Worm ID please?

[Solstice_Lacer]

What kind of worm thing is this? It's like a dark red at the front fading to a pink slightly tapered tail. I tried to look for a triangle head or eye spots but couldn't see any. Is it a type of planaria or something else?

 

[Guppysnail]

It moves like a planaria but so do many nifty worms. Can you put it in a shallow smooth dish. It is not possible to give a positive id from the video. 

[nabokovfan87]

Looks like some type of flatworm, yeah.

@Biotope Biologist this is a fun one! 🙂

given the color, maybe a leech?

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 4/3/2023 at 12:47 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

given the color, maybe a leech?

That’s what I was thinking too. Might have preyed upon something and you’re seeing the blood that it has consumed.

[Solstice_Lacer]

I got it in a shallow dish in the morning light. Doesn't look like a planarian. After looking up pics I think y'all might be right with leech?

 

[Biotope Biologist]

I’m thinking it’s a species of rhabdocoel flatworm possibly Mesostoma ehrenbergii or similar.

 

Locomotion is a pretty good indicator when no discernible features can be observed. Leeches move like an inchworm on surfaces and an eel when when swimming. The tapered tail is the only thing I can really go off of and that it moves like a flatworm, gliding over surfaces like a slug would.

[Solstice_Lacer]

It does look quite similar. It doesn't seem to swim so I guess that would rule out leech. From what I looked up they eat very small things? Hopefully not a problem for baby shrimp. When i observed it on a plant it was just kind of wandering, there were shrimp nearby but I didn't see any interaction.

[Mary W.]

I had Asian Freshwater Leeches in my tank and this doesn't look or move like them.  Mine clearly "inchwormed" when moving over a surface, and also swam freely.