Planaria

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
I think I might have this in my new tank.
I spotted them this morning when I was watchin perry
eatin some wood.they are very small and thin and are
coloured wight and move
around the glass like a worm.
I can't see em when the lights are on tho.are they safe to leave
in, will over fish eat them?
I read on the net that tetras might eat them.
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
Thats true, they can be caused by overfeeding. Anyway theres a quite good article on aquarticles.

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Ali_Planaria_Worms.html
thats a good read,cheers doodles.
i won,t feed perry for a day or 2,shes had some blood worms 3 days in a row.
will get her some veg,s tonight.
the tank gets clean water every day when i do the poo clean up,just under 10%,but
the tank will get its weekly 30% water change and clean tomorrow,ill
clean up the gravel and the glass.
 

Irene0100

UK Support Team
May 14, 2009
4,271
0
36
Norfolk, UK
probably planaria, over feeding worsens the condition but they are not only caused by over feeding. they can come in on plants and otehr decor and live harmlessly in your filter for ever, but now and again outbreak into the tank. if you have a lot of them you can find them by lifting larger stones, caves etc that sit on the bottom and looking under them -where you will find them curled up. they are also called flat worms and they flatten themselves into small crevices. some fish eat them which is why most people dont see them even if they have them in teh tank. another way to check for them is to put a frozen prawn (defrosted) on a clip in bottom of tank - they find this irrisistable and will crawl out to follow the smell.
I have tried many ways to get rid of them (eg adding different fish like rams who love to eat them but cant eat under stones) but the only way that worked for me was wormer (beware it also kills snails).
they are fairly harmless but dont want larger numbers of them if you breed fish as they will eat fish eggs.
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
probably planaria, over feeding worsens the condition but they are not only caused by over feeding. they can come in on plants and otehr decor and live harmlessly in your filter for ever, but now and again outbreak into the tank. if you have a lot of them you can find them by lifting larger stones, caves etc that sit on the bottom and looking under them -where you will find them curled up. they are also called flat worms and they flatten themselves into small crevices. some fish eat them which is why most people dont see them even if they have them in teh tank. another way to check for them is to put a frozen prawn (defrosted) on a clip in bottom of tank - they find this irrisistable and will crawl out to follow the smell.
I have tried many ways to get rid of them (eg adding different fish like rams who love to eat them but cant eat under stones) but the only way that worked for me was wormer (beware it also kills snails).
they are fairly harmless but dont want larger numbers of them if you breed fish as they will eat fish eggs.
will the plants and fish be ok with the wormer?
There only a small amount that I can see, not lots.
I might leave it and use the wormer if it gets worse.
If I use it it will rid the tank off the pest snails but I'll
have to move my assassin to the edge.

I'll have to
move my assassin to the edge tho.
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
will the plants and fish be ok with the wormer?
There only a small amount that I can see, not lots.
I might leave it and use the wormer if it gets worse.
If I use it it will rid the tank off the pest snails but I'll
have to move my assassin to the edge.
He can sort out the pest snails in that tank too.
 

Irene0100

UK Support Team
May 14, 2009
4,271
0
36
Norfolk, UK
yes only use wormer as last resort. a good clean and worm eating fish is usually sufficient. only critical if you are breeding.
plants and fish ok with wormer, jozebs sells it if you need any.
how big is the tank and what fish do you have in it?
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
yes only use wormer as last resort. a good clean and worm eating fish is usually sufficient. only critical if you are breeding.
plants and fish ok with wormer, jozebs sells it if you need any.
how big is the tank and what fish do you have in it?
Hi irene, it's 75 liters and I have a L134 ( perry) in it and lots of live plants.
I plan on puttin a betta in there maybe
tomorrow if I find a good one and then in 2 or 3 weeks later I'll get some neon tetras in there.
 
Last edited:

Irene0100

UK Support Team
May 14, 2009
4,271
0
36
Norfolk, UK
what are you feeding Perry on? maybe you can reduce his diet? do you think you might be over feeding?
neons would be good.
less sure about betta - some of them dont like much water current and l134 like quite a lot of water movement
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
what are you feeding Perry on? maybe you can reduce his diet? do you think you might be over feeding?
neons would be good.
less sure about betta - some of them dont like much water current and l134 like quite a lot of water movement
i think i may off over feed her with blood worms,(as i am now finding out)
she leavin lots and lots off poo all over the tank.
im not going to feed her for a few days now.
ive got her some "nutrafin max pleco logs" today.ill start her on them tuesday night.
as for the betta i asked the guy at the LSH about getting one and he asked wot tank and filter i had and he said a betta should be ok. the filter is a "bluwave 05"not much current at all.i think my air stone moves more water than the filter does :dk:
perry is setlein well in the new tank :woohoo: ive seen her more in this tank than i did when she was in the edge,she even comes out when the lights are on and hangs on the bog wood with all fins out,very good lookin fish.
 

Irene0100

UK Support Team
May 14, 2009
4,271
0
36
Norfolk, UK
nice. try Perry on some cooked peas with skin off. I give them to my L134s as too much protein can give them bloat, I think they need a mixed diet.
if he is a good poser try some photos?
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
nice. try Perry on some cooked peas with skin off. I give them to my L134s as too much protein can give them bloat, I think they need a mixed diet.
if he is a good poser try some photos?
hi irene,i put 2 peas in last night,but it don,t look like shes touched them.
think shes still full up.she had a long poo line comin out off her last night.
i read up on it and they say its a sign off over feedin.so no more food
for a while.
and i think she read your post about pics...the lights came on and shes gone into hiddin :lol:
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
here,s my girl:

taken 10 mins ago.
the first time i,ve seen her eat in the day time with the lights on.woohoo.

i know i said no more food for a while but the wafer was under the moss ball (right off perry) i didnt see it when i did a clean up.
 
Last edited:

titan

Member
May 26, 2010
67
0
6
west midlands
wow what a nice pic of my fave pleco, i love em, i used to have the same problem with the little white worms until i introduced 3 clown loach, with in 3 days they had vanished and never returned. might do the trick for you too
 

GrubbyGirl

Member
Nov 18, 2009
608
0
16
Kent
wow what a nice pic of my fave pleco, i love em, i used to have the same problem with the little white worms until i introduced 3 clown loach, with in 3 days they had vanished and never returned. might do the trick for you too
Noooo............don't introduce clown loach, it's only a 75 litre tank so nowhere near the size needed for clowns