Hi, I'm not sure if this is really an emergency or not but thought I'd post it here just in case.
I have had a 20L tank sitting around empty for a while as I recently moved house. I decided to get it back up and running just a few days ago so I could use it for a shrimp breeding tank. Previously I had placed shrimp into my four foot community tank but think most were eaten, so decided to catch the ones I could find and place them in their own little sanctuary.
I rinsed out the gravel in the 20L quite a few times. I took a scoop of gravel from the community tank and put it in the 20L. I took some filter media from the community and put it in the filter of the 20L (whose media was still actually quite wet despite sitting around unused for a couple of months). I filled the 20L with water from the community tank so that it would be cycled for my shrimp straight away. I caught my shrimp and acclimated them slowly over a few hours before releasing them.
Yes, I know shrimp need a mature cycled tank but it was a quick decision to try and stop them from getting eaten. I did everything I could to make sure the 20L was cycled for them. I have tested the water everyday and it comes back 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5-10 nitrate. I have changed 15-20% water every second day just to be on the safe side. All shrimp seem healthy and happy and moving about.
However, a day after I got the tank up and running I noticed the back glass of the aquarium was covered in little white worm-like things, only about 3mm long. They are slowly moving along the glass. After doing some research, I think they are planaria as they appear to move along the glass like a slug - just slowly in a straight line. However, I also came across nematodes while doing research, although they apparently move more snake like, making me think that I have planaria. On the other hand, another site said that nematodes reside in the gravel and will only appear on glass if the gravel gets disturbed...which is what happened in this case. If they are nematodes, how do I know if they are the parasitic or scavenger form
I have attached a picture but its not the best quality sorry.
My questions are:
(1) What do you think they are given the picture and the circumstances?
(2) How would they have gotten there?
(3) Are they harmful to my shrimp? I've read that they may be harmful to baby shrimp or shrimp during the molting process (but I can't remember whether this was for planaria or nematodes or both)
(4) Should I try and get rid of them? If so, how do I do it without harming my shrimp?
Thankyou so much to anyone who can provide some advice! I've never came across these little buggers before!
Cheers,
Dean
I have had a 20L tank sitting around empty for a while as I recently moved house. I decided to get it back up and running just a few days ago so I could use it for a shrimp breeding tank. Previously I had placed shrimp into my four foot community tank but think most were eaten, so decided to catch the ones I could find and place them in their own little sanctuary.
I rinsed out the gravel in the 20L quite a few times. I took a scoop of gravel from the community tank and put it in the 20L. I took some filter media from the community and put it in the filter of the 20L (whose media was still actually quite wet despite sitting around unused for a couple of months). I filled the 20L with water from the community tank so that it would be cycled for my shrimp straight away. I caught my shrimp and acclimated them slowly over a few hours before releasing them.
Yes, I know shrimp need a mature cycled tank but it was a quick decision to try and stop them from getting eaten. I did everything I could to make sure the 20L was cycled for them. I have tested the water everyday and it comes back 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5-10 nitrate. I have changed 15-20% water every second day just to be on the safe side. All shrimp seem healthy and happy and moving about.
However, a day after I got the tank up and running I noticed the back glass of the aquarium was covered in little white worm-like things, only about 3mm long. They are slowly moving along the glass. After doing some research, I think they are planaria as they appear to move along the glass like a slug - just slowly in a straight line. However, I also came across nematodes while doing research, although they apparently move more snake like, making me think that I have planaria. On the other hand, another site said that nematodes reside in the gravel and will only appear on glass if the gravel gets disturbed...which is what happened in this case. If they are nematodes, how do I know if they are the parasitic or scavenger form
I have attached a picture but its not the best quality sorry.
My questions are:
(1) What do you think they are given the picture and the circumstances?
(2) How would they have gotten there?
(3) Are they harmful to my shrimp? I've read that they may be harmful to baby shrimp or shrimp during the molting process (but I can't remember whether this was for planaria or nematodes or both)
(4) Should I try and get rid of them? If so, how do I do it without harming my shrimp?
Thankyou so much to anyone who can provide some advice! I've never came across these little buggers before!
Cheers,
Dean
