Planaria in aquarium

Often together with live and ice cream feed, snails and plants in the aquarium water are worms that have a pink and white color and the triangular front part. They are called planaria and can be dangerous to the health of the shrimp. Often these worms belong to the species Dugesia gonocephala or other varieties of flat worms that live in fresh and marine waters worldwide. Most often they are found in the soil column, but often planarians can be seen on the surface of the water, moving with the help of special cilia on the body. Because of this, they are also often referred to as the ciliary worms.

Planaria is a typical hermaphroditic, so after internal fertilization without the participation of other individuals on light appears fully viable offspring. The planaria eggs are resistant to high and low temperatures, so get rid of them is quite difficult. These worms there is no one specific organ of respiration, the aeration process occurs with just the skin. In order to protect themselves from predators in the wild planaria use of bitter mucus, which is released when receiving a signal of danger. Planaria differ phenomenal survivability. Studies have shown that if you divide the body of the worm 270 parts, each of them is able to regenerate to full body.

The harm of planarians

Hit atically in the aquarium always brings a lot of trouble. The most insignificant of them can be called spoiling the appearance of the aquarium, especially during active reproduction. More significant is another fact: if time does not get rid of the planaria, they are able to destroy the entire population of shrimp. Especially suffer from females bearing eggs, which are the main prey of worms. Therefore, if you notice that the female shrimp often carry eggs, and the offspring does not appear, it can be regarded as the sign of the presence in the aquarium planaria. They are no less dangerous for adult invertebrates. It is known that planaria can crawl under the shrimp shells, causing suffocation.

How to get rid of planaria in the aquarium

For faster results, experts recommend using a powder containing 5% active ingredient. Gel in the aquarium will be less effective. The dosage is 0.2-0.3 grams per 100 liters. If the water in the aquarium soft, slightly reduce the dosage. After two or three days, perform a 50% water change on a fresh, to get rid of dead planaria and emissions of harmful substances. After 7 days you should repeat the procedure to get rid of individuals hatched from the earlier laid eggs. Then your aquarium will be completely free of parasites.