Ive got worms.

[sgtbirch]

Today I was going to feed my fish then do a water change. I checked the parameters yesterday and everything wqas good.( I always check the parameters the day of or before the water change.) But for the 3rd day in a row my fish didnt eat. I noticed a small patch of algae growthon the glass and upon inspection I saw this little bitsy white worm like thing. It was very very tiny. Not easily visible. But the longer I looked at the tank the more I could see. What are these vial things in my tank. I have lost a couple of fish in the last 2 months and I am just wondering if theve been in there awhlie and now causeing my fish to not eat. Other than not eating no other signs of stress. I did notice maybe a little less action in the tank but I wasnt home for most of the day today. All I have in the 30 gallon tank is 2 nicarguense cichlids male 5 inches and female 4 inches. Actually today was the first day she didnt eat. They did eat Bloodworms 3 days ago but since The male hasnt eaten much. Should I be really concerned cause I am. I probably wont sleep much tonight waiting to read this thread in the morn.

 

[sgtbirch]

OK Ive found out its not as bad as I thought. The worms are called planaria, Adn over the past week Ive just been begging for them arive. I have done everything I could possibly do to make them come and multiply. First I introduced a new plant. Secondly my population in the tank has decreased by 50% in the last month. Last week my housekeeper Pleco died. He broke my heart) he was almost full grown growstar plec( oh god he was beautiful) best looking fish in the tank.Anyway I have been giving my other fish treats. I have mentioned before my nics will not come up to get thier food they wait till it sinks. resulting in overfeeding. The number one reason for planaria. They are not harmful to the fish and live off excess nutrients in the tank( uneaten food). To get rid of them I must do frequent water changes. AND STOP FEEDING SO DAMNED MUCH FOOD. ) )

There is some debate to wether planaria are always there or the just appear from overfeeding. I would like to know cause I was planning on using this water to cycle another tank which now is a bad idea.

I have tried to turn off my pump and air to feed my nics but still they never come to the top they wait for it to drop. This reduces what they get for thier diet. no fast falling foods. I feed then the bloodworms in a bowl now. Like cereal for fish what they dont eat outta the bowl I remove.

 

[semper fi]

you are right that the white worms are planaria and the result from too much nutrients in the water. one cause of this is excessive gravel and uneaten food.

all food should be removed from the tank after 10 minutes. if the fish will not eat the floaters only offer them floaters. you should soak the floaters in tank water before feeding to your fish. they don't eat it, take it out. if you are still going to use the sinkers or flakes. the quick solution is to vaccuum the gravel after feeding. take a short peice of hosing and on one end secure a peice of clean nylon to it. make sure that the water goes back into the tank. that way all you are removing is the excess food. also do not put the end of the hose into the gravel, just above it enough to suck up the food.

there is also a product on the market called quick cure. it will help to remove the planaria from your tank. also salt is good for treatment. if you have nics then salt is safe for them. use one tablespoon of salt, again dissolved in tank water for every five gallons of water in the tank. ie, 30 gallon tank = 6 tablespoons of salt. when doing water changes it is only neccessary to add the required dosage of salt per amount of water replacement. if you remove 5 gallons of water for a water change you only need to add 1 tablespoon of salt.

salt is good for your fish as it helps with gill function. so you benefit in two ways.

hth

maggie