How to Eliminate Planaria in Planted Aquariums Using Fish Bendazole

How to Eliminate Planaria in Planted Aquariums Using Fish Bendazole (fenbendazole) by Thomas Labs

DIRECTIONS FOR USE AS A PLANARIA TREATMENT:
REMOVE ANY LIVESTOCK AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE
1 x 250MG PACKET OF FISH BENDAZOLE PER 25 GALLONS.
MIX THOROUGHLY WITH TANK WATER BEFORE ADDING TO TANK. HIGH FLOW IS SUGGESTED WITH USE OF THIS PRODUCT. REMOVE ANY CARBON PRIOR TO STARTING PLANARIA TREATMENT.
MAY TAKE SEVERAL TREATMENTS TO COMPLETELY ELIMINATE ALL PLANARIA PRESENT. THIS TREATMENT METHOD IS SAFE FOR PLANTED TANKS. PERFORM A 25-50% WATER CHANGE BETWEEN TREATMENTS AND REPEAT EVERY 24 HOURS AS NEEDED. ENSURE YOU MONITOR AMMONIA REGULARLY AS YOU MAY SEE A SPIKE WHEN THE PLANARIA START TO DIE OFF.

Today we show you an effective way to treat and eliminate planaria outbreaks in planted aquariums and shrimp tanks. We used Fish Bendazole (Fenbendazole) by Thomas Labs to solve our planaria issue which is an effective and plant safe treatment method.

Planaria are a carnivorous pest that can be found in planted tanks. They can cause harm to livestock, especially shrimp, so it was something we needed to ensure was completely removed.

As a precautionary measure and as recommended by the manufacturer we removed all live stock aside from a few shrimp we couldn't catch prior to the start of our planaria treatment. It didn't end up harming the few remaining straggler shrimp but the die off of planaria can cause an ammonia spike so it's best to place livestock elsewhere during the treatment period.

Prior to treatment Mike took a sample of the planaria. He caught a few in a trap he made using a test vial, airline tubing and some meaty food (bring shrimp) He then placed this small sample in a jar that he filled with tank water whenever the tank was dosed. He monitored to see how the planaria treatment was working and when we should be safe to stop dosing.

To treat we started by doing a large water change and deep substrate cleaning. We then dosed the Fish Bendazole by mixing 1 250mg packet of powder per 25 gallons with tank water.We then turned up the flow on our canister to ensure that it mixed as well as possible into the water column. Mike then filled the sample jar with the tank water to monitor the effectiveness of our planaria treatment.

It took a total of 3 days and 3 treatments for us to successfully remove all the planaria from our tank. Between each treatment a water change of between 25-50% was performed prior to re-dosing.The sample of planaria worms finally died off and had the indication we were looking for to stop treatment.

For more info on Fish Bendazole:
https://www.thomaslabs.com/product/fi...