Multiple Parasite Infestations In All My Aquariums.

HI everyone I'm having some major problems in my aquariums these past couple of weeks and I don't know how to deal with all of this. I have 8 aquariums and almost all of them are having some kind of parasite infestations.

Lets start with the 125 gallon tank. It's home to one 12 inch gold saum/green terror and 3 plecos (I'm not sure what kind of plecos). I use the API master test kit and it's reading 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, and nitrates are barely detectable. PH is about 7.4. I have a sand bed of about 1 inch in this tank that I clean almost every day since I started to notice the problem. I'm doing big water changes pretty much every day on this tank as well and I dechlorinate the water with Seachem safe. For filtration I'm running 1 sunsun 304b canister filter and 1 AC 110 HOB filter for a total of 1,025 GPH. Temp is 77-78 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm feeding a few different HikarI pellets and some meaty frozen foods.

Sry for making this so long but I was told to give every detail of the tank when asking for help. So now for the problems. I'm seeing white tube worms free swimming in the water which I'm assuming are just detritus worms so I'm not to worried about them. I'm just keeping the tank cleaner now and cutting down on food. Here is a picture if u want to make sure they are indeed detritus worms bec I am no expert

I'm also seeing things crawling across the glass and I have no idea what they are I asked my uncle who has been in the hobby for years and he thought they might be trumpet snails but then I showed him a picture and he said he's never seen that before so here's the picture
they crawl very very slowly and are multiplying fast, they are spreading everywhere.

I wish that was all but I'm seeing another kind of worm crawling on the glass. This worm looks like it's a flat worm and it's shorter then the detritus worms. I can't tell if it's planaria or not because like I said I'm no expert. I can't see if it has a triangle shaped head or not. Here is a gif of the worm because it won't let me post a video.
If it is planaria I'm not sure if it's harmful or not. Alot of ppl say it is and others say it's not. I think it is, and ppl are getting confused detritus worms, but what do I know lol.

I'm also seeing long white stringy poop floating around in the tank but I'm not sure if it's coming from the plecos or the GT. But their is clearly a lot of problems with this tank and I just don't know where to start!! I was thinking of trying API general cure or Seachem Paraguard. Are these medications going to be effective on the problems in this tank? What do you guys advise me to do? And if you could help me identify what those bugs on my glass are I would deeply appreciate it.

I'm also noticing holes on my GT's head and face, a few of them were there from before so these could be nothing I just thought I should mention it. All the fish are acting and eating normally no loss of appetite at all. The GT is kind of skinny but he's always been like that could be he's got worms I'm really not sure here is a picture of him what do you think?

Thank you for reading everything! This is just 1 tank I'm having different problems in other ones but I'm guna try and solve each one at a time.

 

Second photo looks like a freshwater limpet

 

Second photo looks like a freshwater limpet

Are they harmful?

 

No - they are actually excellent algae eaters.

 

Limpets are just algae eaters, if that's what it is. You can look up pictures online to compare.

So, as for the rest - detritus worms are common and actually should be in your tank. But you shouldn't be seeing them. It usually means you're overfeeding you see them.

As for the flatworm, it's hard to tell in the gif but it does look like a type of planaria. Is it harmful? No, it's just gross. If you're lucky, the cichlid will decide he's hungry enough to eat it.

Now as for the internal parasites you suspect, what are your plecos doing? Are they also thin? Swollen?

Paraguard may be a good choice for a general medication to treat whatever gut bugs they have.

 

Limpets are just algae eaters, if that's what it is. You can look up pictures online to compare.

So, as for the rest - detritus worms are common and actually should be in your tank. But you shouldn't be seeing them. It usually means you're overfeeding you see them.

As for the flatworm, it's hard to tell in the gif but it does look like a type of planaria. Is it harmful? No, it's just gross. If you're lucky, the cichlid will decide he's hungry enough to eat it.

Now as for the internal parasites you suspect, what are your plecos doing? Are they also thin? Swollen?

Paraguard may be a good choice for a general medication to treat whatever gut bugs they have.

The plecos all look fine and they all come to the top to eat which fun to see. The GT also is eating great. So I don't know who is making all the white stringy poop. Which medication do u think is better paraguard or General cure?

 

I would use paraguard personally. General cure is medtronidazole and praziquantel. I've found it useful for easy-to-kill stuff but I like seachem products better. Paraguard is a different blend.

You can also try medicating their food with levamisole (General cure would also work for this as I don't believe it contains any stains) and garlicguard. Just soak the food in the medicine and garlicguard before adding it to the tank. Do it until the white poop is gone.

 

Yea... I don't think you have as many problems as you think. I saw detritus worms & have seen a planaria in my aquariums before, so I know how you feel! I'd do Paraguard as well... should take care of the white poop - which is the only thing concerning. As said, detritus worms - the way you have seen - are from over feeding. They are usually only in the substrate, and they are supposed to (& good to) be there

Edit: LOVE the colors on your GT!! Omg

 

Ok thanx

I would use paraguard personally. General cure is medtronidazole and praziquantel. I've found it useful for easy-to-kill stuff but I like seachem products better. Paraguard is a different blend.

You can also try medicating their food with levamisole (General cure would also work for this as I don't believe it contains any stains) and garlicguard. Just soak the food in the medicine and garlicguard before adding it to the tank. Do it until the white poop is gone.

ok thanx for the info really appreciate it. I'm so relieved

 

Yea... I don't think you have as many problems as you think. I saw detritus worms & have seen a planaria in my aquariums before, so I know how you feel! I'd do Paraguard as well... should take care of the white poop - which is the only thing concerning. As said, detritus worms - the way you have seen - are from over feeding. They are usually only in the substrate, and they are supposed to (& good to) be there

Edit: LOVE the colors on your GT!! Omg

Thank you very much! I will treat with paraguard hopefully this will fix the white poop situation. Will paraguard also kill the planaria? And thanx he's a beautiful fish

 

Dose with levamisole, or if you want something gentler, go for fenbendazole.

I used to get outbreaks ever so often from marimo balls, and it's been a few years between my previous outbreak and my current outbreak..... which I also got from a marimo ball, go figure.

I don't have fenbendazole anymore but I had fenbendazole-medicated flakes, so I just fed the tank with that for a few days. Powder would take care of 100%, but even flake food wiped out about 90% of the worms, so I'll repeat in a week or so. Added benefit is that you're also deworming your fish.

So just get the 10$ packet for dogs, dose according to google, and that will take care of it.

 

I have freshwater limpets and those are definitely what you have in that second picture. As previous posters have said, I can vouch for them being excellent algae eaters. They have cleared my tank right up Totally harmless (apart from the annoyance of a few white specks on the glass, which I can live with) and useful.

 

#1 detritus worm, #2 limpets, #3 planaria

All basically harmless for your stocking. As far as I know the only thing you'll kill with treatments listed above is detritus worms and "probably" planaria, sometimes planaria survive treatment with fenbenzadole. Limpets I can't kill for anything once they are in a tank they survive everything I've ever thrown at them except a spoon or a fingernail, they don't come back from that. A couple of the meds listed I've never used personally. But I don't see a reason to nuke the tank since although some are unsightly none will harm your current stock.

 

#1 detritus worm, #2 limpets, #3 planaria

All basically harmless for your stocking. As far as I know the only thing you'll kill with treatments listed above is detritus worms and "probably" planaria, sometimes planaria survive treatment with fenbenzadole. Limpets I can't kill for anything once they are in a tank they survive everything I've ever thrown at them except a spoon or a fingernail, they don't come back from that. A couple of the meds listed I've never used personally. But I don't see a reason to nuke the tank since although some are unsightly none will harm your current stock.

Thanks the only one I'm worried about is planaria bec I don't want it to spread to my other tanks. I breed African cichlids and I've read planaria could harm fry.

 

Thanks the only one I'm worried about is planaria bec I don't want it to spread to my other tanks. I breed African cichlids and I've read planaria could harm fry.

Yes it can harm fry and shrimp. A really good substrate vacuum, less food (don't let it hit the substrate if you can), should work. Fenbenzadole has been shown to work but seems to take multiple doses to be effective sometimes against planaria. I've never had a serious issue with them and never tried to eradicate them as it's always been like I'll see one and never see it again lol... Maybe my fish eat them, but they've never gotten a hold in any of my tanks.

 

Yes it can harm fry and shrimp. A really good substrate vacuum, less food (don't let it hit the substrate if you can), should work. Fenbenzadole has been shown to work but seems to take multiple doses to be effective sometimes against planaria. I've never had a serious issue with them and never tried to eradicate them as it's always been like I'll see one and never see it again lol... Maybe my fish eat them, but they've never gotten a hold in any of my tanks.

Do you know if paraguard works against planaria?

 

Fish Scratching On Everything!

 

I made another thread for my other tanks and I tried to post the link to that thread but it didn't work. I don't seem to be getting any answers on that thread. Anyone know how I could post the link to that thread?

 

Fish Scratching On Everything!

I very much like Paraguard, but I wouldn't bet on it for planaria. Panacur is what I use when looking for fenbenzadole for treatment but be sure to look up some dosing guidelines
I typed this part while out and about, it didn't post apologies for the delay...

If they are rubbing on things look closely for ich, Paraguard will work for ich if you treat per the directions on the bottle. It's become my go to for a variety of things like qt preemptive treatment and ich outbreaks. Very gentle and very successful.

 

I very much like Paraguard, but I wouldn't bet on it for planaria. Panacur is what I use when looking for fenbenzadole for treatment but be sure to look up some dosing guidelines
I typed this part while out and about, it didn't post apologies for the delay...

If they are rubbing on things look closely for ich, Paraguard will work for ich if you treat per the directions on the bottle. It's become my go to for a variety of things like qt preemptive treatment and ich outbreaks. Very gentle and very successful.

Thank you I appreciate your help. I Made another thread for my other tanks that I'm having some issues in as well. I finally figured out how to post a link to that thread bec I'm not getting any reply their. Here's the link to my other thread. If you could help me out I would greatly appreciate it
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