Worms

Huugs · 07-17-2005, 03:05 PM

A friend of mine had found some small red/orange/brown ish worms in his tank. I told him he needs to clean it better but with proper cleaning will they just disappear or will something need to be done to get rid of them?

Can someone tell me what they are. They are probably 8-10mm long but not even a mm wide and they swim by making figure of eights in the water. And they are a the sort of orangy brown colour i mentioned above. They dont swim in the water (well not that we have seen) but he found them when he was doing a gravel vac.

**TheOldSalt** · 07-17-2005, 03:26 PM

Hmmm... could be any number of things, really. Many worms fitting that description are perfectly harmless, but a few are anything but harmless. My advice would be to really give that tank a good cleaning, and to try to catch some worms for closer examination to determine what they are, exactly.

**Baby_Baby** · 07-17-2005, 03:47 PM

are you sure it isn't just feces?

shev · 07-17-2005, 04:32 PM

probably planaria. they come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.

Huugs · 07-17-2005, 04:51 PM

Thanks for the replies.

Well we did have one caught but how would that help as we dont have access to microscopes or anything?

By good clean out I take it u mean break down and start from scratch?

Its definately not faeces coz they wiggle!

I read somewhere that it is rare to see ones with the naked eye that are free swimming that are harmful to fish. Is that not true then?

**TheOldSalt** · 07-17-2005, 09:07 PM

Rare, but not nonexistent.
Not Planarians, either, swimming like that. Well, waitaminute..what do you mean by it swims by making figure-8's in the water, but it doesn't swim in the water?

These are roundworms, I'm guessing? Nematodes?

No, don't break it down and start from scratch. Just give the gravel a good deep siphoning to remove as many worms and rotten worm food as possible.

As for the worms, a microscope would be handy, but a strong hand lens will work. Does the worm have a definite head on one end? Could you possibly describe it? Any other features on the worms, like a thick band in one area like a common earthworm or a complete lack of that and any other features?

Most importantly, is there any good reason that there would be worms in this tank? Have any live foods been put into this tank? How are the fish? Any weird swelling or redness, especially around the anus, or signs of worms sticking out of them?

shev · 07-17-2005, 10:37 PM

oh I didnt seeit said they swam.

Huugs · 07-18-2005, 01:43 AM

Well the only reason we saw them was coz i made him do a gravel vac and pull out a dead plant. I think they came out in the roots of the plant.
So he hasnt seen them swim in the tank but when they where in the water in the bucket they did swim.
Its kinda hard to describe how they do it but if you look at them swimming they kind look like an 8 or maybe its just me but they somehow kinda snake across the water.

They are very small and there is a thicker band around one end but as far as I could see with the tiny magnifying glass he could find there was no other features at all. Posibly only 4-5mm as it wsa hard to tell with all the wiggling it was doing.

There is no live foods that he feeds them, I managed to think of that but other than that the only reason I could think of was coz it was dirty. They could have come in with the plants but he tells me he rinsed them well before he put them in.

The fish are fine no problems at all.

**Baby_Baby** · 07-18-2005, 08:00 AM

thtas really weird. well, try doing a siphoning, and check to see if the fish have red spots around their rears just like OS said. kepp us updated.

**TheOldSalt** · 07-18-2005, 04:06 PM

I'm going to tentatively guess that these are just some harmless nematodes which came in on the plants. Sometimes they're actually inside the plants, so washing them doesn't get rid of them. if the fish are fine, then it's probably nothing to worry about. The addition of some loaches or cories to the tanks should get rid of them pretty quickly, and if those fish get sick, you'll know there may be a problem.

Huugs · 07-18-2005, 04:59 PM

I dont want to tell him to add and cories as its a gravel tank and Im told they should be sand for a proper cory environment so wont get what they need. And I think the tank is too smal for loaches anyway. Its only an 18gallon.

I think the pisture I found on nematodes are probably the closest to what was in the tank. Will they just dissappear with proper maintenace?

I recently found a snail in my own tank aswell but I cant tell what that is either or whether its harmful to plants. Its a tiny thing smaller than a pea and the shell is similar to ramshorn snails except that the opening is slightly offset. Any ideas on that would be good aswell please. Good/Bad?

**TheOldSalt** · 07-18-2005, 10:58 PM

Suck the worms out and clean things up, and the worms will still not just go away, but they won't be a problem. In fact, they're probably doing more good than harm anyway, keeping the gravel unpacked and aerated.

As for the snail, well, your description covers a great many species. I have snails aplenty in all my tanks, most of them sounding just like yours, and they don't bother the plants at all. There isn't a speck of algae to be found, though.

Huugs · 07-19-2005, 02:24 AM

yea its a but diffucult to say what it is when you can see it but thanks anyway. Il leave it in and see how things go.

Thanks for your help on the worms. Ill just have to make sure my mate keeps an eye onthe fish and does his vacuuming. Im sure they are quite happy livin there for a while atleast.

07-17-2005, 03:05 PM	#1
Huugs Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London UK Age: 23 Posts: 251	Worms A friend of mine had found some small red/orange/brown ish worms in his tank. I told him he needs to clean it better but with proper cleaning will they just disappear or will something need to be done to get rid of them? Can someone tell me what they are. They are probably 8-10mm long but not even a mm wide and they swim by making figure of eights in the water. And they are a the sort of orangy brown colour i mentioned above. They dont swim in the water (well not that we have seen) but he found them when he was doing a gravel vac.

07-17-2005, 03:47 PM	#3
Baby_Baby Friendly Neighborhood Mod Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Tulsa Posts: 3,681	are you sure it isn't just feces? __________________ *Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?*

07-18-2005, 08:00 AM	#9
Baby_Baby Friendly Neighborhood Mod Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Tulsa Posts: 3,681	thtas really weird. well, try doing a siphoning, and check to see if the fish have red spots around their rears just like OS said. kepp us updated. __________________ *Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?*

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07-17-2005, 03:26 PM	#2
TheOldSalt Darth Ichthyos Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,360	Hmmm... could be any number of things, really. Many worms fitting that description are perfectly harmless, but a few are anything but harmless. My advice would be to really give that tank a good cleaning, and to try to catch some worms for closer examination to determine what they are, exactly.

07-17-2005, 04:32 PM	#4
shev Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Montana Age: 19 Posts: 1,561	probably planaria. they come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.

07-17-2005, 04:51 PM	#5
Huugs Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London UK Age: 23 Posts: 251	Thanks for the replies. Well we did have one caught but how would that help as we dont have access to microscopes or anything? By good clean out I take it u mean break down and start from scratch? Its definately not faeces coz they wiggle! I read somewhere that it is rare to see ones with the naked eye that are free swimming that are harmful to fish. Is that not true then?

07-17-2005, 09:07 PM	#6
TheOldSalt Darth Ichthyos Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,360	Rare, but not nonexistent. Not Planarians, either, swimming like that. Well, waitaminute..what do you mean by it swims by making figure-8's in the water, but it doesn't swim in the water? These are roundworms, I'm guessing? Nematodes? No, don't break it down and start from scratch. Just give the gravel a good deep siphoning to remove as many worms and rotten worm food as possible. As for the worms, a microscope would be handy, but a strong hand lens will work. Does the worm have a definite head on one end? Could you possibly describe it? Any other features on the worms, like a thick band in one area like a common earthworm or a complete lack of that and any other features? Most importantly, is there any good reason that there would be worms in this tank? Have any live foods been put into this tank? How are the fish? Any weird swelling or redness, especially around the anus, or signs of worms sticking out of them?

07-17-2005, 10:37 PM	#7
shev Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Montana Age: 19 Posts: 1,561	oh I didnt seeit said they swam.

07-18-2005, 01:43 AM	#8
Huugs Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London UK Age: 23 Posts: 251	Well the only reason we saw them was coz i made him do a gravel vac and pull out a dead plant. I think they came out in the roots of the plant. So he hasnt seen them swim in the tank but when they where in the water in the bucket they did swim. Its kinda hard to describe how they do it but if you look at them swimming they kind look like an 8 or maybe its just me but they somehow kinda snake across the water. They are very small and there is a thicker band around one end but as far as I could see with the tiny magnifying glass he could find there was no other features at all. Posibly only 4-5mm as it wsa hard to tell with all the wiggling it was doing. There is no live foods that he feeds them, I managed to think of that but other than that the only reason I could think of was coz it was dirty. They could have come in with the plants but he tells me he rinsed them well before he put them in. The fish are fine no problems at all.

07-18-2005, 04:06 PM	#10
TheOldSalt Darth Ichthyos Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,360	I'm going to tentatively guess that these are just some harmless nematodes which came in on the plants. Sometimes they're actually inside the plants, so washing them doesn't get rid of them. if the fish are fine, then it's probably nothing to worry about. The addition of some loaches or cories to the tanks should get rid of them pretty quickly, and if those fish get sick, you'll know there may be a problem.

07-18-2005, 04:59 PM	#11
Huugs Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London UK Age: 23 Posts: 251	I dont want to tell him to add and cories as its a gravel tank and Im told they should be sand for a proper cory environment so wont get what they need. And I think the tank is too smal for loaches anyway. Its only an 18gallon. I think the pisture I found on nematodes are probably the closest to what was in the tank. Will they just dissappear with proper maintenace? I recently found a snail in my own tank aswell but I cant tell what that is either or whether its harmful to plants. Its a tiny thing smaller than a pea and the shell is similar to ramshorn snails except that the opening is slightly offset. Any ideas on that would be good aswell please. Good/Bad?

07-18-2005, 10:58 PM	#12
TheOldSalt Darth Ichthyos Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,360	Suck the worms out and clean things up, and the worms will still not just go away, but they won't be a problem. In fact, they're probably doing more good than harm anyway, keeping the gravel unpacked and aerated. As for the snail, well, your description covers a great many species. I have snails aplenty in all my tanks, most of them sounding just like yours, and they don't bother the plants at all. There isn't a speck of algae to be found, though.

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07-19-2005, 02:24 AM	#13
Huugs Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London UK Age: 23 Posts: 251	yea its a but diffucult to say what it is when you can see it but thanks anyway. Il leave it in and see how things go. Thanks for your help on the worms. Ill just have to make sure my mate keeps an eye onthe fish and does his vacuuming. Im sure they are quite happy livin there for a while atleast.