parasites in my shrimp tank (pics added)

[arobles34]

I have a 10 gal shrimp tank with cherries and snails. I have noticed tiny worm like creatures and triangular shaped creatures on the tank glass. Does anyone know if they're harmful and how do Ii get ride of them.

I am positive they came from a recent purchase of 10 cherries.

Thanks, Angel

[badflash]

The worms may be planaria. They have sort of an arrow shaped head and 2 little eyes.

I don't know anything about triagle shaped things. Got a picture, or a more complete description? How do they move?

I handle this stuff by either trapping, finding something that eats them, or living with it.

[arobles34]

They're real small I'll see if I could get a good pic of them.

Here...
At the bottom

At the top

I just wanted to show this little guy off..

[arobles34]

Bump Up...

Does any one have any other advise???

[Opopanax]

I forget the name, but these are a common pest. Most omnivore/carnivore fish will snack on these. Since you have shrimp, I would recommend putting a non-agressive small/medium size fish in there to eat up the pests.

[bulrush]

Cyclops are real tiny white creatures shaped like a rain drop. The round end is their 'front', the tail end is the narrow end. Females can have an egg sack on each side of the tail, giving them the appearance of a triangle. Cyclops also like to stick to the glass and other surfaces. They swim by jerking motions.

Fish that like live food will eat all of these in a few days.

If you go to http://www.petfish.net they have a forum for Live Foods. There is a thread there about "What are these things in my tank?" which describes all the little critters like worms, planaria, nematodes, cyclops, daphnia, and stuff in your tank. It has a few pics too.

Here is the link: http://www.petfish.net/forum/index.php? ... eadid=8011

And another links, this one with sizes of the creatures:
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Aquariu ... g-worm.php

[arobles34]

Thanks for the info bulrush....

[Shady]

THose little white worms are nematodes. THey are harmless. In fact, they are detritivores, so they are actually beneficial. It appears they are feeding on debris on your filter sponge. Eventually, they should diminish as the tank gets more and more balanced, but if you want to get rid of them, move your shrimp to a quarantine tank and turn the water temp up to about 90 for 24 hours. THat is the best way to get rid of, or at least reduce them.