Flatworms?! and other ailments!

[leanne]

Hi guys!

Few questions: Firstly I appear to have some flatworms in my tank. Very small brownish/olive green, but usually only appear when food is around, otherwise not seen. Now as far as I know flatworms can be parasites, so will they eventually harm my axies? I hope not. There isn't like an infestation but enough. They don't seem to affect my axie though. They generally don't leave any debris from their feeds 'cos they tend to eat the whole lot in a few gulps! I use a siphon to clean my gravel, but maybe I need to do more? I also have live plants, which snails suddenly appeared from once however these are no more as my axie ate them!

Also I have gravel in my tank, which both have been seen eating by accident with their food, however I don't think they ever swallow it, as it is quite big and they always spit it straight out. However, do you guys think it is necessary to change to sand and if so what type of sand and how should I intigrate it, as I also have an under-gravel filter and would this not just end up clogging with sand?

I don't think it's a major problem, but my yonger axie seems to have a little pot-belly that drags on the floor, but she is still able to use her legs just fine. I've reduced her feeds to every other day and taken away her treats of mealworms and crickets as I fear they may have fattened her. It has reduced slightly but 'she' (at least thats what I hope cos I wish to breed her with my male!) is still round around the belly! Usually very very active (both are) in the evenings though.

Also both sometimes sit with their tails 'in the air', sticking bolt upright almost in the water and she also sometimes does the exact opposite (sitting on her tail with her head facing upwards). This does not seem to affect them at all, but is it normal?

Is it normal for gills to change colours slightly? Say from a pale pink (leucistic axie) to a bright red at times? Have I got it right from other threads that this is sometimes to do with differences in water temperatue?

Sorry for the essay, but I just finally got round to getting on here!

Any help would be grateful asap!

Leanne

 

[leanne]

Btw it should be noted that neither of the axies are showing any signs of actually being ill. Both seem in perfect health and still eat and no signs of stress.

 

[joan]

The flatworms you mention sound like planaria. These are not harmful. They eat (as you speculated) the uneaten food/waste in your tank. Some more siphoning, more frequently should take care of that.

From your picture, your gravel size is a recipe for disaster. This is the perfect size to cause impactions, which can be deadly.

Some people remove half the gravel and replace it with sand, and do the other half a week later, or two weeks. This keeps the biological filter intact.

You're right in that sand is not normally compatible with an undergravel filter. But in my opinion, an undergravel filter is a waste of money. Unless you have a large powerhead on the filter, the waste just remains under the filter plates. If you DO have a large powerhead to suck up the waste, you will be stressing your axolotls.

I've heard of some people wrapping a undergravel plate in old pantyhose and using sand ontop of that. I've never tried. But you'd still have to siphon the sand regularly.

The potbelly is probably due to overfeeding. Mind you, crickets and mealworms are both high in chitin (which makes up their exoskeleton) and can cause impaction as well. I suggest switching to soft-bodied insects/larvae/worms instead.

 

[leanne]

Hey Joan,
Thanks for your reply. I've now changed over to sand, taken out the under gravel filter and replaced with a small filter and bubble bar (only on a couple of hours a day), given up with mealworms and crickets and changed to river shrimp which they seem to love and both seem a great deal happier. Not as manic either. Seems to have calmed them down a lot.
Thanks so much for your help,

Leanne

P.S. Touch wood the flatworms have gone too!

 

[joan]

Sounds good. Glad to hear it helped.