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What are these Worms in my Shrimp Tank

REDSTEVEO

REDSTEVEO

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A month or two ago I cleaned out both of my big Eheim T5 650 Thermal Filters. Amongst the filter medium, in the sponges and in the bottom of the filter were about 60 odd or more Red Cherry Shrimps.

Rather than pour them away with all the gunk in the bottom of the filter I decided to set up a small 25 litre shrimp tank for them. They are breeding like crazy and must be at least 200 in there now.

However....what I've also noticed are some worms, they look like the Californian Black Worms that I've bought from Steve at Premier aquatics ltd several times. It's possible that some of these may have got into the filter also, although I didn't see any at the time.

So when I tipped the Red Cherry Shrimp with some of the gunk from the Filters into the small tank for the shrimp the worms got in there also.

At least that's what I hope they are. If they are something more sinister then I need to get rid of them, but can't use any medication to kill worms because it will wipe out the shrimp as well.

Se the photographs and video and if any one can tell me for sure what they are I would appreciate it.

Thanks.
20240108_130807.jpg
20240108_130848.jpg
20240108_130727.jpg
 
Hi all,
REDSTEVEO said:
However....what I've also noticed are some worms, they look like the Californian Black Worms that I've bought from Steve at Premier aquatics ltd several times. It's possible that some of these may have got into the filter also, although I didn't see any at the time.
Click to expand...
Yes, they are California Blackworms (Lumbriculus variegatus). I have them in most of my filters and in any tanks without fish <"Feeding a California Blackworm culture - Lumbriculus variegatus">.

These are some of @Simon Cole's
wp_20190613_07_31_54_pro-1-jpg.jpg


cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,
REDSTEVEO said:
Is there a fish I could put on there to maybe gobble them up and keep them in check, but one that won't eat the shrimp.
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Small Corydoras sp? <"Filter recommendations for 30l tank.">. You would need somewhere to put them afterwards. The fry of a bigger Corydoras species would also work, if you fancied Gold Laser's etc <"PlanetCatfish.com - Corydoras (lineage 7) sp. (Cw010) (Callichthyidae) Cat-eLog">.

In terms of your shrimp tank, you have a Hydra in the photo, they will eat shrimplets. I get them in all the tanks possibly because I feed a lot Daphnia and Microworms. Panacur (fendbendazole) <"works on these"> and won't kill your shrimps or Blackworms.
REDSTEVEO said:
20240108_130727.jpg
Click to expand...

cheers Darrel
 
Last edited:
dw1305 said:
Hi all,

Small Corydoras sp? <"Filter recommendations for 30l tank.">. You would need somewhere to put them afterwards. The fry of a bigger Corydoras species would also work, if you fancied Gold Laser's etc <"PlanetCatfish.com - Corydoras (lineage 7) sp. (Cw010) (Callichthyidae) Cat-eLog">.

In terms of your shrimp tank, you have a Hydra in the photo, they will eat shrimplets. I get them in all the tanks possibly because I feed a lot Daphnia and Microworms. Panacur (fendbendazole) <"works on these"> and won't kill your shrimps or Blackworms.


cheers Darrel
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Hi Darrel,

Yes I have seen the fresh water Hydra, they are another pain in the backside. I have been siphoning them out doing water changes. But you can never get them all.

I might end up catching as many of the shrimp as I can, sell them to my local LFS. Then bin the plants and substrate.
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,

You can't. I tend to ignore them unless I have fry in the tank. Panacur works really well, you can get the powder to treat Cats & Dogs pretty cheaply on ebay etc.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Hi, the 22% Panacur - Fenbendazole arrived today. I did a 50% water change and added it to a small sample of water, mixed it, and added it around 1.30pm this afternoon.

How do you know when the Hydra are dead? I can still see plenty of them on the glass at the moment. Do they just fall off when they are dead, or do they stay stuck to the glass and have to be physically removed.

Thanks.
 
Hi all,
REDSTEVEO said:
How do you know when the Hydra are dead? I can still see plenty of them on the glass at the moment. Do they just fall off when they are dead, or do they stay stuck to the glass and have to be physically removed?
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They usually stop moving fairly quickly, and then retract their tentacles and a day later they are gone.

Planaria take longer, but the same sort of thing happens, they stop moving and then die. You often see them pale and motionless on the glass, days after you added the Panacur.

It might depend on how fine you ground the powder. I used to try and get it really fine, but I'm not sure it makes any difference to the end result.

Cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,

They usually stop moving fairly quickly, and then retract their tentacles and a day later they are gone.

Planaria take longer, but the same sort of thing happens, they stop moving and then die. You often see them pale and motionless on the glass, days after you added the Panacur.

It might depend on how fine you ground the powder. I used to try and get it really fine, but I'm not sure it makes any difference to the end result.

Cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Thanks Darrell, very much appreciated. They have indeed done exactly what you have advised above.

I mixed the powder in a solution of warm water in a small container and made sure it was completely dissolved before adding it.

So it appears to have done the trick. I also vacuumed out the few Black Worms I could see before adding the solution.

The water is slightly cloudy, but the shrimp seem fine. Just wondering how long I should leave it now before changing 59% of the water.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers, Steve
 
Hi all,
REDSTEVEO said:
I also vacuumed out the few Black Worms I could see before adding the solution.
Click to expand...
Those that are still in the tank should be OK. Segmented worms (Annelids, earthworms and leeches) are pretty difficult to get rid off with chemicals and Fendbendazole <"Fenbendazole - Wikipedia"> has low toxicity to Annelids, Crustaceans, Molluscs and Vertebrates, which is definitely an advantage to using it.

I think often when people have said that it "doesn't work" the problem has been that their "Planaria" were actually Leeches.
REDSTEVEO said:
The water is slightly cloudy, but the shrimp seem fine. Just wondering how long I should leave it now before changing 59% of the water.
Click to expand...
I'd probably do it now.

cheers Darrel
 
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