Worm/parasite hitched a ride with plants

[MasonChase]

I was looking for snails in a cup of Salvinia and came across a small worm that looked about 1/2’’ and retracted to almost nothing when I picked it up with tweezers. Anyone know what this is?

 

[JamieBAnd]

Nope, I’m no expert on the small slimy things. But I’d be washing all those plants in a bleach or potassium permanganate solution, and setting them in a plain water quarantine for about a month before putting them in my tanks. That’ll give you time to see if there are other weird things in there.

 

[MasonChase]

Nope, I’m no expert on the small slimy things. But I’d be washing all those plants in a bleach or potassium permanganate solution, and setting them in a plain water quarantine for about a month before putting them in my tanks. That’ll give you time to see if there are other weird things in there.

I would rather not introduce chemicals to my tank because this is my first time attempting a self sustaining tank. I would usually be fine with any life in the tank but I don’t want to accidentally infest my tank with parasites you know?

 

[JamieBAnd]

Ok. That’s a commendable idea.

 

[bettalover101]

it looks like a tiny leech but not sure does it riggle like a worm.

 

[MasonChase]

Ok. That’s a commendable idea.

A smelly idea.

it looks like a tiny leech but not sure does it riggle like a worm.

I could believe a leach because how much it can contract its body, doesn’t wiggle like a worm but I also haven’t seen a leech this color

 

[JamieBAnd]

Everything is worth trying once( except toxic/ deadly stuff, but again, that’s subjective, and can be based on an individual basis). I think I would still qt them, in a high heat area, to see what else may pop out. However, potassium permanganate is a good dip, and neutralized by peroxide I believe, sorry haven’t used it in a long time. It can easily be researched. It’s commonly used to clear up icky stinky water in small doses, and in larger doses is used to treat parasites, as a decontamination dip, both for plants and fish.

 

[Bluejay010101]

You could try h2o2 dip for a few minutes gently and then rinse off under tap. Or an alum dip (found at grocery stores used for pickling). Then quarantine.

 

[Cherryshrimp420]

That's a leech. Do you have fish or any other livestock in the aquarium? If so then you need to look up treatments for leech. If not then just do nothing and the leech will starve out.

Kind of concerning that a leech came with plants though. Id also message the retailer and let them know

 

[Ghostly]

lookes like a slug/leach

 

[YellowGuppy]

Definitely resembles a common garden slug to my eyes, as well as the description of it squishing itself up into a ball. It strikes me as highly unlikely that is a parasite, given the absence of a host.

I'd just step on it (or feed it to something with a big enough mouth!) and call it a day, but that's maybe just me.

 

[MasonChase]

That's a leech. Do you have fish or any other livestock in the aquarium? If so then you need to look up treatments for leech. If not then just do nothing and the leech will starve out.

Kind of concerning that a leech came with plants though. Id also message the retailer and let them know

Big yikes since I’ve used the same plants for 3 tanks. I’ll definitely contact the store and in the future make sure to rinse my plants and quarantine them

 

[Cherryshrimp420]

Garden slug should have those 2 pointy eye stalks. Does it have that?

 

[MasonChase]

I didn’t see any antenna/eye stalks, I found it on the bottom of the cup in water and it looked the size of a blood worm, wasn’t until out of the water it curled up into almost nothing

 

[Cherryshrimp420]

I didn’t see any antenna/eye stalks, I found it on the bottom of the cup in water and it looked the size of a blood worm, wasn’t until out of the water it curled up into almost nothing

Is it still alive? If you leave it alone and let it crawl then it will be pretty obvious to see if it is a garden slug. It will look like a snail out of its shell.

But if it doesnt have eye stalks and has a thin neck, thick base/body then most likely a leech.

 

[MasonChase]

Is it still alive? If you leave it alone and let it crawl then it will be pretty obvious to see if it is a garden slug. It will look like a snail out of its shell.

But if it doesnt have eye stalks and has a thin neck, thick base/body then most likely a leech.

It had dried up over night, looks like a brown speck now. I’ll be keeping an eye out for anymore