# Planaria, are they an issue?



## Smidan (25 Aug 2021)

Evening all,

Just got back from a big pet store as I know they are selling off a lot of stock in light of a refurb coming next month. Managed to bag some RCS for a bargain price, seemed all good.

However, when I poured the shrimp into a jug to start drip acclimating them I noticed two Planaria crawling around. They look exactly like the below photo from PFK.




I've removed the two offenders from the jug while the shrimp are acclimating, but was wondering if any might be able to slip through even though I can confirm they aren't visible in the jug anymore. Wondering if these shrimp are worth the headache or if I should keep them in a bucket and try to treat them over a few days with traps or some meds?


Any advice appreciated, very new to RCS.

Dan


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## MichaelJ (25 Aug 2021)

@Smidan They are kind of an eyesore, but really not much of an issue as far as I know unless you get a full scale invasion of them or are breeding fish as they will certainly pray on eggs and hatching fry. We all drag in planaria at one time or another - just a matter of time - mostly they just go away...  If they really get to be a problem for you, you will have to evacuate the shrimps, fish and snails from the tank before adding any toxic chemicals and quarantine it for a week at least followed by a couple of massive water changes and cleanups before re-introducing the livestock.   
Cheers,
Michael


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## Wookii (26 Aug 2021)

Planaria have been shown to kill and eat cherry shrimp, and I believe they also kill snails, so they are best removed.

You can use Panacur dog dewormer to get rid of them. I use the granulated version from PAH, which is likely enough to last a lifetime:






						Panacur Worming Granules for Cats, Kittens, Dogs & Puppies 3x4.5g (Home Delivery) | Pets At Home
					

<li>Treatment and control of roundworms and tapeworms</li><li>Vet strength formula</li> is available to buy online at Pets at Home, the UK's largest pet shop with fast delivery and low prices




					www.petsathome.com
				




Dosed at a rate of 0.1g per 40 litres of tank water - I mix it throughly in warm water before distributing it over the tank.

As an added bonus it kills hydra very effectively too.


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## MichaelJ (26 Aug 2021)

Wookii said:


> You can use Panacur dog dewormer to get rid of them. I use the granulated version from PAH, which is likely enough to last a lifetime:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi @Wookii That is very good to know!  What general precautions do you need to take when applying the dewormer - do you need to evacuate the tank and quarantine it?   But sure, I can definitely see how Planaria can be a problem for shrimps - especially during molting.

@Smidan you might find this thread helpful - @Zeus. is trapping planaria with algae tabs.

Cheers,
Michael


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## Wookii (26 Aug 2021)

MichaelJ said:


> Hi @Wookii That is very good to know!  What general precautions do you need to take when applying the dewormer - do you need to evacuate the tank and quarantine it?   But sure, I can definitely see how Planaria can be a problem for shrimps - especially during molting.
> 
> @Smidan you might find this thread helpful - @Zeus. is trapping planaria with algae tabs.
> 
> ...



I believe it’s safe for most tank inhabitants with the exception of some snails, such as nerites, so they would need to holiday in a quarantine tank for a couple of weeks.

I’ve seen no ill effects on any of the fish or shrimp that I keep, or Ramshorns snails, but I have no idea how fry might be affected.


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## SRP3006 (26 Aug 2021)

Just want to add that I lost all my ramshorns when I dosed the tank, as well as a few amano shrimp. Coincidence maybe but I'm not sure. 
I did 2 weeks of daily water changes after the course was completed so I doubt it was ammonia related. 
I've also not been able to put nerites back in the tank without losing them, they go lethargic and die over about a week. Not had the heart to try twice to be honest, it did get rid of all the planaria though. 

If I had to dose the tank again, especially since we mix and administer the dose, I would remove all livestock beforehand.


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## Smidan (26 Aug 2021)

Great to know! I removed the planaria before I added the shrimp so hopefully it’s all good now, though I don’t quite know how they reproduce so hopefully no juveniles or anything slipped through.

If I do see any crop back up I’ll probably go the dog dewormer route and give my merited a holiday in my second tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SRP3006 (26 Aug 2021)

Be mindful if you do dose the tank that you will need to remove all remnants of the medication from the glass and other surfaces before adding your nerites back, but I'm sure it will say that on the meds instructions.


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## rwaters4 (4 Apr 2022)

A veterinarian friend told me about a dog dewormer called fenbendazole. You can use this dog dewormer to get rid of them.  It’s branded as Fenben LAB and can be ordered online.


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## Sam66 (4 Apr 2022)

Fenbendazole is the active ingredient in Panacur so see advice in previous comments.


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## Kelvin12 (4 Apr 2022)

I had a bad outbreak of these critters some time back.   They multiply at an alarming rate via eggs in the substrate.   I tried the baited worm tubes but that wasn't  totally sucessful.  It did get some but very slow.   I dosed  the Fenbendazole at the instructed rate.   It did work reasonanbly well but I did wind up double dosing  and that certainly got rid of them .   The adult shrimp didn't  seem to be effected even with double dosing but can't be sure for the little ones.   Snails suffered though. 
Dirk


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## shangman (5 Apr 2022)

I have only had problems with planaria in tanks with no fish, I assume that fish eat them. I had to heavily treat my shrimp tank for them as they were eating all my baby shrimp, and I just permanently moved my snails to another tank. My shrimp didn't suffer at all, and are thriving now the planaria are gone!


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## Jobiwan (25 Jul 2022)

Planaria wiped out my neocaridina  shrimp tank a few years ago, I keep panacur on hand now


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