Removing Cyclops Copepod And Planaria

[djs]

Hi all,

I've had my tank running for over 2 weeks.

There's also been 4 plants in there for almost the same amount of time.

Now I've never seen any of these before, until 2 days ago. I added 2 sunset platy's the other day. I'm not saying they came from the Platys though.

After I had added the 2 platys, I noticed 6 snails! Now I can only see 1, i think the blighters have got in the filter!! They had better not be laying eggs!

This morning I checked my tank, and there are loads of microscopic white worms on the glass! Some of them are floating in the water. I've used a magnet cleaner to try and "squash" them (lol)

And I also noticed 1 little Cyclops Copepod!

I've read that these come from too much food (ammonia). I put some pellets in the tank when i first got it, to "get it going". But they didn't dissolve, so they sat in the tank for a few days, going mouldy.


Does anyone know how I can get rid of them?
Do I need to do water changes every day? Or is there an easier way?

ps. I'm not over feeding the fish.

 

[Bobtastic]

Can I ask if you cycled the tank b4 you added the fish?

Also most ppl like to have a look at your water stats (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH) b4 giving any solid advice.

 

[djs]

Can I ask if you cycled the tank b4 you added the fish?

Also most ppl like to have a look at your water stats (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH) b4 giving any solid advice.

Hi,

When I got the tank I managed to get a peice of matured filter media to help my filter.
I did some water changes. Added some fish food to spike the water.
After 2 weeks I had the water tested. From what I can remember most of it was fine. But the ammonia was a little high, so I did a 50% water change.

Then just before I put the fish in, i did another partial water change.

pH level is 7.8 which is fine for platy's.

I've checked the tank again just now, and a fair amount of planaria appear to have disappeared somewhere. Either in the filter, or theyve been eaten.
I'm trying to limit what I feed the fish, as i don't want wasted food in the tank

 

[Bobtastic]

Humm... u'll probably get advised to get yourself a "reliable" water testing kit so that you can keep an eye on the stats. API and Nutrafin Master Test kits are very popular.

Ammonia and Nitrites are toxic to fish (even the hardier ones) so u have to check them regularly to make sure that the don't get too high.

I must admit that I too have notice a number of snails appearing in my tank. I can only assume there were eggs on the plants or in the substrate...

I believe the only think u can do to get rid of them is to take them out as u see them or remove and boil/clean everything in the tank! I think when I setup my next tank I'm gonna boil the substrate b4 I put it in, even tho it's not recommended on the packaging...

 

[djs]

Thanks for the reply.

I've noticed 1 other little insect thing. Looks like a stick insect with a fork tail.
But the fish actually seem to be eating the planaria as most of them have gone. I saw one get eaten earlier.

I figure that if I cut down on feeding the fish, then the snails/planaria can't eat leftovers. And then the fish will hopefully eat the planaria!

So hopefull it will sort itself out. I don't mind the odd few. I just didn't want a tank full of planaria!!

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, there are any number of strange temporary things that happen in new tanks, like planaria, but the usually all pass pretty quickly and are not much of a concern.

Of much bigger concern is that Bob is right, you are not cycled if its only been two weeks, so it will be very important to study our info on being in a "Fish-In Cycling Situation", somewhere in the Beginners Resource Center and then ask questions. Filters are not really functional prior to being cycled, so manual water changes will be essential for your fish to survive.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Bobtastic]

Of much bigger concern is that Bob is right

How is that I'm right the biggest concern?!