal decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Ellison Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) I'm with @Daniel i tRyan make a ecosystem and I feel little guys like this add to that. To my knowledge they are harmless? If you want to remove them I have a article I found. https://www.cuteness.com/article/aquarium-fish-eat-planaria Edited September 20, 2020 by Ben Ellison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Also, @Liliana AraozNice first post clearly written, with tags, and good quality pictures. I look forward to many future posts from you, welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liliana Araoz Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Daniel said: I like that sort of stuff in my aquariums, as it provides food to fishes and is otherwise harmless. Other people find it unattractive. So in the end it is a personal decision. Thank you @Daniel... Honestly my concerned raised as one of my LFS girls pointed at me that they had planaria in that tank and "they didn't know what to do yet" .. tho it was a tank with only shrimp and snails in there, no fish... makes sense now once I have done some research. In many websites it sounds concerning, as they can "attack" shrimp and sometimes fish, they get in their gills and it can irritate them, blah blah... makes sense what you say and it makes more sense that I had a few planarias in there since my tank didn't have fish either. Let's see how it goes with the new buddies, hopefully they will keep them at bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 In my experience planaria just can't muster the agility to 'attack' anything anymore than garden slugs could pose a threat to me in my garden. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_RF Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I have used 1 gram of panacur c. Typically I have had to do two treatments to clear it up. I will only use this in shrimp tanks, because to be perfectly honest in any other tank I give thanks for it as live fish food along with detritus worms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liliana Araoz Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Ben_RF said: I have used 1 gram of panacur c. Typically I have had to do two treatments to clear it up. I will only use this in shrimp tanks, because to be perfectly honest in any other tank I give thanks for it as live fish food along with detritus worms. But isn't Panacur harmful to snails? I wouldn't use it since I have ramshorn snails Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_RF Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 (edited) They say it does, however, the treatment has never impacted mine. Edited September 21, 2020 by Ben_RF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ange Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 It's difficult to tell based on the size/res of your photo but I believe you may not have planaria. Rhabdocoela are a common aquarium flatworm and are a normal part of a healthy ecosystem. They look very similar to planaria and lack the pointed head region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liliana Araoz Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 1 hour ago, ange said: It's difficult to tell based on the size/res of your photo but I believe you may not have planaria. Rhabdocoela are a common aquarium flatworm and are a normal part of a healthy ecosystem. They look very similar to planaria and lack the pointed head region. Interesting. Thank you! Yes they are very small at the moment, so it was very very hard even with a magnifying glass to try and see if they have that pointy head and crossed eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 On 9/21/2020 at 9:25 AM, ange said: It's difficult to tell based on the size/res of your photo but I believe you may not have planaria. Rhabdocoela are a common aquarium flatworm and are a normal part of a healthy ecosystem. They look very similar to planaria and lack the pointed head region. Those do not look like Planaria. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liliana Araoz Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 1 minute ago, Mmiller2001 said: Those do not look like Planaria. I agree. Well, little update. I finally have added a few corydoras and a betta to this ecosystem and holy remedy... little buggers are gone. Whether they are Planaria or Rhabdocoela, they are no more... or at least I can't see them LOL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 1 minute ago, Liliana Araoz said: Well, little update. I finally have added a few corydoras and a betta to this ecosystem and holy remedy... little buggers are gone. Whether they are Planaria or Rhabdocoela, they are no more... or at least I can't see them LOL. Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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