Question Re: Bacteria And Flatworm

[enmac]

hi all. been using the site for a while to get info. its been a big help

i have a few questions


a friend has an invasion of Planarians in his tank. is there anyway to remove them ? i should point out that he has just completed a fishless cycle, so there are no fish in the tank.

and my question:

can the filter media which has a full colony of bacteria, be frozen to preserve the bacteria ?

any help would be greatly appreciated

iain

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hi all. been using the site for a while to get info. its been a big help

i have a few questions


a friend has an invasion of Planarians in his tank. is there anyway to remove them ? i should point out that he has just completed a fishless cycle, so there are no fish in the tank.

and my question:

can the filter media which has a full colony of bacteria, be frozen to preserve the bacteria ?

any help would be greatly appreciated

iain

i think planaria worms thrive in high ammonia conditions, such as when cycling so it's normal that he's got them. i'm not sure if they just go by themselves thoughor if you need to do something

hmmmm i don't think that would work tbh, you'd have a great business idea on your hands if you could though, mature sponges, store them in your freezer and sell them on. no more cycling for anyone

 

[methodmza_uk]

I wonder if anywhere does sell cycled media. That would be great.

 

[enmac]

hi all. been using the site for a while to get info. its been a big help

i have a few questions


a friend has an invasion of Planarians in his tank. is there anyway to remove them ? i should point out that he has just completed a fishless cycle, so there are no fish in the tank.

and my question:

can the filter media which has a full colony of bacteria, be frozen to preserve the bacteria ?

any help would be greatly appreciated

iain

i think planaria worms thrive in high ammonia conditions, such as when cycling so it's normal that he's got them. i'm not sure if they just go by themselves thoughor if you need to do something

hmmmm i don't think that would work tbh, you'd have a great business idea on your hands if you could though, mature sponges, store them in your freezer and sell them on. no more cycling for anyone

he has been feeding his filter for 4-5 weeks now. the tank is fully cycled, just there a hundreds of these little things in there, very visible on the fron tof the glass. they werent there untill recently, when he planted his aguarium. so im guessing the hitched a ride on some plants

i think i could give up my day job if i could succesfully freeze filter media. would like to know if anyone has had any success in this ( or even tried ) i'll keep searching for any answers.

 

[Glod]

Freezing the bacteria will kill them. Bio-spira is commonly accepted as a "viable" bacteria source if not quite the holy grail it could be, the packaging warns that freezing will destroy the viable bacteria, they need to be kept chilled to extend the shelf life tho.
If someone does manage to bottle the right bacteria in a form that lasts indefinitely they'll set themselves up for a gold mine