What is this???

**TiaDay** · 08-02-2012, 09:11 PM

I ordered some ramshorn snails online for my puffer fish and this was in the water with them. Does anyone know what it is. Sorry for the lousy photo.. I took it with my phone.. no camera available at the moment. I know that they can have parasites... so don't want to feed them to my puffer until I know they are okay.

**crystalite** · 08-02-2012, 09:17 PM

I can't really tell from the picture but if it's a thin wormy looking thing it could be planaria. If you search google images for planaria you can see if it looks like them.

If it is your puffer fish will be fine as they are completely harmless and only eat waste matter like rotting food etc.

**TiaDay** · 08-02-2012, 09:22 PM

It moves like a snail but has a real long neck. It rolls up into a ball when you try to touch it. I couldn't tell if there was a shell. It was worm like.

**crystalite** · 08-02-2012, 09:38 PM

I think it's planaria by the sounds of it do it should be fine to feed to you puffer. They tend to glide like snails whereas leeches and other nasty stuff flick around to swim in the water curling into a c shape then straightening back up.

Here's a couple of pics I found online. The first ones planaria and the second is detritus worms.

I've had both and they don't cause any harm. I haven't had a puffer fish but my minnows which are smaller and less predatory than puffers used to eat them so you might find your puffer sees them as an extra snack.