Jump to content

HELP! I think I got planarian


Plant-master
 Share

Recommended Posts

Not too long ago the Lights to my tank came on and I noticed small little white worms moving on the glass. I’ve never had this problem or have ever seen them in my tank. This tank is still growing out with plants so there is no fish or shrimp in it yet. Can they be harmful to plants or fish? What can I do to get rid of them as fast as possible? 
 

 

F84D9D44-55DE-4DB3-B83C-317B0A6F273D.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's my thread on what looks like a similar issue.
 

Because you don't have fish in the tank right now it might be an easy solution to treat.

1.  Add aeration
2.  Remove plants to a bucket (if you want to clean them you can dip them in salt, seltzer water, or something else)
3.  Dose the tank with high amounts of salt and let it sit for a few days, or you can dose with meds.

Essentially, it is what looks similar to mine, detritus worms.  If you have fish that will predate on it, they will be fine, but it's a sign of poor flow and/or poor care of the tank.  You'll need to manually gravel vac them out of the tank, clean the gravel itself as best you can among anything else that you do.

Planaria has a specific head shape, if there isn't that distinct head shape it is very likely detritus worms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not been able to identify any issue with Planaria being harmful to my plants or fish (I noticed some in my shrimp tank yesterday). I believe small fish likely eat them and I think they are evidence of a thriving micro-ecosystem. If you do not like them then I believe Cory recommended Expel-P to get rid of them... @Zenzo can you confirm what medication is recommended to get rid of Planaria?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/11/2022 at 1:32 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Here's my thread on what looks like a similar issue.
 

Because you don't have fish in the tank right now it might be an easy solution to treat.

1.  Add aeration
2.  Remove plants to a bucket (if you want to clean them you can dip them in salt, seltzer water, or something else)
3.  Dose the tank with high amounts of salt and let it sit for a few days, or you can dose with meds.

Essentially, it is what looks similar to mine, detritus worms.  If you have fish that will predate on it, they will be fine, but it's a sign of poor flow and/or poor care of the tank.  You'll need to manually gravel vac them out of the tank, clean the gravel itself as best you can among anything else that you do.

Planaria has a specific head shape, if there isn't that distinct head shape it is very likely detritus worms.

For flow all I’m during is a sponge filter and I’m doing 2 weekly water changes and the tank is new. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/11/2022 at 7:34 PM, Plant-master said:

For flow all I’m during is a sponge filter and I’m doing 2 weekly water changes and the tank is new. 

What is the stocking on the tank, would the fish mind higher flow?  There might be a lot of mulm / detritus and some slow spots causing the worms.  I think mine came in on a plant, but not sure.  It happened the same time I had a pump slow down to a crawl and I had just removed a filter so oxygenation was lowered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/11/2022 at 9:37 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What is the stocking on the tank, would the fish mind higher flow?  There might be a lot of mulm / detritus and some slow spots causing the worms.  I think mine came in on a plant, but not sure.  It happened the same time I had a pump slow down to a crawl and I had just removed a filter so oxygenation was lowered.

The tank is about 1 month old and cycling and I added some new pearl weed about 3 weeks ago to it. Other wise there is not much mulm in the substrate. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...