# Do my snails have parasites?



## snailies3

So recently a few snail eggs in my tank have hatched. Last night I noticed maybe 5-10 baby snail crawling around,
but this morning I woke up to a bunch of beige-white, thin-string looking things all over the glass. 
It looks kindof like poo, except it's a lighter color, super thin, no more than an inch long, and if I watch close enough they seem to move! 
So my snails have parasites, and if they do, how do I get rid of them?
If they don't, what are these string things?








You can see a few white lines just to the right of the thermo.


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## 77_Bus_Girl

do they look like the ones in this link?http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/hospital-section-12/worms-my-cycling-tank-picture-added-21073/


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## snailies3

77_Bus_Girl said:


> do they look like the ones in this link?http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/hospital-section-12/worms-my-cycling-tank-picture-added-21073/


Yeah, they're the same color but they're a lot thinner. Will they harm my snails? How do I get rid of them?


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## Diztrbd1

pictures would help....do they resemble these, which i believe are smaller than the previous link provided: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/micro-white-worms-glass-planaria-35444/


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## effox

I was thinking planaria immediately, but the description is pretty vague to pin point what type of worm it is.

Can you tell if it's segmented and flat? If it's not, it wouldn't be planaria.


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## snailies3

effox said:


> I was thinking planaria immediately, but the description is pretty vague to pin point what type of worm it is.
> 
> Can you tell if it's segmented and flat? If it's not, it wouldn't be planaria.


They're too small to tell. I will go see if I can get a picture right now. They more resemble the video posted up there^


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## snailies3

There I have posted a picture


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## Sploosh

I don't think its planaria (could be just "hatched" though), it could be a type of microworm, can't recall which at the moment (will post a link when I find it).
Not harmful to the snails, just not pleasant to look at when their number increase.

Updated;
Found link;Aquarium, Pond Fish Parasites; Trematodes, Flatworms, Nematodes, Detritus, Anchor Worms

Scroll down to "Annelids", it shows the difference between planaria and detritus worms.

Second update;
Another link explaining in great detail the differences, and that annelids are not harmful (unless population gets out of control); http://www.fish-as-pets.com/2007/11/planaria-detritus-internet-answers.html


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## snailies3

Sploosh said:


> I don't think its planaria (could be just "hatched" though), it could be a type of microworm, can't recall which at the moment (will post a link when I find it).
> Not harmful to the snails, just not pleasant to look at when their number increase.


What do they do, and is it harmful to humans? Do you know if there's any easy way to get rid of/kill them? 
Thank you!
Also I did just have a few baby snails hatch yesterday.


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## effox

They're unsightly pests, but people feel the same way about pond snails.

They're likely detrivores and not harmful, feeding on snail waste. Feeding the snails less, and more frequent gravel vacuuming would help the situation.


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