small white worms

[fisher_guzzi]

This morning I noticed in my 5 1/2 gallon tank these small white worms crawling around on the inside of the glass. There are about 1/8th to 1/4 in length. They move by scrunching up and stretching forward. Don't see any floating around. Got 2 neon tetras, 2 dwarf african frogs and one plecto. One plant I cannot remember the name of. I was having trouble with keeping neons alive, but the 2 remaining seemed to be doing ok. I set this tank up about 2 months ago and am a newbie. I had tanks years ago. The fish store gave me Tetra Min and bloodworms. The neons started ignoring the Tetra min, so I got Plankton and brine shrimp. All freeze dried. Oh, the plant came with a couple of small snails.
Also, I have well water.
What are these worms? Could they have come from the freeze dried food? baby snails? from the well? Will my fish eat them or visa versa.
Really appreciate any help.
Thanks.

 

[semper fi]

the little white worms in your tank is called planaria. they are not harmful to your fish. in fact most of the cichlids will eat them.

planaria is a result of excess nutrients in the water form uneaten food. all food that is not eaten within ten minutes should be removed from the water. probably a result from the bloodworms and such that you have been feeding lately.

there is a product called quick cure that will also get rid of the planaria. salt can also be used for getting rid of planaria but with the frogs and plec you cannot use it as it will burn them.

hth

semper fi

 

[fisher_guzzi]

Whew ! I was pretty worried.
I grind up the food very finely because the neon's seem to ignore the bigger pieces. So, capturing it will be impossible. I feed them twice a day. I definitely will reduce the amount I am putting in the tank, which seems small to me, but then again I am used to "getting it super-sized".
Will limiting the food eventually reduce the planaria population? Can I do that and just ignore them?
Thank you for your help !

 

[semper fi]

the planaria will not harm the fish but if the conditions are there they will repoduce and multiply. this could lead to other things happening in your tank. most of the uneaten food will drop to the bottom. i would limit the amount of blood worms and such that you are feeding them. may be every other day or twice a week supplementing them with staples instead.

to get rid of uneaten foon on the bottom of the tank simply take a section of syphon hose and secure a peice of nylon sticking on one end. get the syphon going and vacuum the gravel bed top for uneaten food letting the food go into the stocking and the water back into the tank.

semper fi

 

[fisher_guzzi]

Well, here is a follow-up in addition to a new question. When I got home the day I first noticed them the population was "gone". I figured the planaria were notural, so I wait to look for them the following morning. I found a few. So, could the African dwarf frogs or more likely the plecto ate them. The plecto has been great in cleaning off the algae on the inside of the glass. Maybe he ate a number of them intentionally or not. I have cut down the food dramtically and don't grind it up as I had done before. I leave bigger chunks and then fish them out after it seems no one is interested (about 10 mins).
Will still do the nylon hose thing. Excellent idea.
So, anyway do you think the plecto ate a bunch of them?

This is a great website !

 

[semper fi]

could be that the pleco ate them. what else do you have in your tanks?

glad that they are getting eaten and out of the tank for you.

semper fi

 

[fisher_guzzi]

2 neon tetras, 2 african dwarf frogs, 1 plecto and some small snails that came with the plant I added.

 

[semper fi]

could be the tetras eating them. not really sure. need someone else to come along that would know about tetras. gadazobe is good for the tetras.

semper fi

 

[smb]

They are mostly inside your gravel and not outside on the glass. If you were to shut your filtration and powerheads off, the next day you can bet that there would be thousands all over your tank and out of the gravel.

As long as you don't have eggs in your tank you should be ok. A lot of fish love eating them and they are good for them but they will kill eggs.

 

[gadazobe]

Neons are omnivores so it could easily be them that's eating the planaria. They enjoy both live and flake foods. BTW - what plec do you have. I noticed that you have a 5.5 gal tank and if you have an "ordinarty garden variety" plec - he will grow to be much to big for your tank. Plecs can grow to about 12-15" and he will soon outgrow your tank.

 

[sandyd]

Hi, i would think it was the Tetras who have been eating them as mine do. I have 3 skirt tetras and 2 head and tail light, i know not the same, but i think it still counts. LOL I got those wormy things a while back and the tetras as well as my guppies were racing around the tank eating them. It was kind of cool to watch. Hope they clear up for you soon, mine are all gone now, have not seen any in a while. Good luck. Sandy

 

[fisher_guzzi]

Thanks for all the notes.
gadazobe, I had plecs before. I know they get big. I have a 10g and will be setting up a 20g at least for that growth. Will probably get some Cichlids. I see it happens to just about everyone. You start small and then it grows and grows.

sandyd, it looks like it would be ok for them to hang around. If the Neons are enjoying them then its worth keeping them. So, I will for now just leave them alone.