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Sudden appearance of parasites

oddn0ise

Member
Joined
19 Nov 2011
Messages
202
Location
South West London
After a major 50% water change yesterday, I found one of my Corydoras today, dead. I checked him out with my magnifying glass (one of my best purchases) and there were three parasites on him. About 4mm long and just under 1mm wide, worm like with a slight head shape, can anyone help with identification and remedy.

I brushed through the ground cover plants to clear things out a little and now I have at least 30 of theses worms, on the glass predominantly.

Any assistance would be gladly received, so I can clear this up swiftly.

Thanks
 
there either planaria worms or nematode worms they wont be the cause of the death of your corydoras
they normally live in the substrate and feed on detritus and uneaten food they and also be bought about
by the substrate not been cleaned enough they are quite common and are nothing to worry about just up
the amount of times you clean your substrate
 
I also now have these. They haven't bothered me yet, I quite enjoy watching the neons and g,rasboras trying to get them of the glass they go mad when they spot them.:)
 
i have had them in the past and the fish do feed on them
 
the easiest way to get rid of them is vacuuming the substrate as often
as possible as i have found they are brought about by over feeding and irregular
maintenance
 
Hi all,
the easiest way to get rid of them is vacuuming the substrate as often as possible as i have found they are brought about by over feeding and irregular maintenance
You can also bait for them with a prawn, just put it in at lights out and about an hour later collect it, it will be covered in Planaria. I usually put it in a net with cotton tied around the prawn for ease of removal.

You can also put a piece of flat stone or slate on the bottom near the prawn, the Planaria will collect beneath it during the day.

Nearly all established planted tanks have Planaria, and mine usually have Asellus, (which I want) and Leeches and Hydra (which I don't) as well.

cheers Darrel
 
i agree most tanks have them but its always better to remove the cause
of them by removing uneaten food and detritus
 
Thanks for all the input. Have seen very little of the Planaria of late as I've taken to cleaning, or at least brushing the plants and substrate to move any detritus.

You can also bait for them with a prawn, just put it in at lights out and about an hour later collect it, it will be covered in Planaria.


Thanks Darrel for this will give it a try if they return en mass, have to sort a problem with the CO2 before all this.
cheers
 
Planaria doesn't magically appear after overfeeding. They are carnivorous pests that hichhiked on plants or other equipment and they can kill other small fish and inverts and even adult shrimp, if the planaria is large enough. Planaria is not eaten by fish and even those that try it, will spit it out.
Detritus worms are a different story. Overfeeding can cause excess. They kind of wiggle in an S shape when swimming. They are totally different species and cause no harm but large infestations are an indication of overfeeding, lack of maintenance, etc..Fish snack on them.

If you've got planaria, I'd treat the tank. If it's detritus worms, then just clean it more often and don't overfeed.

Nearly all established planted tanks have Planaria, and mine usually have Asellus, (which I want) and Leeches and Hydra (which I don't) as well.

I am not quite certain about that. I've never had any planaria, hydra, leeches or Asellus, but I have seed shrimp(ostracods) and detritus worms in an overfed fry tank.
 
The first time I'd noticed them was on a dead Cory, then within a day I had about 30 dotted around on the glass (light grey, about 2-3mm long and moving in S shape on glass) since then have not seen them on the glass but will check with the magnifying glass tonight.
 
Hi all,
Planaria doesn't magically appear after overfeeding. They are carnivorous pests that hichhiked on plants or other equipment and they can kill other small fish and inverts and even adult shrimp, if the planaria is large enough.
Is all true, but they are almost universal in water bodies, and they certainly are predatory as well as opportunistic carnivores. Fenbendazole definitely gets rid of them, and I believe the Benbachi Betel nut based product also works.
I've never had any planaria, hydra, leeches or Asellus, but I have seed shrimp(ostracods) and detritus worms in an overfed fry tank
I think I ended up with a lot of these because I feed live food and use rain-water. Asellus I add deliberately.

cheers Darrel
 
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