Flat red worms

[vinz]

Found one last week and one yesterday stuck to the tank wall. Wondering if its some kind of parasite or tape worm, etc.

Its blood red, and seem to be able to contract and stretch a lot. The first one I found was 0.5 cm on the glass, but 5 minutes later stretched to about >5 cm long. Immediately removed and destroyed them, but I'm concerned they've left eggs/young in the tank or fish.

Any idea what they are and how to treat them?

[vinz]

Found one last week and one yesterday stuck to the tank wall. Wondering if its some kind of parasite or tape worm, etc.

Its blood red, and seem to be able to contract and stretch a lot. The first one I found was 0.5 cm on the glass, but 5 minutes later stretched to about >5 cm long. Immediately removed and destroyed them, but I'm concerned they've left eggs/young in the tank or fish.

Any idea what they are and how to treat them?

[vinz]

Found one last week and one yesterday stuck to the tank wall. Wondering if its some kind of parasite or tape worm, etc.

Its blood red, and seem to be able to contract and stretch a lot. The first one I found was 0.5 cm on the glass, but 5 minutes later stretched to about >5 cm long. Immediately removed and destroyed them, but I'm concerned they've left eggs/young in the tank or fish.

Any idea what they are and how to treat them?

[vinz]

Found one last week and one yesterday stuck to the tank wall. Wondering if its some kind of parasite or tape worm, etc.

Its blood red, and seem to be able to contract and stretch a lot. The first one I found was 0.5 cm on the glass, but 5 minutes later stretched to about >5 cm long. Immediately removed and destroyed them, but I'm concerned they've left eggs/young in the tank or fish.

Any idea what they are and how to treat them?

[coryfav]

i've seen it twice before, in my pleco tank. but normally revealed from under one of the furnishings and i'd quickly get rid of it. very frightening-looking, huh? []

i think they hid in the gravel, cos i've not seen them for awhile already since i switch that tank to bare-bottom. probably a parasite that came with one of the plants?

[vinz]

*Bump*

Errr... no one else has knowledge on this?

[chris]

I think they are planaria. I always find them gathering in the roots of my plants, esp. in Echinodorus sp. ...Mine are reddish, stretchable and with a suction cup-like end. Initially I thought they were leeches, but I think they are harmless.
BTW my fishes dun seem to eat them....

[NinjaFly]

Vinz,

You feed your fish with live Tubiflex worms before?

I had experience with Tubiflex worms who gets into the gravel and they transform to bright red and flat... very slimy somemore!

[coryfav]

ninjafly, you mean live tubifex will grow that big if left in the gravel?

i've seen one of these stretching from a size of less than 1inch to double its size! [:0]

anyway, i've never fed live worms (banned from this house), and also know of another similar case (never fed live worms but still see such worms!) []

[vinz]

Searched the web, it looks nothing like planaria.

No live foods ever used in this tank. The SAEs get Hikari algae wafers and the dragon gets raw market prawns. The raw MP could be a source.

I don't think tubifex worms can morph into this.

[David]

Hey vinz....I once had this and was told that it is a plant leech...well at least that was what I know.

[Vican]

I did find some red worms in my temporary 2' tank for my aro when I took it back. Initially, I thought them to be tubifex worms that had gotten into the bag from feeding the feeder guppies.

But later thought myself silly because who would feed the feeder guppies in the aro tanks?

I took them out as soon as I saw them, but some would magically appear the next day.

As you guys know the story, a couple of weeks later, my aro showed external signs of camallanus infection. I was lucky to spot the problem and treat it early.

Till today, I'm still not too sure what those worms are in the tank.

Maybe you'd have to watch your fish for anchor worms or gill flukes.

Hope that your fish is not infected at all.

[vinz]

*Crossing fingers*

[kelstorm]

i saw my panda and goby eating it and they died the next day.. should be a parasite leh.. i bought new mollies, and the same thing happen too..

[vinz]

I better keep a closer eye on him. Wonder if my SAEs have eaten any. Been observing for camallanus, but no signs. His appetite seems to be fluctuating... hmmm.

[kelstorm]

well.. seems to me that my fishes that are going to visit their ancestors, then to isolate themselves first.. hope u dun have that problem..

[Vican]

Don't worry, aros are pretty hardy fishes. Considering their sizes, it would take a major infection to bring them down fast.

The only problem with treating aros is that because they are prehistoric fishes, I their digestive system and, I believe, liver are not as advanced as other fishes, so quite a number of medication that are safe for your usual aquarium fishes could be fatal to the aro.

So, treat with caution.

[vinz]

Well, he(she?) seems pretty healthy at the moment, so I'm not going to try any treatment for now. The SAEs seem ok too... in fact, they are so bold now that they come up to nibble on his market prawns while I'm still holding them and before he gets near. Of course they scatter the minute he's within striking range. Some even trail him when they think it's feeding time.

Vican, how do you feed your red? How's the plants? Any problems? I'm testing out Dennerle's Biotrop Stabiliser to see if it will lower nitrates as claimed.

[Vican]

Vinz,
So far, my tank is still relatively free from algae. There's some brown algae on the glass and some bright green algae on the driftwood, but that's about it. I'm using Dr Mallick's lushgrow and micro-nutrients. Sometimes also use a bit of JBL ferropol. The plants are growing slowly, but the lilys are not doing well. Probably because of the temperature (28-29C) and also lighting (210W/450L).

Now, I feed my aro hikari tropical food sticks for carnivorous fish (about 5-7 per feed, 3x if possible). There's a main feed at night of market prawn (only 1/2). Guess you can see that he doesn't really like this diet.

So, if I can, I feed him frogs. He can eat about 20 a day at 10".

So, most of the food are floating foods. Except for Market prawns.
For MPs, I cut them into chunks of about 0.5cm cubes, throw right in front of him to stimulate him

The pcs that he misses are quickly eaten up by my 2" Clown loaches and team of SAEs.

My aro doesn't seems to like fish. Haven't tried mealworms or crickets on him. But his favorite food is frogs.
Frogs are yucky and might sound cruel, but they sure grow the aro FAST!
After switching him to pellets and mixture of food, his growth seems to have slowed down. So I try to buy frogs when I can.

How do you feed your aro?

[vinz]

Temp is not the problem for the lilies. Mine was growing in 30 to 32 celcius water. The tank is now stablised at 30. Light may not be a problem either, they just start heading for the surface thats all. Did you try root tabs like Root Monster?

I'm suppose to get a pack of Hikari Sticks for Carnivorous Fish from a friend but haven't got round to collecting it. He's on market prawns only right now. About an inch of MP in the morning and another inch of MP at night. I hold the MP with my fingers and let go only when he comes near. The SAEs try to nibble some off before he comes round.