CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Planarian (What kind of animal is a planarian? Is a planarian harmful to the fish tank? How to get rid of it?)

Abstract: 【 Turbellarian 】

Planarians are small insects with extremely strong vitality and super fast reproduction speed. Many people don't know much about them. Here we introduce what kind of animals planarians are, how they reproduce, and whether planarians are harmful to fish tanks, etc., for your reference.

1. What kind of animal is planarian?

Turbellarians are a type of mollusk that lives in fresh water and attaches itself to rocks. Turbellarians can often be found in streams with slow currents and abundant organic matter upstream.

After finding the planarian, brush it off with a brush and put it into a wide-mouthed bottle filled with clean water. Then pick up a few small stones from the collection site and put them into the breeding tank when you get home.

Planarians collected from the wild can be moved into goldfish tanks or other glass containers for breeding. The breeding tank must be very clean, otherwise it will affect the normal life of the planarians and even cause death.

In addition, planarians have the habit of avoiding light, so the breeding tank should be placed in a cool place, and some small stones brought back from the collection should be placed in the tank. A layer of gauze should be covered on the mouth of the tank to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs. It is best to use well water for breeding water. If you use tap water, you must wait for 2-3 days before using it.

2. How do planarians reproduce?

1. Planarians are hermaphrodites and have relatively complex reproductive organs. Their genital pores are located behind the mouth. During reproduction, the tail ends of two planarians will stick together with their ventral surfaces, with their genital pores facing each other. They exchange sperm with each other and the eggs are fertilized in the body. Several fertilized eggs and yolk (nutrients) are wrapped in a membranous egg cocoon formed by the mucus secreted by the reproductive sac. Finally, they are expelled from the body and hatch into young planarians in the outside world.

2. In summer, turbellarians often reproduce asexually by transverse fission. The fission plane is often located behind the pharynx. During fission, the rear end of the worm body adheres to the bottom hook, while the front end moves forward until the worm body breaks.

After a period of time, the broken worm bodies will each grow the lost part of the body, and finally form two new individuals.

3. Planarians have strong regenerative ability and can be used as good experimental materials. If they are cut into two or more sections, each section can be completely regenerated. Their parenchymal tissue is the main source of differentiated new cells and regenerated tissue.

3. Are planarians harmful to fish tanks?

1. Are planarians harmful to fish tanks?

Turbellarians are harmful to fish tanks. Although turbellarians in the natural environment feed on insects, worms, and small crustaceans, turbellarians in fish tanks will parasitize the bodies of fish, harming fish fry and shrimps. After the fish enter the breeding period, turbellarians will also harm fish eggs.

2. How to remove planarians in fish tanks

(1) Place a few guppies, tiger barbs, or angelfish into the fish tank. These fish will eat the planarians.

(2) Put some fishy-smelling bait in the worm trap and then put it into the fish tank. After a few hours, you can see worms feeding on the bait. This method can be used for one week to control the number of worms.

(3) Planarians are aerobic organisms that need an oxygen content of 6-8 ppm to survive. Therefore, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the fish tank can also effectively control the number of planarians. However, this method is relatively dangerous for the organisms in the fish tank and is recommended to be used with caution.