How to remove flatworm in planted tank?

[dan888]

Any suggestion on how to remove them? I read somewhere that they are harmless but i'm kinda worried about the their growing rate.

Will any medication help? The plants and discus along with other tankmates seems fine so far even with the present of these flatworm crawling on the glass.

By the way, i'm using a sump tank as filteration. Don't really want to use any medication that will upset the beneficial bacteria.

Hope someone can share their experience on this.

[RyanH]

Planaria are usually indicative of a dirty filter. Clean out your filters and wipe down your glass. Do a water change and you should be fine. I wouldn't mess with meds for something like this.

[Howie_W]

Yep,

Time to do give some serious attention to your equipment. Go out of your way to make sure everying in and around your filters and tank are cleaned, scrubbed, wiped down etc.



Howie

[Nick_Schembri]

If you reduce feeding for about 3 days to exactly what the fish can eat, the planaria will starve and die very quickly.

[discusboy777]

is it true that if the fish eat the large ones that thay stay alive in there stomack intill they die and then they get digested. and also they are harmless exsept for that they crawl all over the fish and it can really stress them out.

thanks
hth
Brad

[dan888]

Any fish that will eat those flatworm and can be kept with discus?

I've tried to reduce feeding and those flatworm disappear temporary, but they will crawl out again whenever i tried to feed the discus beefheart or bloodworm. So i suspect that they are hiding under the gravel.

As for the equipment, i don't think it will required any cleaning for the time being.
Generally i willl only wash the prefilter sponge once everyday with tap water. For the sump tank maintenance, i'll wash it with aquarium water once a week only at one compartment at a time to avoid killing all the beneficial bacteria.


.

[Howie_W]

Hey Dan,

It seems nine out of ten times I hear about this problem it often has to do with the evil G word, as in gravel. :) Sorry to say but I'm not a big fan of gravel as it often ends up becoming a breeding ground for parasites which is exactly what you are dealing with.

You are absolutely correct in that the worms are going into hiding, something they will do once their appetites have been satiated. To answer your question, yes there are some fish that will eat flatworms, but not enough to rid you of an established colony.

To correct the problem I would do the following.

1. Stop feeding your fish for aproximately three days; This will starve the worms, and is a much safer approach than adding chemicals to your tank. During this period you need to carefully perform daily large vacuumings of your substrate, combined with wiping down the walls and performing large water changes.

2. When feeding various foods in a planted tank it helps to feed messier food such as beef heart, worms etc. with the use of feeding cones and rings that helps keep the majority of the food in one place. At the same time it also helps to have a collection of bottom feeders in your tank to catch any uneaten food...I've had great results with ancistrus and loaches. Not sure what type of beef heart you are feeding but I feed a straight home made version...no mess and it all gets eaten up!


HTH


Howie