i have a 29 african cichlid tank with 6 tangs. i was feeding them and noticed a little squiggly thing. it was a 1/2'' white worm about as think as hair. it was wiggling through the water. i only saw one. any ideas as to what it may be?
squiggly thing
- Thread starter toehead11183
- Start date
Planaria.
Overfeeding or poor water quality could have brought forth that critter. They're harmless though and your fish will eat them.
Overfeeding or poor water quality could have brought forth that critter. They're harmless though and your fish will eat them.
Planaria (family Planariidae) are common freshwater, non-parasitic flatworms of the phylum Platyhelminthes, class Turbellaria. It should be noted that the term "planaria" is most often used as a common name, much in the same way as trout. It is also the name of a genus within the family Planariidae. It moves by beating cilia on the ventral dermis, allowing it to glide along on a film of mucus. Some move by undulations of the whole body by the contractions of muscles built into the body wall. They exhibit an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts. For example, a Planaria split length wise or crosswise will regenerate into 2 separate individuals. The size ranges from 3 to 12 mm, and the body has two eye-spots (also known as ocelli) that can detect the intensity of light. The eye-spots act as photoreceptors and are used to move away from light sources. Planaria have 3 germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm), but lack a true coelom. Rather, they have a solid body (acoelomate). They have a single-opening digestive tract, consisting of one anterior branch and two posterior branches in freshwater planarians. Because of this three-branched organization, freshwater flatworms are often referred to as triclad planarians. They are active carnivious flatworms that feed on daphnia and midges.
Planaria are common to many parts of the world and reside in fresh water ponds and rivers. They are also commonly found residing on plants.
thanx ya'll. i have a baseball sized snail in with them and she eats alot. i'll find room for her elsewhere.