Tank Infested With...all The Things! (panacur C On Order)

Hi,

Tank: 10 gallon-heavily planted with driftwood
Stocking: 6-8 bloody mary shrimp and 3 ghost shrimp (these 3 are only temporarily in here as they are future fish food)
Feeding: 1/8 scoop of Bacter AE every day
Cycled: Yes
WC: 15-20% 2-3 x per week

This tank has been up and running less than 3 weeks with the most recent inhabitants having been in there about 10 days. I did a 20% WC on Saturday and saw 2 detrius worms and a few cyclops/copepod but since the tank is heavily planted and I don't have any fish I wasn't too concerned. I stopped adding any actual food into the tank except for the Bacter AE at this point, but even prior to this had only been adding 1/4 algae wafer every 3 days.

I lost one bloody mary over the weekend (I assumed molting issue) bringing my total from 9 to 8 but when I counted a few hours ago I could only find 6 of them (some could be hiding). Today, I was doing another 15% WC and noticed that my tank is now infested with... everything, basically.

I saw about 50 little detrius worms on the glass, countless copepods, a few brown planaria, and dozens of green hydra!!!

I'm now in full blown panic mode since I saw the hydra and planaria and am worried about losing more of my precious little shrimp, especially since 2 of the 8 I have left might be MIA.

I have Panacur C on order now and saw an article saying the best dose for a 10 gallon was .01 grams with a followup dose the next week to ensure everything is dead. (I know it won't kill all the detrius worms or the copepods but I'm not concerned about those). Can anyone confirm the dose and advise what to do as far as a WC schedule? I'm sure all the death will cause a huge ammonia spike, but I don't want to shock my shrimp either.

It looks like the Panacur won't get here until Saturday, so what do I do until then?

 

Was it cycled with established media? A cycled tank usually takes 4-8 weeks... not sure about the detritus worms .. chime in richie.p for the unexpected inhabitants he should know

 

You've lots of problems here first a 3 week old tank is no good for shrimp and you could loose them all,shrimp should not go in for at least 2months, I don't know about this panacur treatment Fenbendazole or planaria zero is normally used to kill hydra and planaria, these two I know can kill your shrimp and young fish, in a 10 gallon tank a maxI'm of 6ltr which is 15% weekly water change, bactor AE 1/8 a week is more than enough or what's in the photo
Edit I'm reading back through to pick up on what I've missed like 2 to 3 water changes a week will shock your shrimp

 

It was with a cycled filter/filter media. All of the substrate and most of the plants were moved over from a that same (cycled) tank and the water was tested for a week to make sure the new one was cycled. Panacur C is fenbendazole.
Yes, I was planning 2 or 3 to help get rid of the dead/dying hydra and planaria so there wouldn't be a big ammonia spike but I can stick to 1 if you think that would be enough?
I use airline tubing to slowly drop water back into the tank over about 2 hours.

 

Ok Jessica that's a bit more information and puts a different light on things, you still may loose a couple of shrimp if you did shock them, I'm glad to know panacure C is fenbendazole although ive never used any, the dead hydra and planaria I don't think will cause a drastic problem, you also seem to know what your doing with the water changes so carry on with that if you want but twice a week is ample, just try and don't be to drastic in anything you do, don't crush plana or split hydra as they will multiply and make sure you clean everything with panacure nets piping buckets,, once you've treated give you tank time to settle and water changes once a week, Bactor AE once a week, I have done what you've done with a tank and had shrimp in there two weeks later but keeping things stable is key but the bugs have caused a problem. Dont worry about detritus or copeapods they will.help with the clean up, make sure you don't overdose with panacure C or you will have problems, a close up photo if you can just to see exactly what's what in fact a few photos

Ok I found this in my list of medications just scroll down exact dosage is given

 

Ok I found this in my list of medications just scroll down exact dosage is given

This is great, thank you!

Yeah, I plan on not touching the tank much at all until they are gone to avoid them splitting.
That's good to know about the dosing for the Bacter AE, I will definitely cut back! I read a few articles that all suggested different amounts for dosing.
I will add pictures once I get home for reference.

 

I agree with richie.p about the bacter ae. I was feeding it every other day and limiting other foods and was getting a lot of shrimp deaths due to molting issues. I cut back to dosing just once a week (twice a week if there are babies) and all my shrimp stopped dying.

I don't think fenbendazole is safe for inverts last time I looked it up. "no-planaria" is safe and made specifically for shrimp tanks but it's harder to get and much more expensive.

 

My camera is truly terrible so I circled the hydra in yellow, the copepods in the blue, the planaria in red, and the detrius worm in purple. ( I will add that most of the other little dots you see are also copepods I just didn't circle all of them).





I believe fenbendazole is safe for shrimp but not for snails as long as you don't overdose it.

 

I personally don't think that's planaria. they're just little flatworms that are harmless to shrimp. plus there's nothing wrong with copepods either. planaria is typically bigger with a distinctive "face" and eyes. Chris Lukhaup | Shrimp King on Instagram: “Planaria are Killers . #dennerle #shrimpking #aquarium #aquariumhobby #aquariumdesign #aquariumfish #aquariumtank #aquariumlife…”

if fenbendazole is safe for shrimp, then go ahead and use it. I ended up buying it for hydra but never used it. they went away on their own. that was a betta tank though, not a shrimp tank.

 

I personally don't think that's planaria. they're just little flatworms that are harmless to shrimp. plus there's nothing wrong with copepods either. planaria is typically bigger with a distinctive "face" and eyes. Chris Lukhaup | Shrimp King on Instagram: “Planaria are Killers . #dennerle #shrimpking #aquarium #aquariumhobby #aquariumdesign #aquariumfish #aquariumtank #aquariumlife…”

if fenbendazole is safe for shrimp, then go ahead and use it. I ended up buying it for hydra but never used it. they went away on their own. that was a betta tank though, not a shrimp tank.

That would be great if it isn't planaria! I just saw that it was flat and had an arrow-shaped head, but you're right, I don't think any of the ones I saw had eyespots. Only one outbreak makes me a little less stressed!
I don't mind the copepods either, but I assume that is a lot of what the hydra are feasting on so I would be okay if they decreased in number.

 

That's a cracking photo midnaquit a big planaria as well, I agree with midna they don't look like planaria never the less you still need to treat for hydra and if there are any in there fenbendazole will do the job, midnafenbendazole is safe for shrimp but as a nasty habit of killing snails which I found planaria zero didn't,
JessicaSwanlake I don't think your infestation is that bad looking on the glass so cool down and come out of panic mode

 

That's a cracking photo midnaquit a big planaria as well, I agree with midna they don't look like planaria never the less you still need to treat for hydra and if there are any in there fenbendazole will do the job, midnafenbendazole is safe for shrimp but as a nasty habit of killing snails which I found planaria zero didn't,
JessicaSwanlake I don't think your infestation is that bad looking on the glass so cool down and come out of panic mode

I definitely feel much better since it seems like those aren't planaria and I've dealt with hydra before. One of the "missing" shrimp I mentioned yesterday was my berried female and it looks like her eggs must have hatched as I saw two little babies out this morning when I checked on the tank (I guess I know why she was missing). I'm sure I'll lose most of them due to hydra and treating the tank so now I get to be extra, extra, extra careful!
Do you think I would be best off to not change the water at all until the GH, KH, etc is out of range (unless there is an ammonia spike)? Is sitting in the the medicated water okay for the shrimp (and the babies) for more than a few days?

 

Water changes still need to be done your ammonia won't be a problem but you still need to replenish minerals that get lost with old water, I would now do 15% weekly, the good thing here now is that you have young which are naturally acclimatised to your tank plus in a tank only a few weeks old so add bactor AE as recommended but now twice a week, just 6ltr is enough in a 10gal tank just be careful and check your bucket for young, even after 10 years I still suck up a few
Edit if there's plenty of food around your young won't move much giving them a better chance from the hydra
Edit can you list everything in your tank shrimp,fish,snails

 

Water changes still need to be done your ammonia won't be a problem but you still need to replenish minerals that get lost with old water, I would now do 15% weekly, the good thing here now is that you have young which are naturally acclimatised to your tank plus in a tank only a few weeks old so add bactor AE as recommended but now twice a week, just 6ltr is enough in a 10gal tank just be careful and check your bucket for young, even after 10 years I still suck up a few
Edit if there's plenty of food around your young won't move much giving them a better chance from the hydra

Okay, that works for me. I was planning on covering the airline tubing with hosiery so I don't suck any up but will definitely check the bucket too! I'm very excited to see the babies grow so hopefully they stay away from the hydra.

As an unrelated question: Does anyone have any expirience (good or bad) or have you heard anything about GlasGarten's Mineral Junkie Pearls? I have seen quite a few people say they helped their babies molt and improved survival rates, but I trust people on here more than random internet reviews and youtubers.

 

Glassgarten products are good I've never used the mineral balls but know very experienced shrimpers that do so you can if you want, on saying that I use bactor AE which helps in the process, I also like to use food with minerals in like spinach, kale, broccoli, which do the same but at the same time feed your shrimp, I am one of the few that don't like putting a mesh over the siphon intake as I'm a believer the with the shrimp being so young and fragile if they get stuck on the mesh the force of the water will kill them so.i.prefer to hunt them down in the bucket,
The choice is really yours with mineral balls and mesh, you will always find people with different opinions

 

Too much of that BacterAE WILL result in an explosion of detritus worms and can even cause deaths of adult shrimp. Using it every day is far too much in my opinion. It also can cause a rise in nitrates. Personally, I won't use it any more at all. I get better results with Spirulina powder.

 

Glassgarten products are good I've never used the mineral balls but know very experienced shrimpers that do so you can if you want, on saying that I use bactor AE which helps in the process, I also like to use food with minerals in like spinach, kale, broccoli, which do the same but at the same time feed your shrimp, I am one of the few that don't like putting a mesh over the siphon intake as I'm a believer the with the shrimp being so young and fragile if they get stuck on the mesh the force of the water will kill them so.i.prefer to hunt them down in the bucket,
The choice is really yours with mineral balls and mesh, you will always find people with different opinions

Oh, good point. Maybe I will try it without the mesh first and see if I end up with a bunch in the bucket. If it's just one or so I might stick to doing it without mesh. I might wait and see how this batch of babies does before getting the pearls, if I have young shrimp molting fatalities I'll give them a go.

Too much of that BacterAE WILL result in an explosion of detritus worms and can even cause deaths of adult shrimp. Using it every day is far too much in my opinion. It also can cause a rise in nitrates. Personally, I won't use it any more at all. I get better results with Spirulina powder.

Yep, I have figured that out the hard way since I now have a ton of microfauna in my tank and am going to dose 1/8th scoop twice a week. I've only been using it for about a week so far, but I will definitely keep a close eye on my nitrates to see if they increase.

 

Bactor AE will not in any way shape or form pollute your water top breeders all over the world like myself use this with remarkable results, do feed as I've advised and you'll have no problems.

 

It's certainly no worse than overfeeding any other food.

Hydra are pretty cool looking, if only they didn't kill shrimp... I had an outbreak in my community tank, despite there being fish.

 

Update: Got the Fenbendazole today and dosed according to the instructions on Aquarium Advice. It was a good thing it came a bit early as the hydra population has really taken off.
All 7 of my remaining adult shrimp are still alive and I counted 5 baby shrimp on the glass this morning (I assume more are still hiding) so hopefully with the treatment most of them make it!

 

You shouldn't loose any shrimp with fenbendazole although I haven't used it I've been in many conversations with people here who used it wit success. You should start to see the tenticals start to wither within 24hrs

 

You shouldn't loose any shrimp with fenbendazole although I haven't used it I've been in many conversations with people here who used it wit success. You should start to see the tenticals start to wither within 24hrs

Yeah, I think from everything I've ready it's fine with the baby shrimp. I meant about losing/possibly already having lost some of the babies to the hydra.