What is this worm creature and should I treat for parasites?

[LuckyBettas]

Unidentified worm < link to the Instagram video. I don't know what this thing is. Please help!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Unidentified worm < link to the Instagram video. I don't know what this thing is. Please help!

You have to have an Instagram account to view...just save the pic to your desktop, and attach here

 

[LuckyBettas]

You have to have an Instagram account to view...just save the pic to your desktop, and attach here

I tried to upload the video but no luck. I want to show the way it moves. Photo coming.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I tried to upload the video but no luck. I want to show the way it moves. Photo coming.

Try posting the vid to Youtube, then link here

 

[LuckyBettas]

Here is a link from my phone. https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/tNt7572nR1Wj

 

[Slaphppy7]

Looks like a detritus worm, but I've never seen them attach like that to plants, or anything else.

What size tank is this? What fish are in it? How often do you do water changes, and do you clean the gravel/substrate when doing them? How often and how much do you feed?

 

[LuckyBettas]

This worm does not always attach to plants. It can be free swimming and when it does it wriggles very rapidly. I could not get that on video. It is a 5 gallon mainly for my shrimp, but right now it has some tetra (I think) fry in it that I took out of the main tank to keep safe. I think approximately 25 fry about the size of a long grain rice. It also has 2 nerites, a small army of bladder snails, and a single very small reticulated hillstream loach that was so small that I didn't want to put him in with the big fish yet. I feed 3 times daily the aquarium coop easy fry enough for them to eat within about 2-3 minutes. The shrimp get a pellet every other day or so. Water changes are 50% weekly with no gravel siphon because it is too dense to reach it. Water parameters are 7.5 ph, temp 75F, nitrites and ammonia at 0 and 25ppm nitrates. It has been running for over a year and I have seen these in my other tanks every once in a while too.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Detritus worm, from overfeeding....they aren't harmful, but usually the sign of feeding too much, and not vacuuming the substrate....feed every other day, or every 3 days, fish don't need to eat every day

 

[LuckyBettas]

I would do that if they were adult fish, but these are tiny fish fry. Don't they need small amounts 2-3 times a day?

 

[Slaphppy7]

I would do that if they were adult fish, but these are tiny fish fry. Don't they need small amounts 2-3 times a day?

I've never fed fry that much, they don't eat much, and the uneaten food can cause serious water quality issues

 

[Byron]

I would do that if they were adult fish, but these are tiny fish fry. Don't they need small amounts 2-3 times a day?

Yes. If the tank has natural microscopic food though you could reduce the prepared foods. Dried leaves (oak, maple, beech, Indian Almond) placed in the tank will result in infusoria, and all fish fry will readily eat this, and develop faster too.