Field report on the control of planaria
Over the course of four years, unsuccessful attempts were made to combat the worms shown in a 100 liter aquarium.
There have been a number of unusual deaths over the four years, although it is not clear whether they were actually due to these worms.
Deaths during the worm plague
- Young females died before and after pregnancy and after giving birth. Young females were also affected, as age-related death could not always be the cause.
- Males quickly became emaciated and died.
- For no apparent reason, some fish dived to the bottom like a top and died a short time later.
- Juvenile fish dived for no apparent reason, spinning suddenly and dying minutes later when they reached a body length of about 1.5 cm.
The symptoms closely resembled poisoning. However, the aquarium water was not contaminated by medication, nor were pollutants detectable or water values in harmful areas. Shrimp were never affected, only the fish. Externally, no clinical picture could be determined. Decorative items have not been used by the owner for many years as they could contain toxins.
Only the worm plague was recognizable.
Even the precautionary filtering with carbon could not end the deaths. On average, four small fish per week and two females per month died in this way.
In order to be able to observe the fish better, the fish stock was divided up on an experimental basis. Fish continued to die in a quarantine tank with no substrate and no plants. The worms also appeared there.
On the advice of several pet shops and breeders, the following remedies have been used, among others:
- nematole
- tremazole
- protazole
- flagellol
- Mycopur
- Aradol
- Gastrobac
- ESHA2000
The fact that some of the remedies against worms would probably not help was consciously accepted. Even a double and triple dosage on the advice of a breeder was unsuccessful. Agents containing copper were only used in the quarantine tank where the worms also appeared.
Based on the pictures and the information that the same worms can be seen in practically all pet shops, drta-archiv expressed the suspicion that it could be one of the many planarian species.
Concurat with the active ingredient levamisole was recommended as a radical remedy against worms, but it should only be used if there is a real need. The suspicion of planaria was confirmed by an inquiry from the aquarium owner to the Sera company, which also suspected planaria, but did not rule out leeches. Total cleaning of the aquarium and replacement of the decoration was recommended against leeches. For treatment against planarians, a remedy containing substances from the benzimidazole group was recommended. Because both agents with levamisole and agents with benzimidazole require a prescription, a veterinarian was consulted. The vet seemed aware of the problem and immediately recommended Panacur 10% Suspension. Panacur contains the active substance fenbendazole, which belongs to the group of benzimidazoles, as recommended by Sera.
Two treatments (see treatment instructions) with an effective time of 10 days each with 30 mg of the active ingredient fenbendazole in 100 liters of water were recommended.
1ml 10suspension used.
There should be a break of 3 weeks between the two treatments.
Treatment instructions:
- 80% water change, if possible without adding treatment agents. With existing copper pipes, it is sufficient to turn on the tap for a few minutes and let the water run. If there is chlorine in the water, run the water into a bucket with a strong spray, or leave the water in flat containers for 3 to 4 days to allow the chlorine to escape.
- Definitely use an oxygen stone. During treatment, large numbers of worms die off, which rot in the aquarium, partly in the ground.
- One-off dosage for 10 days: 30mg active ingredient fenbendazole in 100L AQ water.
- On the 11th day, you can start with a 50% water change.
- Then every 3 to 5 days again 50% water change.
Effects of the 1st treatment
- Day 0: Nothing special.
- Day 1: shock, discs full of worms. Some are 1.5cm long.
- Day 2: Still all too plastered with worms. Fish no longer gasp for air. Fish and shrimp are no longer hiding.
- Day 3: The number of worms is reduced somewhat. The long worms are gone.
- Day 4: Something is really happening. Only a few, very small planarians of only 2mm in size can be seen.
- Day 5: Worms are no longer visible, even with a magnifying glass. The fish are very active, no longer hiding and breathing has become much calmer. The same with the shrimp, they are now wandering around the aquarium and fighting over food.
The second treatment 3 weeks after the first treatment is intended to kill newly hatched planaria from eggs, because active substances do not have a safe effect on the larvae in the eggs. The second treatment is carried out in exactly the same way as the first treatment. 2 to 3 weeks after the second treatment, you can start filtering over activated carbon to remove drug residues from the aquarium.
Effects of the 2nd treatment
- Since the start of treatment, no new fish losses.
- A pre-filter sponge has decomposed and contracted, see photos. No more water flowed through. A suction was not possible. There was a lack of oxygen in the aquarium, so that all the fish and shrimp gasped to the surface of the water. The filter sponge was kneadable like rubber and could be formed into a sticky ball.
- A sponge has also decomposed in the external filter. This led to a second lack of oxygen. One shrimp did not molt during this time.
- Skinning shrimp takes a long time with Panacur. A moult lasted approximately 24 hours. So don’t consider shrimp dead too soon. Possibly Panacur reduces the activity.
The blue sponges that were in the external filter were not affected by the decomposition. Reactions occur between fenbendazole and plastics. Depending on the type of plastic and material structure, the reaction varies in intensity. Filter sponges, pipes, hoses, pump housings, silicone, etc. can be affected.
Plants also absorb some of the substance. Another part dissipates over time. according to a chemist, about 25% to 50% in 5 days. 5% to 10% per day.
A dosage that takes these effects into account could look like this:
- Day 0 à water change + Panacur.
- Day 6 50% replenishment.
- Day 12 water changes.
- Day 15 water changes.
- Day 18 à water change + Panacur.
- Day 24 50% replenishment.
- Day 30 water changes.
- Day 33 water change + carbon filter.
Effects of treatment on snails cannot be reported. The owner does not like snails and therefore has no snails in the aquarium.
Treatment tips:
- Turn off the UV filter.
- Clean dirty filters beforehand.
- Turn off the CO2 supply.
- Do not filter over charcoal.
- Remove all black foam from the filter and aquarium. Use filter fleece or white or blue foam as a replacement.
- Filters must be treated with.
- The water content of external filters must be taken into account when dosing.
- During the treatment, keep the water level a little higher than usual, as planarians can also be there. Also take into account the additional amount of water when dosing.
- Very important : Provide sufficient oxygen supply, as the dying worms will rot.
- Store used items such as nets, hoses, brushes, buckets, etc. in a dry place for one to two months. Cellars are usually too damp.
- Shake Panacur well before use as it is viscous and may settle.
- 1 ml disposable syringes are best for dosing small amounts of the agent. Alternatively, the agent can be diluted with distilled water in a ratio of 1:3. In a disposable syringe, four graduations can be measured for each 0.1 ml graduation.
40 days after the start of the treatments, 2 planarians were seen again. It is likely that some larvae, protected in eggs, survived the treatments. This is in line with some reports that it took up to 4 treatments for the planarians to go away forever.
It wasn’t until several months later that the planarians seemed to have finally disappeared.
The owner actually wanted to give up the aquaristic in frustration. However, because nobody wanted the fish and shrimp given away, probably because nobody wanted to bring in the planarian disease, Spirohexol Plus and Gryrodol Plus were used.
The hope was that the planarians would be poisoned or starved by these agents. Perhaps the drugs could also kill the planarians or a possible host.
After the use of these two agents, no direct effect could be seen, unlike, for example, treatment with Panacur. It is therefore not known which of the remedies ultimately worked. However, a few weeks after the treatments with Spirohexol Plus and Gryrodol Plus, almost no planarians were found. 4 weeks later planarians were hard to find. About 6 months later, the tank itself was free of planaria in the bottom. Planarians were not seen either after the soil had been stirred up by moving plants, or in water samples from suctioned soil.
Unfortunately, all the shrimp had also died.