# Planaria? Help please!



## Sam robinson (28 Apr 2020)

Hello! I’m new to the tank world. I’ve got a small tank with mostly shrimps who have just had shrimplets. I’ve noticed these weird flatworms on my tank glass and I’ve looked it up and am terrified to think it is planaria. I’ve included some pics. 
please help me identify if they are planaria (I personally can not see the arrow head) or something like rhabdocoela?
If it is planaria how do I get rid of them and quick! I have only just successfully bred my cherry shrimp! 
Thank you


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## Sarpijk (28 Apr 2020)

Hi , the pics are not clear but they do look like planaria. Overfeeding seems to be the main reason at least for me. If you can get Panacur in pill form( it is an antiwormer for sheep and dogs)  you can get rid of them easily. This is what I have used personally. Dosage is about 1/4 if the pill for 50 litres. I hope you don't have any nerite snails because it affects them.


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## Sam robinson (29 Apr 2020)

unfortunately because I live in the uk I cannot get hold of Panacur as it is a prescription only vet medicine. The other dewormers you can buy from normal pet stores do not have the right active ingredient. Do you know another way to get rid of them? I do not have snails in the tank.

I had convinced myself that they were not planaria because I couldn’t see the triangle head. ☹️

thank you for your reply.


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## Sarpijk (29 Apr 2020)

I know there is a herbal product named No Planaria. Have a look on ebay for it. There are also numerous trap designs but nothing works like panacur.

For the time being stop feeding or use only things like algae tabs. If you feed anything that actually contains meat in any form it will readily attract them.


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## Smoggy_Bobby (29 Apr 2020)

Sam robinson said:


> unfortunately because I live in the uk I cannot get hold of Panacur as it is a prescription only vet medicine. The other dewormers you can buy from normal pet stores do not have the right active ingredient. Do you know another way to get rid of them? I do not have snails in the tank.
> 
> I had convinced myself that they were not planaria because I couldn’t see the triangle head. ☹️
> 
> thank you for your reply.



Hey, petdrugsonline.co.uk have it in liquid, powder and tablet form ranging from £4.08 for powder to  £18.82 for the liquid.


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## Sam robinson (29 Apr 2020)

Smoggy_Bobby said:


> Hey, petdrugsonline.co.uk have it in liquid, powder and tablet form ranging from £4.08 for powder to  £18.82 for the liquid.



thank you! Which is better powder or liquid?


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## Smoggy_Bobby (29 Apr 2020)

Sam

To be honest i am not sure. I was just able to find it online (Incase i ever needed it) 

Sorry i cant be any more help.

Some good Vids on youtube of it though.


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## dw1305 (29 Apr 2020)

Hi all, 
We've got a few <"Planaria threads"> 





Sam robinson said:


> unfortunately because I live in the uk I cannot get hold of Panacur as it is a prescription only vet medicine.


You used to be able to buy it without a prescription in Pets@Home, eBay etc. 

This is the link that @Gill posted <"Panacur Wormer Granules 1g">. 

I can't tell from the photo, but you need to look at both the head end of the Flatworm and the way it moves. <"If it loops">, rather than gliding, it is leech and they are difficult to control with chemicals. 

If the head end narrows to a point? it is <"Rhabdocoela flatworm"> and they are much more resistant to fenbendazole.  

I've got all three types (both flatworms and leeches), but people normally have <"_Dugesia_ or similar">, with an arrow shaped head and two eye dots. 

cheers Darrel


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## Gill (29 Apr 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> We've got a few <"Planaria threads"> You used to be able to buy it without a prescription in Pets@Home, eBay etc.
> 
> This is the link that @Gill posted <"Panacur Wormer Granules 1g">.
> ...



Yep that is the one I have used in the past. 
I only Used a pinch of it and mixed with tank water and poured into the tank. Mmm has gone up in price, Was only 40p when i bought it last.
I did not have nerites at the time, so do not know how it would affect them.


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## Steve Buce (29 Apr 2020)

Have a look at " Marks shrimp tanks" website shop, he sells "Shrimp Safe And Fish Safe Planaria, Hydra, Scutariella Treatment" and ships to uk

But before resorting to chems, cut back feeding, do daily gravel vacs with small water changes and have a general cleanup of your shrimp tank, decaying leaves, botanicals etc, use airline to siphon out ones you can see on the glass

Steve


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## Steve Buce (29 Apr 2020)

Med mentioned above is fenbendazole i think, and will kill snails


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## Sarpijk (29 Apr 2020)

Steve Buce said:


> Med mentioned above is fenbendazole i think, and will kill snails


In my experience ramshorn snails and Malaysian Trumpet were unaffected.


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## Aqua sobriquet (29 Apr 2020)

I got Panacur powder from Pets at Home, but it didn’t work. I had to strip the tank down.


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## jolt100 (29 Apr 2020)

Hi. NO PLANARIA does work on planaria but the pictures don't look like they have the typical arrow head.
Cheers


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## dw1305 (29 Apr 2020)

Hi all, 





jolt100 said:


> pictures don't look like they have the typical arrow head.


I thought that and I wondered whether they are Rhabdocoelas flatworms (like below)?



 
I tend to ignore them unless they are really plentiful, then I have a go at baiting for a while. 

cheers Darrel


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## MWood (29 Apr 2020)

I've recently been using Panacur. I crushed the granules in the sachet and mixed with 250 ml or so of rainwater, added 20ml per day for 3 days to be on the safe side. After a day or two the contents of the bottle smelt absolutely terrible! I did wonder if this indicated some sort of breakdown of the contents, reducing efficacy. 

I'm not entirely sure if they were planaria, or another one of the flatworms mentioned above, even after a few days there are still a few shrunken up but still affixed to the glass. They were extremely prolific previously however, 

The aquarium only contains one Carinotetraodon travancoricus, and the ramshorn snails I've been providing have been fine for the brief period before being eaten.... Amano and cherry shrimp also fine.


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## tiger15 (29 Apr 2020)

Is planaria harmful or harmless to shrimp.  I read opposite point of view.  

You can control planaria and other naked invert by dosing Excel aka glutaldehyde. It’s harmless to shrimp at recommended dosage according to Seachem.

https://www.seachem.com/support/forums/forum/sunken-gardens/2444-excel-poisoning


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## MWood (29 Apr 2020)

Neglected to mention, I bought the Panacur from eBay for a pound or two. I had been ignoring them for a few years, just felt like a cheap lockdown project to while away the hours!


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## Sam robinson (29 Apr 2020)

Thank you all for your replies. I’ve managed to buy some Panacur this evening from a website. Just a matter of waiting for it to arrive. 
I keep looking at them and still cannot see the arrow head so I am wondering if they are even planaria. I’m going to use the Panacur anyway just in case. I am worried about my shrimplets if it is planaria as I was so excited to have babies!
Tonight I have noticed my corys pay attention to the worms and even possibly eat a few - will this do any harm to them?
Thanks


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## Witcher (30 Apr 2020)

Most of that kind of worms are highly attracted to animals blood and meat. Small bit of raw chicken or beef liver meat works very well as a bait, and it's far less invasive than medicaments/poison as it won't leave any dead bodies of planaria in the tank (which may be sooner or later rotting in the substrate after poison treatment).

Any small container similar to this:


 

filled with meat of size of the small pea may collect lots of planaria on the meat's surface after appr. 12 hours - assuming you have planaria infestation.


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## dw1305 (30 Apr 2020)

Hi all, 





Sam robinson said:


> still cannot see the arrow head


 Sounds likely that they are Rhabdocoelas flatworms. In that case they are harmless, but not particularly susceptible to fenbendazole.  I'd try @Witcher's suggestion.

cheers Darrel


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## dino21 (18 Jun 2020)

Hi,

Just found a few Planaria in the bottom of the clear cleaning jar  after doing some plant trimming and  with a  x30 glass could see the arrow shaped head and two eyes.

Cannot see any on the tanks glass so seems its the early stages.

Only have some Tetras and Dwarf Corys  in the tank and some of the little 'pond' snails, so as mentioned in this and the other  related posts in the forum seems we should use  the  Merck Panacur C Dewormer 3 X1g Sachet  Fenbendazole 22.2 .

Whats not clear and no follow up post from @Sam robinson,   is what amount we need to use to dose our 50ltr tank and how many times and how often should we should repeat the dose ?

Any information appreciated.


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