Could planaria be toxic to Ghost shrimp?

shrimper Bob · Post by **shrimper Bob** » Tue May 29, 2007 4:08 pm

I'm currently dealing with a small outbreak of white planaria in my Red cherries and Ghost shrimp tank. This was quite a surprise as I have been feeding very sparingly. After searching through old post here I wasn't to alarmed by it. I did a through gravel vac, which doesn't take much as I have a minimum amount on the bottom.
While researching the net about planaria I came across an interesting article at the following, http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/man ... Worms.html
Hears a quote from it "Warning - Research carried out by Tim Henshaw at Bolton Museum (Lancashire, U.K.) indicates that Planaria carry a toxin on their surface. This toxin is particularly potent towards any species of shrimp and glass shrimp."
Hmm, I have noticed several of my Ghost shrimp are turning white, not the usual clear body. Has anyone hear heard of this?
Thanks, Bob

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Tue May 29, 2007 4:24 pm

If your shrimp are turning white rather than see-through they are sick or dying.

http://www.petshrimp.com/articles/whyshrimpdead.html

shrimper Bob · Post by **shrimper Bob** » Tue May 29, 2007 6:00 pm

That's my point, I know something is wrong with them. Could it be because they are eating the planaria?
Guess I didn't explain myself very well.
Bob

pixl8r · Post by **pixl8r** » Tue May 29, 2007 6:56 pm

Very interesting, thanks for the link. I didn't know about the planaria's toxicity towards shrimp.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue May 29, 2007 7:44 pm

Planaria are a symptom, not a cause. Stop feeding your tank for 3-4 weeks. You could put in some well leached oak leaves if you are worried about the shrimp, but they will be fine.

Over feeding allows the planaria to grow. They starve a lot faster than the shrimp. The shrimp need far less than you know.

I have a tank fed with ONLY oak leaves. I've added no food for over a month and I've seen no drop in shrimp production. I've also done no water changes, only adding R/O water to make up for evaporation.

Unless you have loads of snails, you ARE over feeding. If you have loads of snails, they are getting extra food from some place. Keep cutting back until you see the snails are not populating.

TKD · Post by **TKD** » Tue May 29, 2007 10:54 pm

badflash wrote:Planaria are a symptom, not a cause. Stop feeding your tank for 3-4 weeks. You could put in some well leached oak leaves if you are worried about the shrimp, but they will be fine.

Over feeding allows the planaria to grow. They starve a lot faster than the shrimp. The shrimp need far less than you know.

I have a tank fed with ONLY oak leaves. I've added no food for over a month and I've seen no drop in shrimp production. I've also done no water changes, only adding R/O water to make up for evaporation.

Unless you have loads of snails, you ARE over feeding. If you have loads of snails, they are getting extra food from some place. Keep cutting back until you see the snails are not populating.

Even with him having ghosts it would be ok to stop feeding them?????

TKD

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:05 am

Yes, If there is rotting oak leaves in there they won't starve to death in a few weeks, but the planaria will.

shrimper Bob · Post by **shrimper Bob** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:22 am

Thanks for the responses.
It is a delicate balance we walk. The ghost where the only reason I was feeding the tank at all. Just enough to be consumed in a 5 minutes. There's enough algae now so no more vegies. The planaria have come from somewhere, maybe I got a little heavy handed a few weeks ago when all the young cherry and ghost showed up.
The leaves in the tank are being consumed by the cherries, I wasn't sure the ghost would eat them. I never seen them feeding there. I will stop feeding for a week or so and see. The worms are already going away, much less in numbers from 4 days ago.
The main reason for my post was the article about the planaria being toxic to shrimp? After hours on the net reading about planaria this is the only place I saw that, Info from one source doesn't always make it true. If this is true, it would certainly be a stronger reason to not overfeed! Could my ghost be suffering from this toxicity? From all appearances the shrimp seem to be thriving, multiplying fast.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed May 30, 2007 4:34 pm

The only planaria I know of that are toxic are salt water types. Few shrimp will eat them, but if they get hungry enough they will. The shrimp don't actually eat the leaves. They eat the critters that eat the leaves.

shrimper Bob · Post by **shrimper Bob** » Wed May 30, 2007 5:12 pm

Thanks Badflash., That probably explains it. They left of salt water!
Got ya about the leaves, they sure do love Indian Almond leaves(pre-soaking all the tannins out before adding to the tank)

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Thu May 31, 2007 1:19 pm

Oak or maple leaves actually work better. Just about any hardwood leaf seams to work after an extended soaking. My pool fills with leaves over the winter and are ready to use come spring.