White little critters in tank!

[pheng]

Need some help if anyone has encounter these little things before. Just appeared this morning out of nowhere. Research some things and found out it could be white worms which is harmless and great fish food and also snail leech which is not. Anyone out there know any info if I should clean out my whole system and sanitize or no?

 

[kno4te]

Look like planaria to me. Clean your tank and remove any left over food. Should go away once tank maintenance is improved. No meds needed. Harmless to fish.

 

[tlindsey]

Look like planaria to me.

100%

Harmless to fish.

Yes but will prey on shrimp.

 

[tlindsey]

white worms which is harmless

Do you have a magnifying glass on hand?
If you notice a triangular shaped head and crossed eyes those will be planaria. They also glide across the glass when they move.

 

[phengx]

Look like planaria to me. Clean your tank and remove any left over food. Should go away once tank maintenance is improved. No meds needed. Harmless to fish.

thank you. I am currently cleaning it out now.

 

[phengx]

100%

Yes but will prey on shrimp.

thanks.

Do you have a magnifying glass on hand?
If you notice a triangular shaped head and crossed eyes those will be planaria. They also glide across the glass when they move.

unfortunately no i don't.

 

[phengx]

Look like planaria to me. Clean your tank and remove any left over food. Should go away once tank maintenance is improved. No meds needed. Harmless to fish.

would the fish be able to eat them if i added more to the tank?

 

[kno4te]

would the fish be able to eat them if i added more to the tank?

Yes.

 

[jjohnwm]

would the fish be able to eat them if i added more to the tank?

Most fish don't eat planaria very readily, or unless desperate for food. Putting more fish in will necessitate more feeding, which will likely increase your planaria problem rather than combat it. They don't seem to harm fish but they will do severe damage to fish eggs.

Somebody (not sure, but I think it might have been Trouser Cough ) recently mentioned a product that apparently works well to get rid of these critters. I can't remember the name of the stuff, something goofy like Planaria-Be-Gone or an equally unimaginative moniker.

 

[Trouser Cough]

Most fish don't eat planaria very readily, or unless desperate for food. Putting more fish in will necessitate more feeding, which will likely increase your planaria problem rather than combat it. They don't seem to harm fish but they will do severe damage to fish eggs.

Somebody (not sure, but I think it might have been Trouser Cough ) recently mentioned a product that apparently works well to get rid of these critters. I can't remember the name of the stuff, something goofy like Planaria-Be-Gone or an equally unimaginative moniker.

I totally agree. Planaria are parasites and not a popular food source for any fish that recall having kept. They're common hitchhikers on shrimp but they're also really easy to control to the point that though you may still have them in the tank you'll not see them. I've got a lot of shrimp and a few mexican dwarf crayfish that I'd bet a nickel might be harboring some of these little cretins but I haven't seen one since I last treated the tank a year or more ago. The product is called No-Planaria and it has one ingredient; Betel nut palm extract. I have no clue what that is but I've never noticed it bothering any other fish in any of the tanks I've treated in years past. It's a three day regimen that in my experience has completely killed all planaria in three days.

I wouldn't encourage anyone else to toss the instructions out but I have doubled the dosage before and the only thing in the tank that seems to be bummed about it was the planaria.

There are two things about planaria that I like to bear in mind:

- They'll kill your shrimp for sure and

- Though I've never seen it I have a buddy that I occasionally trade fish back and forth with. He gave me a pile of shrimp and they had a planaria infestation that he didn't think was an issue even when I suggested that they were. He changed his mind when later his wife said that she'd seen one outside the tank wandering across the kitchen counter. I don't keep an aquarium in the kitchen but I agree w/ mamma; can't have that.

Revolting, parasitic and easy to control w/ no downside that I'm aware of. Cheap too. The unusual comment on the package is:

"Keep Planaria away without harming shrimp and plants".

That makes me wonder if it's killing them or what exactly it's doing but you don't need to break down your tank as the fix is cheap, easy, and the med is available at the typical independent LFS. Gimme a sec and I'll post a pic.