Asellus Aquaticus And "black Worm" Infestation

[pablothebetta]

Some one I know has I tank that I recently saw. They had been telling me about some creatures in the tank and I thought I should have a look. I found that one of the 'creatures' was Aseullus Aquaticus, very similar to woodlice, only aquatic. The other creatures are black worms, I do not know what they are. I would guess, from what I saw, that they are no more than 1cm-2cm long, if anyone is able to give any advice on this.

The question is how to get rid of these things. I can't imagine they are helping the tank, and look quite disgusting. I am unsure of the worm-like creatures, but I was told the Asellus Aquaticus came in on some plants which came out of someone elses pond a few years ago - nothing appears to have been done about them since they came. There must be hundreds of them in there, wherever you look on the substrate or even on the decor, it is littered with them.

While I have read that the Asellus Aquaticus isn't harmful, they aren't a pretty sight when there's hundreds of them.

Many thanks.

 

[FishBlast]

Some one I know has I tank that I recently saw. They had been telling me about some creatures in the tank and I thought I should have a look. I found that one of the 'creatures' was Aseullus Aquaticus, very similar to woodlice, only aquatic. The other creatures are black worms, I do not know what they are. I would guess, from what I saw, that they are no more than 1cm-2cm long, if anyone is able to give any advice on this.

The question is how to get rid of these things. I can't imagine they are helping the tank, and look quite disgusting. I am unsure of the worm-like creatures, but I was told the Asellus Aquaticus came in on some plants which came out of someone elses pond a few years ago - nothing appears to have been done about them since they came. There must be hundreds of them in there, wherever you look on the substrate or even on the decor, it is littered with them.

While I have read that the Asellus Aquaticus isn't harmful, they aren't a pretty sight when there's hundreds of them.

Many thanks.

Could be leeches (I've had some of those come with my lotus and one of them grew to a huge size, but my catfish received it for dinner long ago).

Or could be some insects (that I've never seen their adult form), which have also laid eggs in my turtle's pond and seems that those black worms hatch within 1-2 days. And my turtle doesn't even have any vegetation in her pond so... must be some flying insect.

 

[pablothebetta]

I'll look into leeches, they do appear rather "leech-like", only smaller. Thanks for the advice.

 

[FishBlast]

I'll look into leeches, they do appear rather "leech-like", only smaller. Thanks for the advice.

^ This one looks exactly like my lotus pad's leeches, as one of them grew this big.

Of course there are those larvae that appear in my turtle pond which I am sure are not leeches, they have a white tip instead of being all black, and seem to have caterpillar-like segments instead of rings. I have yet to find out what they turn into.

 

[three-fingers]

Technically they are helping the tank, they are eating organic waste that would otherwise be converted into ammonia to grow and reproduce.

These are harmless creatures themselves and simply the symptom of something else wrong, its not really any different from having hundreds of cherry shrimp. Same advice applies as to snail infestations, remove on sight and increase water changes and cleaning.

For best results, add more filtration and possibly add predators. Basically any fish should eat the worms, but some will probably always persist in that substrate. Assasin snails love eating aquatic burrowing worms . Anything wish a mouth big enough should eat Asellus, what fish are in the tank?

 

[pablothebetta]

Thankyou for the replies.

The tank is currently occupied by guppies and fry - I daresay it appears overstocked with all the fry, but I am not certain on the volume and I suppose it is a different matter. I would estimate the tank was about 60L max, though. There are hundreds of the Asellus, wherever you look there are oodles of the things and they do look rather creepy. Sure they'll be alright?

The black worms appear to often crawl up the sides. I didn't really notice them on the substrate, but in saying that I'm not really sure if I looked. The substrate seemed to be dominated by the Asellus. They look similar to leeches, but no more than 2cm long and quite thin. I didn't notice any on the fish, though, which I suppose has to be a good thing.

 

[FishBlast]

Thankyou for the replies.

The tank is currently occupied by guppies and fry - I daresay it appears overstocked with all the fry, but I am not certain on the volume and I suppose it is a different matter. I would estimate the tank was about 60L max, though. There are hundreds of the Asellus, wherever you look there are oodles of the things and they do look rather creepy. Sure they'll be alright?

The black worms appear to often crawl up the sides. I didn't really notice them on the substrate, but in saying that I'm not really sure if I looked. The substrate seemed to be dominated by the Asellus. They look similar to leeches, but no more than 2cm long and quite thin. I didn't notice any on the fish, though, which I suppose has to be a good thing.

If they are acting like suckers to the walls of the aquarium, then they are leeches. They'll grow HUGE!
You'll need to get rid of them at some point if you can't chop them and feed them to some big fish. My catfish thought of it as a rare treat. X)))

 

[pablothebetta]

Ok, thanks a lot for the advice. Very helpful.

 

[pablothebetta]

If they are acting like suckers to the walls of the aquarium, then they are leeches. They'll grow HUGE!
You'll need to get rid of them at some point if you can't chop them and feed them to some big fish. My catfish thought of it as a rare treat. X)))

Any idea how to get rid of the leeches or asellus? I doubt, especially with the numbers of the things, that the guppies will eat/are eating them.

 

[frothhelmet]

Send the asellus to me. Seriously, I want to try to grow them. I'll PM you.