Help For Newbie - Two Issues In A Day!

[belladonna80]

Hello All,

I'm very new to owning an aquarium and things have been going very well until about 3weeks ago. Today I have found snails and worms in my tank and after spending all afternoon on the net could do with some good advice so I've registered on here.

So here's the history:

I have a 64Litre tank that has been running approx 3/4 months. I have three fake plants of medium size, one rock formation, a fluval filter and the temp is 25 degrees.
I started the tank after water tests showed the water was "spot on" according to my LFS.
I had two red honey Gouramis and they did fine. I then added 2 weeks later 5 neon tetra. Within four days I noticed brown spots on my white gravel and some small green spots on the rock formation. Spoke to my LFS and he said to turn off the lights (had them on too much) and it should be fine. We did a water test at that time and suddenly my PH levels were off the scale 7.6+ I think from memory?. I bought two plants from the shop to help at this time. I also did a two day blackout on the tank with the towel wrapped round it to help.

So for the last two weeks i have been religiously taking in water samples to the shop to see if my levels have improved. Have had the tap water tested which came back as ideal so did a partial water change last wednesday (about 20%). I also started feeding every other day as from last week.

Today I have been off work and whilst looking at my tank in the afternoon noticed something black moving quite quickly round the bottom of the tank... got a net and got it out..... it was a tiny snail about 1cm. Begin a hunt and found only one more. Phoned the LFS and he said.. "oh, its probably from those plants you should have bathed them first.... thanks for telling me!!

My partner went down to the shop and was sold some drops to kill the snails off (3 day treatment program)

Then tonight whilst looking at the tank again, I spot two tiny worms wiggly in the water. I've youtubed this and its looks like a nematode.

For further info, my partner also took a water sample down again today and the readings cam back as follows:

pH acidity = 7.3
NH4 Ammonium = 0.3 mg/l
NO2 nitrite = 0.1mg/l

I'm told these readings are extremely high and the fish should be very ill. I can only say they are very active, extremely happy looking, fins are up and their playing in the filter stream as normal. No change in behaviour at all.

Sorry for such a long post, but any help on the PH and ammonia levels, snails or worms would be much appreciated..... I felt really bad about the water levels but now with the snails and worms I feel even worse.

If you have any more q's please ask,
Thanks in advance

 

[5teady_2012]

The white worms will more than likely be planaria, u are over feeding the tank and you need to do more water changes, a 30% water change should be carried out weekly and if you have got gravel, You need to be doing a gravel vac on it once per month.

Your best bet would be to do a gravel vac asap, and a big water change (70%)... and for the next week or so, do a water change of 25% every other day, this will help your problem and also bring your ammonia and nitrite levels back stable.

 

[juggernuts]

Hello All,

I'm very new to owning an aquarium and things have been going very well until about 3weeks ago. Today I have found snails and worms in my tank and after spending all afternoon on the net could do with some good advice so I've registered on here.

So here's the history:

I have a 64Litre tank that has been running approx 3/4 months. I have three fake plants of medium size, one rock formation, a fluval filter and the temp is 25 degrees.
I started the tank after water tests showed the water was "spot on" according to my LFS.
I had two red honey Gouramis and they did fine. I then added 2 weeks later 5 neon tetra. Within four days I noticed brown spots on my white gravel and some small green spots on the rock formation. Spoke to my LFS and he said to turn off the lights (had them on too much) and it should be fine. We did a water test at that time and suddenly my PH levels were off the scale 7.6+ I think from memory?. I bought two plants from the shop to help at this time. I also did a two day blackout on the tank with the towel wrapped round it to help.

So for the last two weeks i have been religiously taking in water samples to the shop to see if my levels have improved. Have had the tap water tested which came back as ideal so did a partial water change last wednesday (about 20%). I also started feeding every other day as from last week.

Today I have been off work and whilst looking at my tank in the afternoon noticed something black moving quite quickly round the bottom of the tank... got a net and got it out..... it was a tiny snail about 1cm. Begin a hunt and found only one more. Phoned the LFS and he said.. "oh, its probably from those plants you should have bathed them first.... thanks for telling me!!

My partner went down to the shop and was sold some drops to kill the snails off (3 day treatment program)

Then tonight whilst looking at the tank again, I spot two tiny worms wiggly in the water. I've youtubed this and its looks like a nematode.

For further info, my partner also took a water sample down again today and the readings cam back as follows:

pH acidity = 7.3
NH4 Ammonium = 0.3 mg/l
NO2 nitrite = 0.1mg/l

I'm told these readings are extremely high and the fish should be very ill. I can only say they are very active, extremely happy looking, fins are up and their playing in the filter stream as normal. No change in behaviour at all.

Sorry for such a long post, but any help on the PH and ammonia levels, snails or worms would be much appreciated..... I felt really bad about the water levels but now with the snails and worms I feel even worse.

If you have any more q's please ask,
Thanks in advance

Id say yeah first of all your PH maybe 'slightly' high and i use that sparingly as mine is also about that so really, i wouldnt worry about that too much. Most fish aquarium fish will be able to stand this especially seen as though they are gourami and neon which are pretty hardy in my expirience.

the ammonia in my opinion is probably due to you feeding and not removing the excess. Do you have a gravel vacuum to siphon the excess waste from the gravel? if not then even with a good filter this will not be taken from the tank and cause ammonia levels, along with nitrate and nitrite, levels to rise over time.

In my opinion the snails can easily be sorted both chemically which you have used but a lovely pair of fish i have are Botia Striata if you could get a pair of these they would sort that problem straight out as they love munching on those pesky snails. ( I had a HUGE and i mean huge outbreak of snails in my 260ltr but these guys got the job done in a matter of days)

Erm if these fish are not what your looking for stick with your treatment and just try and keep an eye out for any eggs lying about, look like tiny tiny frog spawn with white dots. As for the worms ive read that a plec may be, but be carefull with the lfs an try maybe a bristlenose as they will not grow too huge for your tank hope i helped!!

 

[belladonna80]

The white worms will more than likely be planaria, u are over feeding the tank and you need to do more water changes, a 30% water change should be carried out weekly and if you have got gravel, You need to be doing a gravel vac on it once per month.

Your best bet would be to do a gravel vac asap, and a big water change (70%)... and for the next week or so, do a water change of 25% every other day, this will help your problem and also bring your ammonia and nitrite levels back stable.

Hi,
Thanks for the post. I have a couple of q's.

Should I do the water change whilst in the 3 day treatment for the snails?
I have seen recommendations for a 3-4 day no feeding at all to kill off the planaria..... what do you think?

 

[belladonna80]

[/quote]
Id say yeah first of all your PH maybe 'slightly' high and i use that sparingly as mine is also about that so really, i wouldnt worry about that too much. Most fish aquarium fish will be able to stand this especially seen as though they are gourami and neon which are pretty hardy in my expirience.

the ammonia in my opinion is probably due to you feeding and not removing the excess. Do you have a gravel vacuum to siphon the excess waste from the gravel? if not then even with a good filter this will not be taken from the tank and cause ammonia levels, along with nitrate and nitrite, levels to rise over time.

In my opinion the snails can easily be sorted both chemically which you have used but a lovely pair of fish i have are Botia Striata if you could get a pair of these they would sort that problem straight out as they love munching on those pesky snails. ( I had a HUGE and i mean huge outbreak of snails in my 260ltr but these guys got the job done in a matter of days)

Erm if these fish are not what your looking for stick with your treatment and just try and keep an eye out for any eggs lying about, look like tiny tiny frog spawn with white dots. As for the worms ive read that a plec may be, but be carefull with the lfs an try maybe a bristlenose as they will not grow too huge for your tank hope i helped!!
[/quote]


Thanks for your post, its much appreciated. I have a gravel syphon which i use when doing the water change so i will focus on doing that. It takes the water out of the tank very quickly so I was being cautious when using it. I have posted a couple more questions in my thread which I'd love your opinion on....

 

[5teady_2012]

The white worms will more than likely be planaria, u are over feeding the tank and you need to do more water changes, a 30% water change should be carried out weekly and if you have got gravel, You need to be doing a gravel vac on it once per month.

Your best bet would be to do a gravel vac asap, and a big water change (70%)... and for the next week or so, do a water change of 25% every other day, this will help your problem and also bring your ammonia and nitrite levels back stable.

Hi,
Thanks for the post. I have a couple of q's.

Should I do the water change whilst in the 3 day treatment for the snails?
I have seen recommendations for a 3-4 day no feeding at all to kill off the planaria..... what do you think?

If your ammonia and nitrite is not at 0, then yes do the waterchanges, after all thats more important than a few snails, once you got the levels stable, and the planaria gone, then id concentrate on the snails, this is just a persoanl way id do it but thats what i wouls recommend u to do.

Seems to me like you have just been overfeeding the tank thats all, cut back on that, more waterchanges til stable, and you will be fine

 

[belladonna80]

The white worms will more than likely be planaria, u are over feeding the tank and you need to do more water changes, a 30% water change should be carried out weekly and if you have got gravel, You need to be doing a gravel vac on it once per month.

Your best bet would be to do a gravel vac asap, and a big water change (70%)... and for the next week or so, do a water change of 25% every other day, this will help your problem and also bring your ammonia and nitrite levels back stable.

Hi,
Thanks for the post. I have a couple of q's.

Should I do the water change whilst in the 3 day treatment for the snails?
I have seen recommendations for a 3-4 day no feeding at all to kill off the planaria..... what do you think?

If your ammonia and nitrite is not at 0, then yes do the waterchanges, after all thats more important than a few snails, once you got the levels stable, and the planaria gone, then id concentrate on the snails, this is just a persoanl way id do it but thats what i wouls recommend u to do.

Seems to me like you have just been overfeeding the tank thats all, cut back on that, more waterchanges til stable, and you will be fine

Have you an opinion on the use of aquarium salt to help reduction of planaria? I have seen that also mentioned.
I have done the first mass dose on the snails so what do you think about doing the second and third doses (Fri and Sat) and then a large water change on Mon night? I've been told not to do a water change Fri/Sat/Sun as the local water company put a high amount of chemicals in the water on a friday morning (this came from the LFS). Also, in theory I would scoop up any dead eggs etc from the gravel with the syphon on the Monday

 

[5teady_2012]

Have you an opinion on the use of aquarium salt to help reduction of planaria? I have seen that also mentioned.
I have done the first mass dose on the snails so what do you think about doing the second and third doses (Fri and Sat) and then a large water change on Mon night? I've been told not to do a water change Fri/Sat/Sun as the local water company put a high amount of chemicals in the water on a friday morning (this came from the LFS). Also, in theory I would scoop up any dead eggs etc from the gravel with the syphon on the Monday

You can add aquarium salt to your aquarium up to a maximum of 1 Tablespoon for each 5 gallons of water in your aquarium.
If your not going to do the water changes til monday, i would not feed the tank at all til after the waterchange, and do a 70% change.

If you decide on doing the water change, you could still dose the snails again at half dosage.

Do you know what chemicals they have added? might be a idea to try to contact them and ask direct if its safe to do one.

 

[kaivalagi]

If I were you I would not be concerned with either the snails or planaria, they are most likely totally harmless to your fish - found this good article on them here: http/www.aquarticl...aria_Worms.html

By all accounts the planaria will die off on their own once the tank levels are right again

Some people like snails in their tank, they can help with algae...but if pond snails which can multiple quite quickly you can get rid of them a number of ways without chemicals. For me using chemicals and salt is an absolute last resort, it can have unwanted side effects on the fish depending on the treatment and quantity used. Other ways to get rid of snails are 1) manually remove them along with any eggs on the glass you can find 2) tempt the snails when the lights are out to some lettuce or similar inside an upside down cup placed on the gravel, in the morning you should find snails under the cup, but make sure you check before the lights have gone on.

As mentioned before I would prioritise a big water change (70% or more, as long as the fish can swim that's enough water left over). and decent gravel vac cleaning. Once that has been done monitor your tank levels and do water changes every other day until ammonia or nitrate is firmly at zero. Whilst doing these things try to feed very sparingly, so not to create more ammonia where possible.

Oh, and you aren't replacing filter media as per the manufactured instructions are you? I have to check as that could be another cause of a mini-cycle like this. The media in the filter ought to be left alone for the most part IME, if you need to clean it do so in syphoned off tank water once in a while (every month max)

Hope that helps

 

[belladonna80]

If I were you I would not be concerned with either the snails or planaria, they are most likely totally harmless to your fish - found this good article on them here: http/www.aquarticl...aria_Worms.html

By all accounts the planaria will die off on their own once the tank levels are right again

Some people like snails in their tank, they can help with algae...but if pond snails which can multiple quite quickly you can get rid of them a number of ways without chemicals. For me using chemicals and salt is an absolute last resort, it can have unwanted side effects on the fish depending on the treatment and quantity used. Other ways to get rid of snails are 1) manually remove them along with any eggs on the glass you can find 2) tempt the snails when the lights are out to some lettuce or similar inside an upside down cup placed on the gravel, in the morning you should find snails under the cup, but make sure you check before the lights have gone on.

As mentioned before I would prioritise a big water change (70% or more, as long as the fish can swim that's enough water left over). and decent gravel vac cleaning. Once that has been done monitor your tank levels and do water changes every other day until ammonia or nitrate is firmly at zero. Whilst doing these things try to feed very sparingly, so not to create more ammonia where possible.

Oh, and you aren't replacing filter media as per the manufactured instructions are you? I have to check as that could be another cause of a mini-cycle like this. The media in the filter ought to be left alone for the most part IME, if you need to clean it do so in syphoned off tank water once in a while (every month max)

Hope that helps

Thank you for your post. I had read that article and found it useful too. I havn't changed the filter media, other than to clean it once since the tank was set up. I feel you are all telling me that the water change is the most crucial so I will look to speak to the water company and see if I can do one earlier than Monday. I last fed them yesterday so I won't feed again now till I have completed the water change. If it is Monday will they be ok till then?

 

[belladonna80]

Sorry, just thought of another question...... will reducing the ammonia level natural kill of the planaria?

 

[kaivalagi]

Sorry, just thought of another question...... will reducing the ammonia level natural kill of the planaria?

From the article I posted:

These particular worms are, at times, a problem. How do they manifest? They usually become visible when
1. An aquarist has overfed his/her fish.
2. The aquarium gravel is not hoovered accordingly.
3. Aquarium ammonia levels have risen.
If present in small numbers Planaria can be dealt with by eliminating the above, but when larger numbers are involved they become a problem.

As far as the water company thing, if it's safe to drink then using de-chlorinator (with chloramine treatment which most have) should make it safe for your fish. I have never heard of advice like this before, not sure whether there is much truth in it to be honest....LFS staff can talk through their backsides, I haven't found a LFS yet that gives advice purely on the truth rather than spin to sell...I just don't trust what they say full stop.

 

[joe 81]

the green spots are probably just algae, and the brown could be brown algae, snail will not doo any harm, but neither will killing them that ph reading is ok, my ph is normaly around 8+

 

[belladonna80]

the green spots are probably just algae, and the brown could be brown algae, snail will not doo any harm, but neither will killing them that ph reading is ok, my ph is normaly around 8+

Hi,
ok so update.
I have done a full water change at the weekend. A full clean down, stored the filter in existing tank water. Scrubbed the tank and boiled the gravel and plants.
Fish have been looking fine, no side affects of the upheaval.
I've come home tonight and noticed once again tiny white flecks on the side of the tank, like a couple of mm in length. then I noticed about five of these white things moving about on the glass on the inside of the tank.
I didnt finish the snail treatment.... could these be the start of the snails??
Thanks for your help, I'll try and get a photo