[yum]

So, I happened to read in another thread that planaria are harmful to baby shrimp. I noticed that they are often gliding around the glass and rocks and even watched an adult shrimp peck at it while hunting for food. The worm glided away quickly and the shrimp seemed unphased. I have tons of breeding happening and lots of shrimp in all stages of growth from hatchling to seasoned veteran.

How do the worms kill the shrimp? Is it something in their skin or slime trail that is left behind that is toxic? I didn't notice them actively hunting the shrimp and they didn't look fast enough to prey on them.

Will I notice that my populations are suddenly dropping off? I started with 7 shrimp a few months ago, added 5 more and now I'm experiencing a population explosion. Probably 50+ shrimp in the tank now. What can I expect in the coming days?

 

[MatPat]

I don't think I ever lost an adult shrimp to planaria so I doubt you will notice your population decline. I always had several berried shrimp in my tanks when I had planaria but rarely did any babies make it to adulthood. I think the toxins the planaria carry are much more dangerous to smaller shrimp than adults.

I used to occasionally see adult shrimp "dragging" one of their legs with sand stuck to it. It is my theory that the slime secreted by the planaria somehow sticks the sand to the shrimp's legs. While this doesn't seem to be an issue for adult shrimp, babies probably get stuck to the sand and cannot move. They either then die of starvation or the planaria get them after the lights go out. Again, just a theory...

 

[aelysa]

You can use panacur to kill planaria in a tank, it has the fabulous side effect of also killing hydra. It might also kill your snails too, so you have to watch out for an ammonia spike if that happens.

 

[MatPat]

You can use panacur to kill planaria in a tank, it has the fabulous side effect of also killing hydra. It might also kill your snails too, so you have to watch out for an ammonia spike if that happens.

Exactly, Panacur is a brand name of fenbendazole. I haven't been able to find Panacur locally...

 

[aelysa]

I get it off of 1800petmeds. It's not very water soluble though

 

[MatPat]

No, it definitely is not very water soluble at all!

How much did you dose in your tank(s) aelysa?

 

[aelysa]

I did a very scientific little pinch in each 3 gallon shrimp tank I had. Planaria and hydra were toast by the following morning while the shrimp were happily doing shrimp things. This was from the dog dewormer concentration.
There's conflicting amounts to dose on the web, I couldn't tell ya what amount to dose.

 

[MatPat]

There's conflicting amounts to dose on the web, I couldn't tell ya what amount to dose.

I agree with you completely. Keep your eye out for a new article in the Library covering fenbendazole dosing in the next day or so