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My turtle is sleeping and floating on the top of the tank today. I got some goldfish for him and I recently found out I also got an infestation of worms from them. i have a male and female RES in there. I have had him for 12 years so far and I don't know what to do about these worms. I have tried salt which works good for the bottom of the tank, but does not kill the upper worms or the worms I beleive the turtles may have. I am sure they are planaria worms. What should i do? Need help asap please. I need to know how to rid these from the tank, the filter, and the turtles themselves. Thanks.

If they are planaria, they're harmless. I have yet to find a way to actually get rid of them though.

I have been reading they are harmless too, but I saw them wiggling in and out of my turtles nose. That can not be good. And why is he sleeping while floating? He has never done that. I am 90% sure they are planaria, I may be wrong. Not only that they are an eyesore, but that is the least of my worries.

Can you contact an aquarium store or specialist and find out how they get rid of them in aquariums? Your only other option would be to contact a vet ...

Take a stool sample to a vet and see if perhaps there are internal parasites. It's easy for a vet to do a check. If it's a parasite, then the vet will advise you on how to deal with it.

Here's an article on dealing with planaria:

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/man ... Worms.html

Does what you have sound like what's described here?

If you use a mild bleach solution to clean the aquarium, be sure and rinse very thoroughly then let the tank air dry until you can't smell the bleach any more. Don't use bleach on any filter media. Instead, simply replace the media once the plastic parts have been cleaned.

Then, you need to find out why these little creatures got so numerous. According to the article, cleaning the tank and water better should prevent planaria from getting out of hand.

Go to the vet for your turt if youre that worried. To get rid of them do a full clean out. If you have a secondary tank put them in there for the time being

(Edit) Use some water conditioners like reptisafe.

Stop over feeding and siphon clean gravel thoroughly along with partial water changes every 72 hours. This is how I kept planaria under control in my goldfish tank.

I don't use gravel in their tank. I may be over feeding though. I just hooked up a much more powerful filter to help as well. I got rid of them all with a full tank cleanout and bleaching. After that was done I added aquarium salt which works real good and is very safe, but doesn't reach the top of the water. Somehow 2 or 3 of the little [----] survived. Threw in some of my feeder guppies and they took care of that. All looks well so far. Thanks for all your help.

d-rolh -- I use aquarium salt in my tank also. How much do you use and how do you measure it. I have to be very careful with that.

well i probably put in too much, but when u are using it to get rid of something that is harmful to your fish its worth it. It barely does them harm. and you can always do a water change if u put int oo much. for stress follow the directions, for disease/etc. control use double. although i probably use more.

well its best you contact a vet for these situations. since i haven't seen any worms or what not i don't know whats that all about but you definitely be concerned but dont panic because it wont get the situation fixed any quicker

THE TROUBLE WITH PLANARIA WORMS?

By Majid Ali
Adapted from an article which first appeared in the March 2003 edition of Ryedale Reporter Magazine, Ryedale Aquarist Society, Yorkshire, England
Aquarticles

On many occasions fellow aquarists have sought my advice on 'infestations of aquatic parasites' which have suddenly appeared in their aquaria. Upon further investigation these infestations have, thankfully, proved to be of a harmless planarian nature.

Planarian worms are tiny, thin and milky white in appearance. They are distantly related to flukes, and some of these worms have been implicated in skin slime problems with marine fish. They are usually seen slowly gliding over the surfaces of the tank, surfaces of the glass and under the lid of box filters.

These particular worms are, at times, a problem. How do they manifest? They usually become visible when:-
1. An aquarist has overfed his/her fish.
2. The aquarium gravel is not hoovered accordingly.
3. Aquarium ammonia levels have risen.

If present in small numbers Planaria can be dealt with by eliminating the above, but when larger numbers are involved they become a problem. I have tried the following methods to try to clear them:-
a) I have used a variety of white spot cures, tonic salts and aquatic bacteriacides etc. without any real success. Fellow aquarists have claimed some success using Sterazin (Waterlife product), Anti-crustacean Parasite (Interpet) and Parasite Guard (Sera) but I have yet to try these particular products myself.
b) Sometimes removing the fish/aquatic livestock and raising the tank temperature, for 24 hours, to 35 C can rid a tank of Planaria.
c) Drastic - but strip the tank down, boil any gravel and scrub the decor clean, and leave everything to dry for a week (remembering to change any filter material). Unfortunately there is no guarantee that once the tank is re-established the problem may not quickly resume. A second strip down and washing with a bleach solution may be the answer?
d) Natural predators may help. Apple Snails, Hong Kong Plecs. (coldwater), Whiptail Catfish, and any Limnivorous Catfish (Mud-eaters, e.g. Twig Catfish and Bubble-nesting Catfish, who are constantly searching throughout the tank for vegetable matter, detritus, micro-organisms and tiny crustaceans), are among the species that will (usually if left unfed for a few days) eat away at Planaria on a long term basis. In the short term Betta and Pelvicachromis (Kribs.) species will eat small amounts of Planaria.

Please note that Planarian worms can get into the gills of aquatic livestock and cause irritation, leading to fish etc. becoming jumpy and starting to scratch against the decor. I have witnessed this with Axolotls, and when a friend's Red Cap Oranda was constantly rubbing against the decor with no signs of a disease infection. We ultimately discovered that an abundance of Planaria in the tank had caused this problem.

As we touched on earlier, Planaria can be a problem with filtration equipment, particularly of the box and Fluval type varieties. To rid such equipment of Planaria try one of the following:-
1. Strip the filter and give it a good scrub.
2. Pour boiling water in and on the filter (especially through the holes).
3. Immerse the filter in hot water which contains a mild solution of bleach.

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.

As Planaria are parasitic, can they harm humans who come into contact with them? As far as my research indicates there are no recorded cases, but always make sure that you wash your hands well following contact and that any cuts etc. are covered prior to work with Planarian problems.

I hope you have enjoyed this article. If you can add any information, particularly on livebearing fish which may eat Planaria, please contact David (via the contact details above) who will feature any 'Feedback' in a future issue of Ryedale Reporter (mailing you a writer's copy in return), as we still have much to learn about these and many other parasites, who our 'fish friends' have to contend with in aquaria.