Snails, parasites and crawdads?

jle49 · Dec 1, 2008

I have a 40 gal tank. Established and healthy. If any of you read the 'great crawdad rescue' by my son, DDE1878. I was the recipient of 3 lg crawdads. Have some Angels and Tetra's in with them. When the crawdads ate all my algae eaters, last month I got 2 lg snails. Last week I was watching one of my crawdads molting. When the old shell came off, the top of the new shell was covered with 1/8 in. white worms, sucker mouths. I killed them immediately. The only thing I can think is they came from the snails. The crawdads have molted before, no worms. Of course the pet shop was no help. Anyone else had problems with tiny white worms? :cry:

Lupin · Dec 1, 2008

Any pics of the worms? What species of snails are these and where did you get them? Post pics of your snails.

jle49 · Dec 1, 2008

Sorry, don't have a cell phone. The snails are large and white. If that makes a difference. My son told me to kill the worms. So, that's what I did. Sorry, I can't be of any more help. Oh, I got the snails at one of our most expensive Pet Stores.

Lupin · Dec 1, 2008

They're most likely ivory brigs. What is the measurement? We need the pics to determine what parasites these are. Sucker mouths? See these.
http://www.applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=12865

http://www.applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18499http://www.applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=12865

jle49 · Dec 1, 2008

Lupin;2485701; said:
They're most likely ivory brigs. What is the measurement? We need the pics to determine what parasites these are. Sucker mouths? See these.
http://www.applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=12865

http://www.applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18499

Yes, yes, yes! The worms in the second pic look like the ones. My snails are between a 50 cent piece and a silver dollar size. Features like a regular garden snail. The post said, the worms may be caused by uneaten food. I don't have bio filters in that tank, like in my big tank. But, I clean it every two weeks. I'm concerned that the worms will affect my fish. Thanks for the sites. Johnette

Lupin · Dec 2, 2008

Two weeks is a very far gap. May I suggest you at least provide a sponge filter? This will help along with a weekly water change interval. They shouldn't affect your fish in any way. Most fish will eat them but you have to restrict feedings and do more water changes to avoid the worms.

jle49 · Dec 2, 2008

Lupin;2485873; said:
Two weeks is a very far gap. May I suggest you at least provide a sponge filter? This will help along with a weekly water change interval. They shouldn't affect your fish in any way. Most fish will eat them but you have to restrict feedings and do more water changes to avoid the worms.

I do have a sponge filter. I tore the whole tank down once, I saw the worms. Where do the worms come from? I assumed from the snails, since they are the only new thing in the tank for over 6 months. So appreciate the help, especially since my Angels are getting ready to breed. I am a fanatic about my fish. Always want to know the why's and how come? Much Thanks. Johnette

Lupin · Dec 2, 2008

jle49;2485897; said:
I do have a sponge filter. I tore the whole tank down once, I saw the worms. Where do the worms come from? I assumed from the snails, since they are the only new thing in the tank for over 6 months. So appreciate the help, especially since my Angels are getting ready to breed. I am a fanatic about my fish. Always want to know the why's and how come? Much Thanks. Johnette

They can be anywhere else actually, not just the snails. They will however not appear unless the food supply becomes abundant enough for them to appear in outbreaks.

black_sun · Dec 2, 2008

Did the worms look like these?:

Or perhaps these?:

Because these are very common annelids found on crayfish. They are not harmful (in most cases, a few rarely seen species are) to the crayfish or any tankmates. Most of the time there's actually a beneficial relationship between the leech (annelid) and the crayfish.

Other than that, I can't think of anything that would fit that description other than a fluke. Which would have come from the snails and eventually moved to the crayfish as it's life cycle progressed. But those are usually internal, and not on the new shell during molting. That's usually annelids that do that.

If that's what you saw I can give you info on how to get rid of them. But if it's not, ignore my comment, heh.

jle49 · Dec 2, 2008

black_sun;2486154; said:
Did the worms look like these?:

Or perhaps these?:

Because these are very common annelids found on crayfish. They are not harmful (in most cases, a few rarely seen species are) to the crayfish or any tankmates. Most of the time there's actually a beneficial relationship between the leech (annelid) and the crayfish.

Other than that, I can't think of anything that would fit that description other than a fluke. Which would have come from the snails and eventually moved to the crayfish as it's life cycle progressed. But those are usually internal, and not on the new shell during molting. That's usually annelids that do that.

If that's what you saw I can give you info on how to get rid of them. But if it's not, ignore my comment, heh.

Oh, Yeah, that's them. I'm kind of a nut about my crayfish. I so enjoy watching them molt. The reason that I got so freaked out is, I didn't see any of those worms the last time they molted. As I mentioned, the fish in that tank are starting to breed and I didn't want to wind up with critter filled eggs. Since I now feel pretty confident that my fish won't be harmed. I'll be more diligent about water changes and limit the food. So appreciate the pic's. You got it absolutely right. Thanks Johnette


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Snails, parasites and crawdads?

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