# Would Paleomonetes (Ghost Shrimp) eat Planaria?



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

I've noticed that several people say that the Paleomonetes type of shrimp (ghost shrimp) will eat crushed snails, so I'm wondering if I should transfer a very large ghost shrimp into a tank in which I've noticed planaria. The usual advice would be to cut back on the fish food, but since this is an El Natural tank, the fish are usually fed a bit more liberally. 

Would the ghost shrimp eat the planaria? And, more importantly, would the planaria have any detrimental effect on Cherry Red shrimp, which I plan on moving into this tank?

Thanks,
Jane


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## bigtroutz (Nov 17, 2006)

Many planaria species are carnivorous and commonly eat crustaceans and insects. Some species of planaria are used for mosquito control. I would expect them to eat some CRS offspring for sure. The same applies to FW leeeches, BTW, as most are invertebrate predators.

I doubt one ghost shrimp would have much impact on an established planaria population.

IMO, dose the tank with an anti-helminth treatment like this before adding the CRS and lose the planaria. Any good quality 'wormer' should work. You can often pick them up at your local farm supply store.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I have some planaria worm species in my shrimp tank (more and more each day) that look like the picture below.  But anyways, I haven't seem them attack or noticed any dead shrimp in my tank because of them. And since their worm population seems to be increasing with my cherry and crystal red population, I'm guessing the shrimp aren't "attacking" or eating any of the worms to reduce their population by any means.










They do pick on the snails I crush for them. They also go bananas over little frozen bloodworms. But I guess because the worms are dead, then that's why the shrimp eat them instead of the planaria.

-John N.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Yikes!

Hmmm, as I run an "El Natural" setup, I'll have to research more about that chemical before I introduce it.

In the mean time, perhaps I'll send in the Sparkling Gourami - he's a great little hunter! If not the ghost shrimp, perhaps he'll clean them up!

I'm thinking I should get rid of all the planaria, if possible, to be safe.

Geez, and I'm glad you mentioned that about leeches - I just noticed leeches on the bag of plants from a club meeting, so I'm probably going to dip those very thoroughly before introducing them to any of my tanks. 


Wow, thanks for the replies!
-Jane


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## bigtroutz (Nov 17, 2006)

You are welcome. I found the link to that calculator at loaches on-line. If loaches can take it, then most other fish should be fine.

I read that another good full spectrum anti-parasite medicine for fish is Fenbendazole.

Both can be found even at places like Walmart, designed to be used for farm animals or pets.

Either would be handy to have around for your fish since so many wild caught species come with nematodes and flukes. You might consider worming all dicey-looking new additions to the quarantine tank even.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Yes, that's a good point about the loaches. 

Perhaps I should look into it, especially as the fish in that tank are wild caught danios, and I'm thinking about getting some more as I'd like to try breeding them. 

Thanks!
-Jane


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

I have some pretty big (1/4" long) planaria in my Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS) tank and I'm wondering how big of an impact they have on the RCS population. I haven't noticed any baby RCS since I got them about 2 months ago, despite several pregnant females. Could the planaria be eating all the babies?

If so, how can I treat the tank? Using an anti-parasite medicine would probably kill the shrimp, and adding a fish would get all the babies eaten for sure. Are there any other options? I barely feed the tank.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Hi DJK,

well, if you don't have any RCS babies for the moment, perhaps a temporary fish resident would help. 

I'm not sure how worm-specific that medicine mentioned is, as I'm just learning about it myself. 

Would it be possible to remove the shrimp for a period of time while you get rid of the planaria?

Hmmm, now I'm out of ideas.
-Jane

PS - Monday 18th is the BAS Holiday Party & Buck A Bag auction, at the Boston Aquarium - are you going?


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## bigtroutz (Nov 17, 2006)

I did a bit of research on the web concerning Levamisole Hydrochloride toxicity to crustaceans like shrimp. 

One reference I found mentioned LD50 (50% died) toxicity in daphnia at 60 mg/Liter.

Since the recomended dosage is 2 - 6 mg/L , it seems a good possibility that most shrimp would survive, although these things can be pretty species specific.

Levamisole Hydrochloride is best used in acidic conditions (it degrades at a pH of 7 or higher) but I found one loach keeper who used a 2.4 mg/L dosage to eliminate planaria from a tank with a pH of 7.6 It is probably a good idea to repeat the treatment a week or two after the initial dosing to catch any planaria newly hatched from eggs or which were deeply buried in the substrate.

I would suggest you isolate a few or one shrimp in a test container and experiment with the dosage you plan to use in the tank to see what effect it has.

Levamisole Hydrochloride is apparently not toxic to humans, fish, insects or snails even when a considerable overdose is applied. 60 mg/L is a MASSIVE overdose. They never test the toxicity with all ~one million species on earth, so no guarantees  

You can use the dosage calculator linked in my earlier post to avoid an overdose.

Hope this helps.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Thanks for the information!

That's also one of the ingredients in the de-wormer recipe, too I think.

-Jane


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## Ibn (Oct 20, 2004)

Yes, levamisole and the other medication is generally used for deworming purposes. Levamisole is effective against large roundworms, nodular worms, lung worms and intestinal threadworms. Fenbendazole is used for the removal and control of stomach worms.

Other medication used for deworming includes Praziquantel and Metronidzole. Never used any of the above for flatworms/planarias myself.


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Arg! I missed the BAS anniversary meeting Jane, I always come home from work and just forget. Oh well, maybe next month.

Anyway, I've had some progress with my planaria. I stopped feeding the shrimp tank entirely for about 2 weeks now, and I can't see any planaria anymore. Even the tiny amount I was feeding the shrimp was leaving leftovers to feed the planaria, and the shrimp seem fine.


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