Planaria *sigh*

[sek]

I hope this is in the right section, if it's not just slap me (LOL)
I've got a planaria problem and it's very frustrating.

I have done daily 20% water changes as well as cleaning the sand. I've also physically removed a lot of the planaria, the tank is cleaner now than it was. (a lot of camoflauged food on my sand) the water parameters are normal.

I just wanted to know if I'm doing the right thing or if there is something else I can do?
Also, I have read a lot about planaria but I will still ask if they can harm/irritate my axies?

Thanks in advance

 

[melfly]

Hiya
I think these are the critters i get in my tank now and then.
They are not a problem with axies.

To get there numbers down just make sure theres no waste food or poop knocking around the tank.

Mel

 

[Morrison]

I have the same problem. I have bought some weird 'goo' (about a year ago) that kills the planaria.... But it says that it's for fish and not good for snails and shrimps. So I'm not going to use that in my axies' tank just in case it's bad for them as well.

I've heard about putting something like cucumber in the tank so that they're going to eat that and so that the cucumber + planaria can be fished out and be thrown away. I still need to test that.

I still don't really know if they can harm axies.

 

[blackdog]

I've just noticed some planaria in my tank too

Numbers dont seem huge, and they dont seem to be having any ill effect on the axies.

After some searches here, i'm giving the gravel several thorough cleans (although i'm pretty strict with house keeping so i didnt expect to find the gravel too dirty)

I did get a bit of snail poop in the waste bucket, and even an empty snail shell, so maybe a dead snail and some poop was enough to bring the planaria on? Not sure.

I'm going to do some extra gravel cleans, watch the axies closely for any problems, and watch the number of planaria before i stress too much.

Will small fish like white cloud or guppies eat the planaria? floating around the tank and glass as they do , i imagine they'd look tasty to a fish.

 

[sek]

Yes, I believe white clouds and guppies eat planaria. Your axies will probably eat them though.
Planaria is a real pain, I seemed to have made them less. One of my axies is a very messy eater so I find myself cleaning up after him a lot more than my other. I'm washing my sand everyday and doing 20% changes. This seems to be working. I've seen some planaria 'resting' on one of my axie's heads... Not too sure about what they're doing on there but I hope they're not irritating him.

 

[blackdog]

After only two days and two substrate vacuums, the planaria i have appear noticeably less - not sure if it's just wishful thinking, but....

I am setting up a new tank in a month or so, and after another month quarantine i am trying white cloud in the tank with the boys, thats why i was curious about the fish eating them.

Another 8 weeks or so and i'll know for sure

 

[sek]

I too am going to have a new larger tank, sadly I can't get sand that isn't food/axie poo coloured. But it should be easier to clean. I will have to quarrantine the plants I already have in my current tank for 30 days to get rid of any planaria eggs I have... hopefully that will work. Also, I noticed Planaria really hate high current. Is that just me? I turned my filter around recently and they seemed to have diminshed since being thrown around in the current. It seems so little is known about them, hopefully I can learn more in the process of lowering their levels...

 

[Jacquie]

Just a thought: Have you tried checking your filter media (sponges)? There may be excess gunk that the planaria may be feeding upon. If the sponges are filthy, try giving them a shake off in a bucket of tank water (don't use tap water, as chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria living in the filter).

Tactics for dealing with planaria and other tank invaders can be found in this article: Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Invaders: Algae, Snails, Worms and Other Critters. Well worth a read through.

 

[sek]

Just a thought: Have you tried checking your filter media (sponges)? There may be excess gunk that the planaria may be feeding upon. If the sponges are filthy, try giving them a shake off in a bucket of tank water (don't use tap water, as chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria living in the filter).

Tactics for dealing with planaria and other tank invaders can be found in this article: Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Invaders: Algae, Snails, Worms and Other Critters. Well worth a read through.

Thanks for the tip!
I have shaken off extra gunk off the filter media, which may have helped as well. I live in the country so we don't have chlorine thankfully, we have tank water. Thanks for the link too.

 

[ted22]

Yo planaria is from overfeeding the tank usually occurs when feeding things like bloodworm, they are not harmful but can be irritating to axies, itchy gills etc if in contact with em! Try feeding the tank less and cleaning up abit more often, as others have said guppies will eat em!

 

[Crysta]

I've got them again also, frustrating because I was Sure I was rid of them when I completely crashed my tanks' cycles (two of them) to get rid of the buggers, inhabitants of the tank were in their old water in temp housing until I cycled them again.
"WHY, WHY ARE YOU BACK TO BOTHER ME?!"
I was so tidy

More frequent water changes are the best +_+

 

[blackdog]

You know, i'm fairly new to all this aquarium stuff.

We bought my daughter a goldfish tank for her birthday, she pleaded and promised she would look after it.

Anyway, while i was learning how to look after it for her i came across some info on axies, and remembered having them in the classroom at school, and that was that, i had to get some!

So, the point of this rant? and why is it relevant to this thead?

I had NO idea how many tank critters you get (naturally) when you set up a tank.

I find the whole process fascinating. From the cycle and the naturally occuring bacterias, to the copepods and planaria and bristleworms and snails and algaes and other buggies you get - especially if you keep live plants.

Ok, there are some bad bugs, but every time i have been staring at the axies and seen another creature in the tank, i have come to this site, done a search and found it to be a totally natural occurence, and usually not harmful to the axies

I have decided that constantly trying to micro manage the tank will do more harm than good. It's like washing your hands. It's good to regularly wash your hands during the day, it is unhealthy to get all Howard Hughes about it - know what i mean?

I think if you are getting some other creatures in there, it's a sign of having a healthy ecosystem - it's when one or more get out of control is a problem, but even that is a warning sign for you. For example, if you get heaps of planaria all of a sudden, you know you might not be cleaning up enough - good warning sign before the tank hygine gets out of control, dont you think? It's not like the axies can hold up a little sign that says "Hey buddy, it stinks in here, Frank did a poop behind the java fern you didnt see!"

Anyway, i like my tank bugs. I think you just have to watch them but not micro manage them.

just MHO

Bren

 

[sek]

I agree. I have and am maintaining the planaria now. There are no big swimming ones any more, and they no longer sit on my axies faces. 20% water changes have helped a lot, I will continue to do this as my water is blurry as well.

 

[Norcinu]

Oh, I remember I was getting a few of those as well as a lot of Cyclops. Bought a bunch of cloud minnows who wiped them out and doubled as food for my axies. Changed my filter material and haven't seen them since. There were only a few of those slug looking things though :O

 

[blackdog]

All the talk of planaria made me research them a little.

I found this product that shrimp breeders use (apparently planaria is bad news for shrimp)

Is a product like this harmful to axies to you think?

I want to keep some shrimp in the new tank, i might need to get rid of the planaria for that

THoughts? Main ingrediaent is betel palm extract

http://canberraaquatics.com.au/inde...&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

 

[jclee]

I think blackdog's got the right idea.

I also keep fish, and especially with newer fish keepers, there's an urge to treat everything, which of course is fueled by the existence of products marketed for treating everything, whether or not it's needed or even if natural, long-lasting treatment is safer (like wood to lower ph rather than 'pH-down').

But before I digress too much into a rant about random products... I know that shrimp breeders often use fenbendazole to remove planaria from tanks. (It's commonly used as dewormer for dogs, I think? My last planaria outbreak was in a cherry shrimp breeding tank; I was able to get rid of the worms by feeding more modestly, without having to turn to fenbendazole.)

The product in the above link says that it has betel nut palm as its active ingredient. I really do not know much about betel nuts, but I would imagine this to be a pungent extract, and it would make me nervous to expose my axolotls to it. If anyone knows more about this, I would be curious to learn.

Since I know that planaria cannot harm axolotls, and I do not know what fenbendazole/betel nut extract would do to them, I would not suggest using planaria removers. I would go the old fashioned route of cutting back on feedings until the population decreases on its own. Besides, you keep over feeding, they'll keep coming back, and then you'd have to keep treating them anyway. Might as well skip the meds, cut the feeding, and say bye-bye to the annoying little worms.

Neo, it sounds like you're already doing loads of water changes to decrease their population. Just keep it up, and keep an eye on how much you feed your axolotls, and it should all work out.

 

[blackdog]

I am trying to manage my current planaria outbreak with just what jclee suggested right now.

I am setting up a new tank when i get back from holidays in early october, so chances are my planaria are not going to be an issue (maybe!)

I have cut back the feedings, done several gravel cleans, pulled apart the filter media and cleaned.

After i finshed rinsing the filter last night, it seemed to have more planaria than ever! i think i had them in the filter and the re=priming etc flushed a hep out!

This morning there was barely a one to be seen.

So, cutting back the food, extra gravel cleans, see what happens in the next month or so.

I am thinking of buying some of the no planaria for the shrimp / white could tank i'm going to set up soon, and i was thinking it would be a good product to use when quarantining plants - it is supposed to kill snails as well, so a dose in a plany quarantine bucket might get rid of some of these bugs before they get in?