# Planaria Immune to Fenbendazole?!?!



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

That's not planaria. Look up planaria on YouTube, planaria are not that small.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

What would those be? And how would I kill them without harming the shrimp?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

This youtube video is exactly what I'm seeing on the sides of my tank, only not that many.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAjvAZJxvvM


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

This are planaria, they have an arrow shaped head: 

http://youtu.be/mlPzex-q4TE

Also, Fenbendazole takes up to 3 days and 2 doses to kill planaria.

So dose once today, wait 3 days, do a water change, then dose again


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## shrimpzoo (Sep 27, 2011)

I think I have/had worms that also looks like that... I was thinking it might be planaria but I doubted it because they were so small and didn't have the characteristics of planaria (such as their horned head and what not) [seen in mordalphus's vid]

and lol the video you linked us in the description says it's planaria ;/ but I'd like to see what other people in this forum has to say. I swear so many people see the words white + worm and they say it's planaria instantly.. when it could be a harmless worm (still ugly but not harmful like planaria towards shrimp)

but anyways, since we're trying to identify worms here... can someone give me a hint to what these worms are? I think I have THESE now because of a Java Fern plant I recently got at my LFS

Video of worms I've seen so far in my tank:

Video #1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=sdzYZ2RrNSk

Video #2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBuHWMRlh4Y&feature=related


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Harmless nematode


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

The worms in the video are planaria. Almost all tanks have them. You usually do not see them and swear you don't have them but you do. I never thought I had them until they showed up everywhere. I used to have a lot of MTSs in all my tanks and that kept the planaria from going out of control. Then I started to raise assassin snails and they wiped out a lot of the MTSs and then the planaria took over. I would have sworn I did not have any of those things until 6 months ago, now they are everywhere and I am restocking my tanks with MTSs and mystery snails.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

So what shrimpzhu has are nematodes. What are the white worms I have?


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

I don't know what you have unless its baby planaria. Either way, doesn't hurt to do the panacur treatment I mentioned earlier


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Alright, I'll be doing a second dose in three days then. Why do planaria need two doses whereas tubiflex and hydra only need a single dose?


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

I guess planaria are a little more resistant, or because they retreat into the soil. Hydra are sensitive to it.

It's never worked on tubifex for me


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I think they must be more resistant since my shrimp tanks all have no substrate (only raise neos so I don't need the buffering). No where for them to hide yet they are still alive o.<


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Check for them under the rim of the tank. I usually see a lot of them decending from the top right at the water level when I turn off the tank lights and then turn it back on a few minutes later. I think they love to hide under decorations during the day and right at the water line. They also like to float or swim on top of the water. I have been picking them off with pipettes for the last 3 weeks and I am getting a handle on them in a couple of tanks. I also use flat slate rocks that I remove daily and wash off under hot water. There are always some planaria "sleeping" under the rocks and by washing them off with hot water I hope to kill even traces of them as I have the feeling they can multiply like earthworms, you cut them in half and then you have 2. That is probably wrong but it sure feels like it.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I'm really debating whether my worms are planaria or not? They don't swim, they kinda are just along the glass surface. I am also pipetting them out slowly.



garfieldnfish said:


> you cut them in half and then you have 2. That is probably wrong but it sure feels like it.


This is quite true! We did this his highschool bio. Kept cutting the head in half and ended up with a planaria with a single tail and like 7 or so heads


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## shrimpzoo (Sep 27, 2011)

planaria with 7+ heads is a nightmare worthy for a shrimp. or for a human (aka me) jesus...

and pipetting the worms out is kind of an endless + pointless battle lol (at least for me it was lol)


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

Planaria are not the little white worms on the side of the tank. Look them up on a reputable site, they're very distinctive, and "small, white flatworm" is not them. Get a magnifying glass and look for their eyes, also very distinctive and relatively large compared to the body (for a flatworm anyway.) There are lots and lots of critters in our tanks, they don't have to be planaria because Joe Poster says they are (or aren't for that matter.)

Lemme google that for ya.


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## theemptythrone (Sep 5, 2011)

How do planaria just a pear though? Same with copopods? 

i wish i could have some oebts appear...


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

jasonpatterson said:


> Planaria are not the little white worms on the side of the tank. Look them up on a reputable site, they're very distinctive, and "small, white flatworm" is not them. Get a magnifying glass and look for their eyes, also very distinctive and relatively large compared to the body (for a flatworm anyway.) There are lots and lots of critters in our tanks, they don't have to be planaria because Joe Poster says they are (or aren't for that matter.)
> 
> Lemme google that for ya.


My first thought was to get a magnifying glass, as when we did the chopping in highschool that is what we had to use. However, this requires me to go to Walmart which is quite far here :\. So that will have to wait until the weekend.

I did youtube planaria and several of the links there show small white worms on the sides of their tanks, which is what I see on mine. Others have the zoomed in versions, or huge planaria (can't really tell which), that have the distinctive head.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

theemptythrone said:


> How do planaria just a pear though? Same with copopods?
> 
> i wish i could have some oebts appear...


Imagine if BKK's spawned from overfeed :X. But then they wouldn't be worth as much haha.

I'm pretty sure planaria and copepods must come in an egg form on plants or anything you introduce into your tank. At least I know for SURE planaria does (or whatever I have right now). I didn't have anything for months until I got some plants from the SnS here. Even though I washed them to remove snail eggs or whatever, a few days later I start seeing these worms. 

On a different note, I also found a baby fish in my tank from the plants too


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## barbarossa4122 (Jan 16, 2010)

In case U want to get rid of it I suggest using "No Planaria" from GLA. It worked wonders for my rcs tank.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

barbarossa4122 said:


> In case U want to get rid of it I suggest using "No Planaria" from GLA. It worked wonders for my rcs tank.


Thank you! I'll try that with the fenbendazole treatment doesn't work. Still have like 4.5g ish of this stuff haha


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## shrimpzoo (Sep 27, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> On a different note, I also found a baby fish in my tank from the plants too


lol SCORE. Can you identify what the baby fish is ;o? Hopefully it won't eat your shrimp... but instead eat your worms.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

shrimpzhu said:


> lol SCORE. Can you identify what the baby fish is ;o? Hopefully it won't eat your shrimp... but instead eat your worms.


I messaged the person I got the plants from. She said the only fish she has in that tank is a "Pseudomugil gertrudae" which looks SO COOL if you google it haha. Try to pronounce it P:, I moved it over to one of my other tanks that wasn't getting the fenbendazole treatment but I have no idea what to feed it or anything. Seems to still be alive and happy. It only hangs out along the water line though, whereas the shrimp are everywhere.


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