Nightmare hitchhikers

[Zezmo]

Keeping fish my whole life I have had to keep with "common" parasites such as Ich on occasion. Most are really no big deal, a little heat, a few meds, or maybe a quick euthanization..problem solved.

But, in just under 2 years of growing plants... I have had to deal with a nightmare assorment of hitch hikers. Now, for fish I use a q-tank. However with plants usually a good rinse and a close examination is what I have done. Being sloppy like this with my plant quarrantine has lead (forced) me to learn about some pretty disgusting things. I thought i would share some of the horror with fellow plant hobbiests. Maybe a bit of a warning here too. These are all creature I have had to deal with in the last 2 years.

Snails:
MTS- the only one I actually welcomed

Pond Snails- minor nuisance, easily eaten by Cory Cats, Rainbows and many other fish. Crush a few to get your fish to try them, they will take it from there.

Brown spotted Rams horns- i remember the first one..."oh how cute". Now its OMG they won't stop breeding. Btw, my population produces the ruby ones that some people actually pay money for... to me they are a pest.

Tiny Ramshorns- sideways shell stay about 1/8". No nuisance http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/helisoma-trivolvis.JPG

Tiny limpets- mildy interesting, probably eat some algae http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/limpet2.jpg

Hydra- not a snail, still an invert though, neat stuff. Really only a hazard to fry. Nothing seems to eat them, at least they are a sign your water is good and clean. http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/hydra-mature.jpg

Worms:
Nematodes- feed too much, don't clean the gravel? look closely you will have them. There are small crawly ones, and large swimming ones...maybe the same but seem like two types to me.

Planaria, common flatworn -got nematodes? look closer you got these guys too. Did you do experiments on these in high school biology? I wish they had taught us how to get rid of them then. http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/planaria-Lv3.JPG

Predatory flatworm- OMG this is where the nightmare begins http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/rhabdocoel-comp.JPG

Horsehair worm- got shrimp? look closely you may see one of these inside your shrimp http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/horsehair-worm.jpg

Common leech- round red or black, see em diving for cover at lights on.

Flat leech- nasty snail eating leeches that brood and raise thier young. You won't be happy to find one of these..they are scary http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/leech1.jpg
btw, these are common to most ponds and lakes in the USA

and last but not least....
Freshwater Brisleworm:
- Saltwater folks know about bristle worms. There are like 15000 types, only a couple are freshwater, and I managed to get at least one. I was cleaning the filter media from my nano in the sink. and this 2" long centipede looking thing jumps out of my hand and into the sink... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I almost quit the hobby on the spot. there is exactly zero data about anyone finding one of these in an aquarium. I caught it, photo'd it, video'd it. I don't know if it is a stinging type, and i wasnt gonna touch it to find out. The only type of freshwater b-worm that i found info on was poisonous, and is a problem in indian rivers. I will try and post the shots of this one over the weekend.

How about you guys? Have you had to deal with any of these? Maybe even crazier nastier things? How do you quarrantine your plants(or do you)?


credits:
the links i used came from here
http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/invert-thumbs.htm

 

[Purrbox]

My list of hitchhikers and volenteers include:

Malaysian Trumpet Snails
Pond Snails
Ramshorn Snails
Tiny Ramshorn Snails
Limpets
Green Hydras
Copepods

I really wouldn't consider any of these to be a pest which is probably why I haven't taken up any kind of treatment or quarentine procedure. I find these little volenteers quite facinating and have even introduced some of the MTS on purpose.

 

[7Enigma]

Zezmo, quick question.

You mention your cory cats eat your pond snails? Have you seen this before? I have 1 lone cory and would never suspect him as eating any snails, but I'd be interested to hear if he might be hunting at night when they are out.

Also, anyone know if my BN pleco eats pond snails? He's certiantly big enough to swallow the smaller ones without flinching...

Oh, and just Ich for me so far (2 times, awaiting my wonderful 3rd bout), I hope.....

 

[MSU Fan]

my BN's don't touch my snails...of course, the loaches probably don't give them much of a chance

 

[JRagg]

That's what they are!

I've seen some tiny ramshorns in my tank lately. The sideways shell confused me. Likely from one of the new plants I've introduced lately. They are kind of neat. I'm glad to know they aren't a planted tank nuisance.

 

[Zezmo]

I am quite certain on the Cory's eating pond snails. They suck the meat out and leave the shell, just like a loach.

Purrbox, I forgot completely about copepods..

I have seen at least 3 types... "T" shaped ones which are maybe ghost shrimp larvae, and "cyclops". I have also had Daphnia, but those were added on purpose. Also, I have had small hopping bugs that live on any leaves on the surface.

http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/Q-copepod.htm
http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/amphipod-1.JPG
http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/ILL-p12.JPG

edit:
I was looking around for info on the larger type of MTS, and came across this... MTS are now on the nightmare list.... Note the part that talks about them being an intermediary host for human lung flukes.

"16. Family THIARIDAE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16a.

Thiarids are found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Most inhabit fresh water, but some also occur in brackish water. The greatest diversity of genera and species is in the Indo-Australian region. Endemic New World genera occur in Cuba, Jamaica, and northern South America. Three species in Florida were introduced from Southeast Asia. Two, Melanoides tuberculata and Tarebia granifera, are medically important because they can serve as first intermediate host for the human lung fluke, Paragonimus westermani. Thiarids are ecologically significant because they tend to replace native snails where they are introduced and because of their abundance. In 1976 in the St. Johns River 1 found Melanoides tuberculatus with population densities of 10,000/sq. m."

source: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/MALACOLOGY/fl-snail/SNAILS1.htm

 

[czcz]

My hitchikers have been pond, MTS, small and tiny Ramshorns, Scuds (hitchiked with a Daphnia purchase, and have since entered other tanks), and Limpets. I like all these guys but your info on MTS gives me the shivers. My Cories and other fish will eat smashed small sp. Ramshorns, fwiw. I traded for the Ruby red Ramshorns but they cross breed with my common/brown small sp. Ramshorn, and I'm over it.

My only hitchiker thats ever aggrivated me are Utricularia, a small carnivorous plant, but not being so lazy about removal has kept it manageable. I'm not sure it counts for your list though.

 

[Mosaic]

I'll take your ruby ramshorns and the little sideways guys! Those are two I don't have yet.
I do have 2 species of ramshorns (and a giant one, but I paid for him), pond snails, and mts. I'm neutral about the limpets, but the pic of them on the site is cute, like a little mushroom. In my experimental tank I have copepods/ostrocods (which one? I mix them up), some little swimmy white worms, and a bristle worm looking thing that freaked me out but has since been flushed. I agree. Some of these things can be pretty horrifying. After seeing what popped up from my last new batch of plants, I'll be putting them in QT.

 

[Zezmo]

Here is a shot of the Bristleworm..did yours look like this

and just for fun here is a movie of it...

http://www.wgwguild.com/images/BristleWorm-1.MOV

 

[7Enigma]

Yeah, that would have creeped me out quite a bit!

And I wonder if my cory is responsible for my one MTS shell that is sitting on my substrate empty. I had attributed it to a tiger barb getting curious and maybe wounding the snail to the point it couldn't survive but now I wonder. Obviously the cory is most active at night when I'm not watching him, and this is when the snails come out to play. I've actually been surprised I don't see more common pond snails in my tank, most I find during my cleaning of my filter.

So I just got a scare. I was seeding my 10 gallon QT tank from my main tank with pond and MTS trying to get larger populations and as I'm watching my pond snails cruise around the glass I noticed these tiny white fuzz like hairs all over the inside of the glass. At first I thought I was seeing things or this was an algae, but now I wonder if its not the hydra you were talking about. Are hydra free floating, or do they seem to attach to the walls of the tank? And if so I wonder if my snails will eat them, or be infected by them. Ughhh, just got another shiver!


Hydra- not a snail, still an invert though, neat stuff. Really only a hazard to fry. Nothing seems to eat them, at least they are a sign your water is good and clean. http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/hydra-mature.jpg

Oh and I like how you have it next to the stove. It would be a nasty prank but you could leave that for your wife/girlfriend/sister/mother/buddy.

Edit: Been doing some searching on hydra and came across this post:

I have a 2 gallon killifish tank that had a severe hydra infestation last
year. They were everywhere- even hanging upside down from the duckweed. I
tried heating the water to whatever the recommended hydra killing temperature
is (after removing the fish and about 25 fry that were hiding all over the
place), and although they dissapeared for a while, there were apparently a
few survivors- after about a month, the tank was infested again. I then read
somewhere (the KRIB, I think) that those small pond snails that you sometimes
get on plants eat hydra, and decided to give that a try. Sure enough, the
hydra dissapeared. Of course, this method may result in your tank becoming
infested with snails, but they are much easier to get rid of than hydra.

I'll have to keep an eye on these buggers and see if my few pond snails take care of these guys. I have not noticed these in my main planted tank, but will need to carefully look at the glass to make sure.

Also saw this but can't find any other info:

Isn't there some method using a 9v battery to get rid of Hydra? I'm sure
I've read of controversy over whether it is the electricy or the copper that
kills them. Web search time...

 

[hc8719]

limpets look cool, are they snails?

 

[7Enigma]

Just wanted to update on my possible hydra issue in my QT tank. So I was watching my snails cruise around the tank this morning (yes my wife has now completely lost all hope that I have any sanity left ) and what do I see put 3 of the snails that I was watching had these hydra on them. 2 looked to be on the shell, and one seemed to be on the foot of the snail. They were all writhing back and forth (like if you've ever seen a movie of a hookworm moving into its host 8O ). But it didn't seem to be bothering the snails at all. I still cannot tell whether they are eating the hydra or not. I've seen a couple snails go directly over a hydra and it is still there when it passes by, but I don't know if the snails are too small to eat the hydra, or if they have better food available and are being picky?

I'll see if I can snap a pick of a snail with a hydra on it, but its going to be tough...