# kill planaria?



## dan3345 (Jan 27, 2010)

In my amphibian tank I noticed some planaria worms a few days ago. I am almost certain they are planaria. The worms are about a millimeter in length and white. Very thin critters. I read online these are from overfeeding. I have not been overfeeding but I hers what I think is happening. Every night I put two or three shrimp pellets in for my paddle-tail newt, these pellets are the size and color of the gravel so they are hard to see. So my assumption is that he doesn't find and eat all of them and I cant find the ones he doesn't eat. So I also read that planaria lay their eggs in the gravel, so in an attempt at curving their reproduction i removed the gravel, and did a 95% water change. I did another 30% today because I found a few more worms.

So how do I finish off these things? They are disgusting, and I fear for my newt. My plan too kill them is to not feed the tank for a couple weeks, instead I will feed the newt in another smaller tank and place him back in his home after he eats.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

Oh I gots those! Except they greatly amused me for at least a week. I moved some to all my tanks. They might still be in with the shrimp and garras but IDK. They got kinda heavy for a little while then all the populations kinda crashed. Originally found them in my breeding mops. You can certainly try to destroy/kill them all if thats what you want. But as free living detritivores they are pretty harmless. They won't negatively harm the fish or the amphibians. My caecilians definitely are not bothered by them. The occasional adult I find I drop into the open water for the fish to eat. I got lots of other stuff too nematodes, rotifers I think, occasional live tubiflex, and probably tons of microscopic things I can not even see. 

Pic I took of a paramecium I found. Probably the most amusing critter to watch next to seed shrimp.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

gravel vac, and lots of water changes....less feeding should wipe out the planaria in short order.


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## littlefish (Aug 27, 2010)

see here how to get rid of planaria http://freshwater-aquarium-passion.blogspot.com/2010/09/get-rid-of-planaria.html


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