Question: Copepods and planaria... HELP!!!

[hacelepues]

I was teasing Bowie, making him chase my fingers around and such, when I looked at the glass and saw little white things jumping and sliding around on it!!!
I've identified the culprits, and I think they might have taken advantage of the 4 days I was away? I came back on Monday and did a big clean and didn't notice them until now. Where did they come from?

I have 2 questions.
1. Are this guys harmful to my lotls? I'm very concerned now!
2. How do I get rid of them? I'm moving on the 15th so I'll be almost emptying the tank asides from maybe an inch or two of water (I don't want to loose my cycle), and was thinking that would be a good time for me to do whatever I need to get rid of them, unless it's urgent (like bad for my cycle or my axies) and I need to take action now. Or is there something small I can do now and then take the big action before I put my axies back in the tank?

Please help, I'm freaking out!

 

[lea]

As far as I understand(and that isnt much) they wont harm your axies. They might annoy them tho. Water changes will help get rid of them(I think). Make sure your tank has all uneaten food and poop removed.

 

[carsona246]

will cause no harm whatsovever. However whenever my tank gets a ton of planaria it's usually a sign that something in my tank is off. I'd check your water parameters. Water changes and limiting your feeding will help get rid of them, but if you're water is fine they won't hurt anything

 

[blackdog]

They both occur naturally and will not harm the axies.

Lots of planaria indicate there is too much waste being left behind.

You can buy a product called "No Planaria" (google it) its a betel nut extract and used by shrimp keepers. It is very effective. However, if you are not cleaning the tank enough, theyll be back, especialy if you dont clean up all the bodys of the ones you just killed out of the sand

i saw planaria start to build up in my axie tank - i cleaned more often and thoroughly, and they tapered off in numbers. I wanted to put shrimp in my axie tank (planaria kill shrimp) so i dosed the tank with "No Planaria" after some research about how it might effect the axies.

No ill effects on the axies, and no more planaria in the tank

First step - decide how much they bother you, because they do actually serve a purpose (clean up crew)

Second - if they still bother you, up your cleaning regime. Lots of sand vacuuming

Third - if that doesnt cut them down and they still bother, dose the tank with "No planaria"

Bren

 

[blackdog]

Oh, and as far as i know copepods do no harm whatsoever, more waste eaters, and will occur naturally in every healthy tank. In fact, my understanding is they probably indicate a good healthy ecosystem, so take heart

And if you look really closely at them they are kinda cool in an alien kinda way

 

[hacelepues]

They both occur naturally and will not harm the axies.

Lots of planaria indicate there is too much waste being left behind.

You can buy a product called "No Planaria" (google it) its a betel nut extract and used by shrimp keepers. It is very effective. However, if you are not cleaning the tank enough, theyll be back, especialy if you dont clean up all the bodys of the ones you just killed out of the sand

i saw planaria start to build up in my axie tank - i cleaned more often and thoroughly, and they tapered off in numbers. I wanted to put shrimp in my axie tank (planaria kill shrimp) so i dosed the tank with "No Planaria" after some research about how it might effect the axies.

No ill effects on the axies, and no more planaria in the tank

First step - decide how much they bother you, because they do actually serve a purpose (clean up crew)

Second - if they still bother you, up your cleaning regime. Lots of sand vacuuming

Third - if that doesnt cut them down and they still bother, dose the tank with "No planaria"

Bren

Yeah, I do 20% water changes weekly, but vacuum up any poo the moment I see it, wall scrub every other day, and mix the sand either every day or every other day.
It must've been while I was gone that the tank got a little dirty. My sister was able to feed and clean on friday, but after that my axies were on their own until I came back on monday. Poor things!
I'll just do a big clean up on my moving day then, and a water change and regular cleaning tonight.
It's just that a week ago I had a nightmare about a giant carnivorous worm in their tank, so now I'm freaking out haha

 

[hacelepues]

Oh, and as far as i know copepods do no harm whatsoever, more waste eaters, and will occur naturally in every healthy tank. In fact, my understanding is they probably indicate a good healthy ecosystem, so take heart

And if you look really closely at them they are kinda cool in an alien kinda way

Well that's good to know.
They are very VERY weird. The way they move is just bizarre.