Worms!

[Swisher]

Hello All,

I'm new to the forum and am hoping someone can identify what's happened in my tank. Unfortunately, I think I'm beyond the emergency stage since 20 of my 23 fish have already died. I've had fish for decades and never had such a sudden death (from first sign of symptoms to death in two days). I have a 55 gallon tank, with Neon tetras, Red Eye Tetras, two plecos, white clouds, one angel and one orange glow fish. The tank was well established, clear water with a PH of about 6.7. I checked nitrate levels and they were high at about 25. I've been doing water changes weekly of about 10% - perhaps not enough. The angel showed signs of a white/greyish slime on its body, was sluggish and not eating, so I bgan treatment with Maracyn. Most were dead within the next day so I moved the remaining three to a hospital tank (white cloud, Red Eye and Orange Glow). I'm continuing the Maracyn treatment and they seem a little better.

As I was draining water from the main tank, I noticed this:

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkAKQa38LtA

Freaked me out! I didn't see them before and know I would have. Did they appear from beneath the gravel when the fish were removed? Because 80% of the water has been removed? I've been searching on the net to see what these are and the closest description I can find is a Nematode. Honestly, the look exactly like Tubifex work=ms - and I have fed them to my fish - but that was YEARS ago. Would they go under gravel and not appear again until years later?

So, my questions are:

Are these the cause of my fish's death or just a symptom of a dirty tank?

How can I get rid of them? Need I start over by removing and cleaning all the gravel?

What are they?

Sorry for the long-winded post. I hope someone has some thoughts.

Thanks!

 

[iffles]

hi, dont know what the worms could be, some peeps think the eggs are in flake food or water and come due to overfeeding, but dont take it from me - im sure someone else will know more about the worm thing than i do.
with the disease, did you add any new fish/plants/decor to the tank recently (1 month ago)? and do you feed live foods anymore?
free bump for you

 

[Swisher]

hi, dont know what the worms could be, some peeps think the eggs are in flake food or water and come due to overfeeding, but dont take it from me - im sure someone else will know more about the worm thing than i do.
with the disease, did you add any new fish/plants/decor to the tank recently (1 month ago)? and do you feed live foods anymore?
free bump for you

Nothing new added in the last two months. I haven't fed live food in over a year. Thanks for your response!

 

[loraxchick]

most likely tubifex worms..brought in often with new plants, especially those in pots. not going to hurt your fish (mine eat them when they find them). to cut back on numbers of them, cut back on feeding and do more thorough substrate cleaning. if you have deep gravel remove by half and gravel vac once a week with waterchanges.
i have thses in my turtle tank(turltes are messy and leave lots of food waste behind which allows the worms to populate the substrate). when i gravel vac her tank, i always feed my other fish with the tubifex ive caught from the gravel vac.
nothing to worry about outrightly...just cut back on feeding and do better substrate mainetance, and their numbers should deminish a lot. these are not uncommon in many established tanks.
cheers

 

[WILDER]

Remove all ornaments and plants from the tank and give the substrate a good hoover.

What are the results in ammonia and nitrite.
What test kit are you using.

Any fish showing any of these signs.
Flicking and rubbing.
Darting or erratic swimming.
Laboured breathing or gasping.
Any red pin prick marks on the fish or sores.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.
Is the anus of the fish enlarged or red and inflamed.
Any fish look skinny or bloated.
Any fish have bent spines.

white/greyish slime on its body.
Can be bad water quality, parasites, bacterial, toxins, ph shock, over dose of meds.

Post the video also in tropical discussion so other members might know which parasite it is.

 

[Swisher]

Remove all ornaments and plants from the tank and give the substrate a good hoover.

What are the results in ammonia and nitrite.
What test kit are you using.

Any fish showing any of these signs.
Flicking and rubbing.
Darting or erratic swimming.
Laboured breathing or gasping.
Any red pin prick marks on the fish or sores.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.
Is the anus of the fish enlarged or red and inflamed.
Any fish look skinny or bloated.
Any fish have bent spines.

white/greyish slime on its body.
Can be bad water quality, parasites, bacterial, toxins, ph shock, over dose of meds.

Post the video also in tropical discussion so other members might know which parasite it is.

I tested for ammonia and it indicates none. I misstated my nitrates finding. I did a water hardness test, which is different than a nitrate test, obviously. I need to get a nitrate test kit. Here are some answers to your questions:

Any fish showing any of these signs.
Flicking and rubbing. Haven't seen this behavior.
Darting or erratic swimming. Haven't seen this behavior.
Laboured breathing or gasping. Haven't seen this behavior.
Any red pin prick marks on the fish or sores. Haven't seen this.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet. Haven't seen this.
Is the anus of the fish enlarged or red and inflamed. On the white cloud, yes - others, no.
Any fish look skinny or bloated. White cloud looks bloated, Red Eye looks skinny.
Any fish have bent spines. No.

Thanks for your expertise. I feel I'm at a point of deciding to quit the fish hobby, or do I go on...? I guess if my last three survive, I'll hang in there with them. If not, hmmm.

 

[iffles]

dont let that put you off fishkeeping please. i had an awful ich outbreak afew years ago and all my fish died except one glow light who convinced me to go on. i am really glad he survived because along with him, my love for the hobby survived, and things will get better, maybe not with your current fish, but with the hobby

 

[loraxchick]

thses worm in the substrate are not likely causing harm to your fish...give a google to tubifex worms and see if that is what youre experiencing. fish often eat them. usually brought in on potted plants.
cut back o nfeeding and give a good substrate clean with each weekly waterchange to get rid of most of the population.
cheers!

 

[WILDER]

They could well be tubilex worms.
But need to find out why the fish have a white greyish slime on the fish.

When I fish is bloated the anus can also be enlarged and red and inflamed.

Has the fish gone skinny throw not eating.

Losing weight and excess slime can also point to external parasites.