# Detritus worms on ramshorn snail



## veerserif (30 Jul 2020)

I've noticed that all of my big ramshorn snails seem to be carrying a lot of detritus worm passengers all over their bodies. I have just a couple worms on the glass (and I'm fighting a hydra infestation right now too). Is this safe for the snails? I'm planning to dose the tank with Panacur C for the hydra anyway. Will that help bring down the detritus worm numbers too?

Photo's attached, but maybe don't open it if you're eating?

The infuriating thing is that I don't feed the tank (well, I put in a fragment of boiled spinach leaf a week ago for 24 hours). I suppose my unhealthy plants have been shedding enough roots and leaves to keep all these scavengers fed.


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## NAJAS GUPPY (30 Jul 2020)

My tadpole snails have this. Not the ramshorns though. Been like that for aslong as i can remember though and doesn't seem to effect them any.
*edit* M.T.S from previous experience also never seem to carry them no idea why

Can't anwser wether or not the treatment will work on detritus worms im afraid never used it. I can only imagine it would though.

Have you notice any effect on the snails?

Also very odd question for you but i don't suppose you would be willing to send me some hydra before you kill them off???


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## veerserif (30 Jul 2020)

Fascinating, I haven't seen them on my tadpole/bladder snails. Only the big ramshorns. To my eye, they've been less active, but I also think they're slowly starving. The snail population is hitting the upper limit of how much food there is naturally in the tank... Just found a dead shell-only ramshorns.

I'll let you know what the Panacur does to the detritus worms.



NAJAS GUPPY said:


> Also very odd question for you but i don't suppose you would be willing to send me some hydra before you kill them off???



If you're in the US, I can save some in a jar I guess? Not quite sure how I'd ship them to you...


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## NAJAS GUPPY (30 Jul 2020)

veerserif said:


> Fascinating, I haven't seen them on my tadpole/bladder snails. Only the big ramshorns. To my eye, they've been less active, but I also think they're slowly starving. The snail population is hitting the upper limit of how much food there is naturally in the tank... Just found a dead shell-only ramshorns.
> 
> I'll let you know what the Panacur does to the detritus worms.
> 
> ...


In my tank the tadpole snail population never seems to reach the heights of the ramshorns. I had assumed that was because the ramshorns could muscle their way into the better food due to the size advantage... i wonder if the detritus worms are actually to blame...

Drat no im in the uk  i had hydra come in once on a plant in a walstad type tank loved them found them interesting to watch. Shut that tank down and didn't want hydra in my main tanks. Now re attempting a walstad again.


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## rebel (31 Jul 2020)

That Ramshorn looks sick?? The shell also looks like there is mineral deficiency perhaps? Ca?


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## veerserif (31 Jul 2020)

Looked that way to me too, even for a blue-shelled ramshorn. They came in like that :/ I use Equilibrium and crushed coral to get 2dKH and 6-8dGH, and the spinach will be part of their regular rotation. I just also have a bladder snail boom that needs to be curbed a little.


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## rebel (31 Jul 2020)

Maybe it's  a worm infestation or perhaps another disease causing the worms to capitalise on the situation.


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## veerserif (31 Jul 2020)

That would make sense. My healthier tank-raised brown ramshorn snails also carry one or two worms on occasion, but far less than the blues.


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## dw1305 (31 Jul 2020)

Hi all, 





NAJAS GUPPY said:


> i don't suppose you would be willing to send me some hydra before you kill them off???


I should be able to find you some. I'll have a look when I'm back in work.

cheers Darrel


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## alto (9 Aug 2020)

I’m a bit confused - isn’t this the tank that has only been set up for a month or so?
Where were the ramshorn snails sourced?

I’ve seen thousands of ramshorn snails (they collect in the sump filter system of a Marineland MARS system - shop owner fed massive amounts of food and ramshorn snails are ubiquitous in local shops) and never observed worm infestations


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## veerserif (9 Aug 2020)

alto said:


> Where were the ramshorn snails sourced?



Plant hitchhikers (edited: I bought the blues to have something to look at while the plants grew, but as you can see they weren't very healthy and died eventually). Same with the detritus worms, I'm assuming. They're on all my ramshorns of sufficient size now. I don't mind them, and the rams don't seem to be negatively affected either, it just looks creepy.


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