How do I get rid of ???

[Debo]

Merry Christmas everyone! I am having a bit of a problem with planaria. (I don't think that I am spelling it correctly). It is the little flat worm the kids in science class got to cut in half and watch them turn into 2 new worms. I know that they are harmless to the fish. And I have been wiping the sides down twice a day. But they seem to be multipling fast. Any one have any suggestions?
Tank 125 planted with gravel 1yr 8 months
PH 6.4
KH 4
0 Nitrite, 0 A, little Nitrate
Temp. 86
10% water change everday
Vac 1 a week
Feed CBW ,frozen blood worms, earthworm flakes, Formula 1 and 2. BH
Thanks For all your help through the year!!
Deb ;D

[Discusgeo]

First off I am saying that you are not doing enough of a water change for that 125 gallon tank 10% is only 12.5 gallons of water a day. To get rid of the Planaria I would be doing at least 25 percent a day for a week. Next you don't say how much your feeding but you need to feed a little less if your fish are not consuming all the food. Any food left over creates a habitat for your little worms to grow in. That's all you need to really do is a larger amount of water changes and feed less to keep the tank clean, which means wiping down the glass just before you do the water changes and cleaning all the uneaten food from the tank.
George

[jeep]

I agree with George. Although harmless, planaria is a sign of less than ideal water conditions. Wiping down the sides may not be enough because they multiply inside the filter as well.

What kind of filtration do you have? Try cleaning out the filter and increase the water changes and I think you'll see them disappear quickly.

Big Water Changes!!!

50-75% everyday.

Miles

[Debo]

Sorry I forgot to add that I clean the filters every other week. The filters are 2 canister Filstars 350 gal per hr. Sponge filtration only. 2 power heads 1 at each end , with sponges attched. Rinsed weekly. I will try to up my water changes to 25% . I don't know if my RO will keep up with that. I will Try. I didn't think I was feeding to much. Maybe I should stop feeding CBW's for a while. Because this is where they are coming from. I will try all the you have suggested. Thank You!
Deb ;D

[jeep]

Hey Deb, just a thought. Is this a community tank? If so you may not really have to worry about your RO keeping up. Treated and aged tap water is usually just fine for grow-outs and community fish. A lot of people only use RO for breeding, which is usually in a much smaller tank.

Personal preference I guess...

Have a great Christmas!

Brian

[Discusgeo]

Debo if these Discus are not spawning I would stop using R.O water like Jeep say's and go with aged tap water.

[Carol_Roberts]

Good advice from everyone :thumbsup:

CBW are the least likely source of planaria food from the foods you listed. I rank them as polluters in the reverse order you listed them. #1 beefheart, #2 Formula 1 . . . .etc. Planaria like disolved foods.

Big water changes, wipe down glass daily, less messy food. You'll see numbers reduce each day. IN a couple of weeks they'll be gone.
Carol :heart1:

[daninthesand]

Hi debo.

All the advice above is great. I also notice you say you VAC 1 a week. I assume you mean vacuum the bottom of the tank once a week. I'm guessing here you have gravel on the bottom otherwise I'd guess (again) you'd vacuum every day. The gravel if you have it will house uneaten food and excess waste where it can pollute your tank. Keeping a tank clean with gravel has always been a real challenge for me. So I gave up on it a long time ago. Bare bottoms only for me.

If you don't have gravel and are only vacuuming once a week I'd do it every day while you are doing your water change. IE. Siphon the 10% or whatever you decide to do while siphoning the bottom. Kill two birds with one stone.

HTH Daniel

[Dennis_Hardenburge]

Maybe I am wrong here but it is my understanding that planaria can not servive unless water conditions are very good, I am not saying that you want them all over the tank but seeing a few is an indicator that your water quality is very good.
Dennis

[Debo]

Thanks Everybody for your help . I use RO water because my well water is liquid rock . I have better luck with RO and Ro Right. I don't mean that the planaria eat the CBW but they come in with them. Along with leeches :) . I will increase water changes to 25% a day and Vaccum my gravel more often. I wipe the sides down 2 X a day. I now know that it is better to have Discus in a bare bottom tank. I promise that the next Discus tank I get will be bare until discus are fully grown :D. I have my hand on my Discus bible ;D
Deb

[daninthesand]

Dennis.

You have a good point there. I have seen both sides of that opinion. I'm not sure which is correct, but I know in my case I only see planaria when I tend to increase feedings. And yes from what I can tell they SEEM harmless, albeit a bit unsightly in larger numbers.

Dennis,
I have found that by increasing the water changes they go bye bye. I am not saying they are completely gone but they are not visable on the glass.

Debo,
If you have gravel in those tanks each day you do a w/c clean the gravel very well and then the next day do a lite skim over it and deep clean the other and rotate it back and forth. But to be honest dump the gravel, you can not get it 100% clean.
Wipe down your tank with every water change.
JMO
Miles ;)

[jeep]

If planaria is an indication of good water then I must have great water. :) :)

I'll be the first one to admit I don't do as many water changes as most, but that's only because I have 2 fish in each tank. I try and do 50% every two or three days and if I accidentally wait till the 4th day then I see planaria all over the place, even though all my paramiters seem just fine.

I just assumed they were there because the water may be fouling but maybe I was just eliminating larger numbers by W/C only. And I do feed a lot of beef heart...

[SLY]

get rid of the plants and gravel and go bare bottom..that would solve your problems..and also do bigger w/c. ;D ;D

[Carol_Roberts]

Lol, I totally agree with Sly, but the folks with the gravel tanks and plants have a tendency to snap at me when I make that suggestion.
Carol :heart1:

[Debo]

OK OK I know now that for discus that a bare bottom is best.But as many of you have done.I just knew that I could do it :D. So after setting up and spending alot time and putting heart into and accomplishing a beautiful planted tank with beautiful fish in it I have a hard time just going in and ripping it a part :). I know you all know how attached you can get. It is the center point of my home. My next tank of discus will be bare bottom and maybe this one will someday. :) I will post pictures of my tank soon. Santa gave me a digital camara for Christmas :) :) :)
Deb

[mutfish]

If you are one that just has to have at least one gravel bottom/planted tank(like me) get yourself a half dozen or so Botia lohachata and or Botia macracanthus. These fish are interesting and are relentless at seeking out every speck of food that is missed by the discus. This will greatly reduce the planaria population. 8)

[brewmaster15]

Hi Deb,
Great advice from all here. In addition to it. Table Salt (non iodinized) at 1 tablespoon/1 gallon water will kill planeria within 1-2 days. (1tablespoon/5 gals works in a few more days) . Then follow everyones advice here on water changes and tank hygene and you should be okay.
Hth,
al

[jeep]

I know what you mean Deb. I started with a planted 49 bow with 4 discus and a betta. Now the discus are in ther own bb tanks and the betta has the 49 planted all to him self. He thinks he pretty special going from half cup of water to 49 gal...

[brewmaster15]

Sounds like someone needs more discus for their tank! ;) ;D..

-al

[jeep]

3 weeks ;D ;D ;D

[daninthesand]

Debo.

I just want to make it clear. I don't suggest you should abandon your planted, gravel bottom tank. I personally think you cannot match the beauty of a well organized planted tank. If the only problem you have with it is planaria then I'd suggest you keep it as is. As everyone here has mentioned the planaria are harmless. If you choose to maintain this tank then all the more power to you. Bravo, for taking on the challenge. It certainly can be done. It is a lot of work though as I'm sure you can attest to.

You got any pix? I'm sure it is quite a beauty. :D

Daniel

[jeep]

I agree with Dan. I never had a problem with my planted tank. As a matter of fact, the water parameters seem to balance out pretty good. But with my irregular w/c routine I just decided not to take the chance with my special fish. Once I get more discus and actually raise some fry then I will have a nice planted discus tank.

I've sure seen some gorgeous planted tanks in the planted section of the forum...

[walton321]

Hi: I also have the planaria problem. I wonder if plecos, algae eaters, or snails can make a meal out of them?

Walton

[Jorge las Heras]

Not. But gouramis and bettas can do that work.

The best is water changes and feed in moderate quantities.

Discus do like planaria if they get big enough. One time some food got into my canister filter and i shut it off to do waterchanges, and when I turned it back on about 20 min later they were all over the place, an inch+ in length. Cary tells me they multiply incredibly fast. Anywho, the discus had the time of their life sucking those suckers down, and Cary says they're really healthy for them too. I'm not saying you should spoil food in your filters, but.....

I do 60% in my 125 every day and it has 26 juvies in it and there is always some planaria. I wipe down the glass daily as well. Do I need more filtration maybe?

[Carol_Roberts]

Lol, and that is why my fluvals are all in the closet.

Brad, are you still feeding beefheart or frozen ONF1? they seem to dissolve easier into planaria food than flakes, pellets or cbw.

Carol :heart1:

I feed beefheart every 3 or 4 days, and change the water within an hour when I do feed it. Other than that I feed ONF1 flakes, bloodworms, and CBWs....who knows?

[Denny]

deb,

i agree that bare bottom is easier for cleaning but by going with a bare bottom doesn't guarantee you will never have those little guys come back. i had a case of them a while ago when my tank was b.b. it was when i had to cut back on w/c during a city water project.

i found that cleaning the filters and increasing the water changes, coupled with running a magnum with a micron cartridge cleared them up. i also stopped feeding my fish for a few days to clean them out and drop the bio load. no problems since then.

also if your fish are grown you don't need to have it b.b if it is your show tank. if nothing else, leave about 3/4" inch in there and put the plants in pots. then you can vacuum the gravel easily and thoroughly with no gunky buildup.


btw you are right about the hard water, the two of us probably have some of the hardest water in the discus world lol. . if you need your ro crank out more water, randalb is getting an order together for some great pumps that will give you more water with less waste and higher purity. it would pay for itself in short time.


denny

[Debo]

I did watch the clown loaches last night and they look like they where nibbling on them. I do have a booster pump on my RO and if I leave it on all the time I will have enough to do 25% changes daily. I will be able to post pictures as soon as I get software for my computer.My husband doesn't like the software that came with the camara. That Santa brought :)
Deb

[walton321]

I just bought an army of plecos and they are like vacuum cleaners sucking up the detritus and even planaria. They leave a clear trail behind them. I'll probably get one for each tank.

Walton