Planaria or parasite? (now with pics!)

[lmw80]

After feeding my fish yesterday I noticed these tiny, very thin, round (not flat), almost clear worms on the understide of my glass lid. Some were long, some were short. I thought at first it was a parasite of some kind, a couple of my fish were breathing rapidly. Unfortunately my internet was down last night and I couldn't research. I am doing some research today and I think it might be planaria, but I can find no pictures that are not like magnified a million times. Does anyone have any pictures of what planaria actually looks like?

When I get home today I will test my ammonia and other levels to make sure there isn't some major change in them. I did not notice any of the worms on my fish, but they are so small it;s hard to tell. The other day I noticed one of my danios rubbing against the flowerpot and leaves flashing, but none of the other fish were showing any signs of anything. I have kept an eye on him, and he seems fine now.

I do hate to admit that I was packing last week for my move and skipped my weekly water change which I will do tonight. I have read that planaria usually show up when there is an overabundance of food - I only feed my fish once a day and 1-2x a week I skip feeding. Maybe I should keep a closer eye on how much I put in during one feeding....

I am going to stop at the lfs before I go home tonight, so I can pick up any meds or anything that I will or might need.

Any pictures of planaria, suggestions on what might be happening and any info would be helpful.

 

[FawnN]

Hi Lori,

I had the same problem just recently and like you, I only feed my fish once a day, but I was a little behind in my water change on this particular tank. The first time I actually noticed it was when I started feeding them frozen brine shrimp, so that is why I knew they where planaria.

At first I thought my eyes where playing tricks on me until I came up close to the glass and saw the white stuff was moving on the glass. It is impossible to take a picture to show their actual size, because they are too small.

If what you have is Planaria (which sounds like it to me), then they are harmless to your fish and non-parasitic, in fact, it looks like my fish are actually coming up to the glass to eat them. I did a 20% water change and didn't feed my fish for a day and now they seem to be gone. HTH

 

[Lil'Fishy]

is this too much of a close up?

http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~cabotsch/bulloughs/invertebrates/worms/flatworm.html

 

[lmw80]

well, it's the best I have seen so far. Thanks!

 

[lmw80]

I took some pictures last night - didn't think they came out, but three did (gotta click on the pics to make them larger):