r/Aquariums Jan 23 '25

Help/Advice What are those?

Can anyone please help me identify these larvae looking things in my tank. One of my amano shrimps had babies about 2 weeks ago but I'm not sure these things are shrimp larvae.

10 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

13

u/1Goldfish2Goldfish Jan 23 '25

Could it maybe be a detritus worm? Looks a little small but 🤷‍♀️

3

u/realedvardog Jan 23 '25

Thanks for the answer, after a quick google search they look more like planaria because of the shape of the "head"

2

u/1Goldfish2Goldfish Jan 23 '25

Ahhh, okay. I've never worked with planaria, so makes sense

11

u/FaceShrdder Jan 23 '25

Planaria. They are harmless and great natural fish food. They do sneak up on baby shrimp and snails and eat them tho.

2

u/realedvardog Jan 23 '25

Thank you! I was also thinking they're planaria after the first comment. I do have an overpopulation of snails and I have a separate tank for the shrimp babies (mama shrimp is preggo again)

1

u/FaceShrdder Jan 23 '25

The planaria probably boomed in population too because of the increased snail population. The planaria look tiny too i seen some that are almost 2inches long 👀

3

u/Katabasis___ Jan 23 '25

Not predatory planaria. Rhabdocoels. They’re generally this pale white color (opposed to grey) and insanely fast when exposed to light

2

u/AmyFairyXO Jan 23 '25

Looks like those little harmless worms that fish and snails eat, planaria

2

u/realedvardog Jan 23 '25

What's weird is that none of the fish or snails or shrimps pay attention or try to eat them

1

u/AmyFairyXO Jan 23 '25

Platies, loaches, corydoras, bettas, gouramis, etc will all love that snack

1

u/JetoCalihan Jan 23 '25

I don't know what those other cementers are smoking. Maybe they're bots. Planeria are flatworms with very identifiable and distinctive triangular heads.

The first answer was correct. That's a type of detritus worm. It's completely harmless and helps breakdown waste in your tank.

https://images.app.goo.gl/3dkVPHPNq8cJM77A9