Jumpingintank Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 What’s this little creepy guy in my tank? Like a worm crawling all over the wall. Don’t know how could it get in the first place? Coming from a dead fish? Is it a parasite? Do I need to get rid of it? kind of scared. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Looks like a Planarian. If you have shrimp you might have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 More accurately that is Girardia or brown planarian they get rather larger than most other species encountered in the aquarium. They are predators of snails, worms, and other like organisms. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpingintank Posted October 19, 2023 Author Share Posted October 19, 2023 On 10/18/2023 at 6:53 PM, Stef said: Looks like a Planarian. If you have shrimp you might have a problem. Thanks! I do have shrimps. So how do I kill it? I have no idea how it got in my tank… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 (edited) I don’t have personal experience with this worm but perhaps Irene’s video may help for starters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkKSEpkEaws Edited October 19, 2023 by Stef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 (edited) On 10/18/2023 at 8:02 PM, Jumpingintank said: Thanks! I do have shrimps. So how do I kill it? I have no idea how it got in my tank… Physical removal is the only option. Most if not all planaria-X can harm shrimp I have a few species of planaria in my tank and while they have stemmed my ramshorn population my shrimplets can move out of the way. Planaria are slow predators so they rely on slower prey. I still have about 10-15 adult ramshorns but the babies get eaten or go into hiding The planaria also make great fry or small fish food so a bit of the circle of life. Edited October 19, 2023 by Biotope Biologist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 I have used fenbendazole (panacur-c dog dewormer) with complete success and no I’ll affect on my shrimp. However it will be several months before the tank is snail safe. .1 mg / 10 gallons dose again in 24 hours. Let marinate for a week. They really are not that bad. They only are able to get the weak or molting shrimp. However if you overfeed they will multiply rapidly. Dense populations are harmful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 No Planaria is shrimp safe. But this also applies to No Planaria: On 10/19/2023 at 10:43 AM, Guppysnail said: However it will be several months before the tank is snail safe. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOtrees Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 I'd be going with physical removal. Just be careful when you catch it that it doesn't break or squish - they can reproduce by budding. Cut one head off, two more grow in its place. Hail Hydra. 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 On 10/18/2023 at 8:02 PM, Jumpingintank said: Thanks! I do have shrimps. So how do I kill it? I have no idea how it got in my tank… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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