# What's so bad about planaria?



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

They move on a slime coat that is toxic, and their whole body exudes it. They are predatory and nocturnal. It's powerful enough to kill a shrimp.


----------



## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

That's pretty scary. Well im getting some dewormer tomorrow, this is probably why I don't see too many adult shrimp.


----------



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Well, they don't kill shrimp en mass, but stress them out for sure, and also baby shrimp don't fare so well.


----------



## tetraontheedge (Dec 7, 2010)

Hi mordalphus. 

Am I correct in recalling that you have packets of planaria dewormer for sale? I have a planaria problem that heating and substrate vacuuming has not solved. I would like to deworm.


----------



## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

If you have nerite snails you'll want to be careful deworming. I recently used 1/4th of the suggested amount of fenbendazole to get rid of hydra in a tank. It worked beautifully so I tried it again in a second tank with hydra + nerites. The hydra all died but within 3 days so had the nerites. They'd all been happy for 2-6 months prior to this and all 4 died at the same time.

ETA: Other snails don't seem to have any problems with it, just nerites.


----------



## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

Well luckily snails don't survive in my water.


----------



## tetraontheedge (Dec 7, 2010)

jasonpatterson said:


> If you have nerite snails you'll want to be careful deworming. I recently used 1/4th of the suggested amount of fenbendazole to get rid of hydra in a tank. It worked beautifully so I tried it again in a second tank with hydra + nerites. The hydra all died but within 3 days so had the nerites. They'd all been happy for 2-6 months prior to this and all 4 died at the same time.
> 
> ETA: Other snails don't seem to have any problems with it, just nerites.


Thanks for the heads up. I do have ramshorns, pond, and the pointy ones that live in the gravel, but no nerites. I have been a little worried about deworming with my beloved snails, but at this point the evil planaria are eating all the ramshorn and pond snail eggs and, I suspect, doing in some of the adult ramshorns. Plus, I have observed the evil things sliming their way through the java moss, which I believe is the final refuge of shrimplets from my violent neon tetras.

So that is it. The planaria must DIE!

That was cathartic. :icon_lol:


----------



## guppygolucky (Nov 9, 2009)

They are the thin white worms? I've been wondering why my adult shrimps are dieing off. It's been a few shrimp each day. Could this be the culprit?


----------



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Not thin white worms, those are nematodes. 

THese are planaria:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlPzex-q4TE&feature=related


----------



## guppygolucky (Nov 9, 2009)

Darn I had a few of those too. I took the shrimp out and they are still dieing, maybe a few stowed away into the quarantine tank?


----------



## adri (Mar 22, 2011)

guppygolucky said:


> Darn I had a few of those too. I took the shrimp out and they are still dieing, maybe a few stowed away into the quarantine tank?


the nematodes are a parasite capable of going inside the shrimp.
many shrimp die as a result of this.


----------



## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

What brand of dewormer do you guys use? Safe guard?


----------



## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXN_5SPBPtM&feature=grec_index
Pretty cool.


----------

