I just want to start by saying that this article is about my experience I have had with using de-wormer in my shrimp tanks over the last few months. I did not originate the use of this item or do I claim to have, I actually want to thank and give credit to those that have helped me during the time I used it.

  It all started when I began to see Planaria in a couple of my shrimp tanks. They must have been introduced into the tanks through plants I add and move around from time to time. There were a lot of Planaria in my Yellow shrimp tank and I noticed a sharp drop in baby shrimp where they used to flourish. At that point I had done searches on the subject of Planaria in shrimp tanks and came up most of the time with information on how destructive they were and also a few links on how using canine dewormer was a sure way to get rid of Planaria. I also found a great thread on Arizona Inverts after searching Planaria and dewormer.

  Wanting to get rid of the Planaria safely, I first asked Henry (Chromes03) where I could find the dewormer. I was referred to Petsmart and picked up a box of Safeguard canine dewormer (fenbendazole), 3X 1gram powder form packets, the cost was $14 after sales tax. The powder form is slow to dissolve and takes long to take effect. However, I found this to be an advantage because when used in a tank since it is gradually introduced into the water over a day or so and it is more readily available than the liquid form.

  Remember I was shooting for the safety of my animals first, so I first move out half of my shrimp (Yellow and Crystal Reds) and my small horned nerite snails from the tank. I decided on a specific dose after reading several shared experiences from hobbyist. Some of the hobbyist reported deaths of their shrimp and snails after using particular concentrations and dosing cycles. I would end up using a dose concentration of 0.1 grams per 10 gallons of tank water or (0.01 gm/gallon). It is easier to think of it in this way because you can split the powder in one pack (1 gram) into visual portions as need. For example, a 10 gallon tank would need 0.1 grams or 1/10th of a package and a 20 gallon tank would need 0.2 grams or 2/10th = 1/5th of a package. It was easy for me to eye this and dose this way.

  With my first try I dosed according to the previous calculations and patiently watched as the white dewormer powder floated and deposited all over the tank in the beginning. After a few hours the powder did not dissolve much and the Planaria seemed to be behaving normally. The next morning (12-15) hours after I first dosed, the powder had noticeably dissolved and some of the Planaria either stopped moving around as much or balled up. Later that night (24 hours) most of the powder had dissolved and there were still active Planaria. At 36 hours about half of the Planaria were no longer visible but the remaining ones were still active and cruising around. I added a second dose (0.1gm/10gallons) at 48 hours and waited for it dissolve again. The next morning I could no longer see the any Planaria and accepted the treatment a success in regards to eliminating the Planaria.

  Throughout the dosing process I kept an eye on my shrimp, both Yellows and CRS, and they not once behaved out of the ordinary. I added the shrimp I had removed in the beginning back into the treated tank and they were fine also. The pond, ramshorn and Malaysian trumpet snails that were in the tank all the time were also unaffected. However the nerite snails became less active and one actually died since being added back.

  I have since successfully treated two other tanks with dewormer. One of the tanks is a CRS tank in which I used only a one-time dose of (0.1gm/10 gallon). The outcome was the same as that of the first test tank. I have also used the treatment with the lower dose in a shrimp tank infested with Hydra. The Hydra were gone in less than a day after treatment which seems to point to them being more sensitive to the dewormer treatment.

  In conclusion, I found that at the dose I used to treat my Planaria infested tanks was effective and did not harm most of my animals. My shrimp have continued to breed and there are new babies adding to the population growth in the tank. The resulting outcome as seen with my nerite snails may not have been due to the dewormer (fenbendazole) but I will see if there are any other effects to my animals over time with treatment.