Help Needed!

[Laxison]

Well, I'm going to try to describe this as best I can and if anyone has an answer, please tell me in the least scary way as possible! In my planted tank there are (as I can best desribe them) little itty-bitty white wormy things. I woke up in the morning to see some of them scattered about on the glass (they're as "big" as a sliver) and they gradually eek their way down into the gravel.

So I have something disgusting and horribly bad in this tank and I'm dreading finding out what it is (but I know that I need to know what it is!!). So, does anyone know what these things are? And, how can I treat this? Will I have to quarantine my fish? Any direction into the, well, diagnosis of this problem and how I can treat it would be very appreciated!!!

 

[maddog10]

Now I have no idea what they are, but I can tell you that it is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes....it is some sort of worm or larvae that your fish can eat for food....sometimes.

 

[cyradis4]

I'm not really sure what they are either. But I think I read something about them on the internet. If memory serves, they are not in and of themselves an issues, but they can be a sign of an issue. How is your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?

Amanda.

 

[Laxison]

OK , whew, it's good to hear some reassuring news Well, I tested my levels and ammonia was up a little so I added some Ammo-Lock and will continue with that treatment along with the weekly water changes I do to help bring the ammonia level back to 0 (I'll probably up the water changes to a few this week so that the water does not become toxic - it is not at any levels near that, but I'll feel better getting it back to 0).

Nitrites are 0 and Nitrates are, well, the guide I use with the testing kit is so tough on this one (I swear the shades of red and orange are all the same color at each level!) but I'll take a guess that it is 40 since that looked to be the closest level.

I was thinking that my fish may have been snacking on these little worm-like things but then I had noticed that some retreated to the gravel. I don't know, it really throws me for a loop! I've been keeping fish for years and have never seen this! Now, this is my first planted tank so maybe that has something to do with it, but it has been established for a year now. Hopefully it isn't anything lethal, but I had noticed that my plants in the tank aren't as vibrant or hardy as usual (that I thought changed when I picked up a new brand of fertilizer tabs when I couldn't find the original ones I began with).

Thanks for the feedback, guys! So with my levels at the following (Nitrate ~ 40, Nitrite ~ 0, Ammonia ~ 0.5-1.0 - I know I know!!! Terrible!! Please don't yell!! I almost died when I saw that!!!), any ideas what may be the issue?

 

[Cristy]

If you feed live blackworms then these are surely leeches. No big deal -- they're good fish food.

 

[Tim]

Check out this article on Planaria. http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/manage...aria_Worms.html
I'd written a nice long reply on them and how to avoid them and get rid of them, but when I hit "Add Reply" my computer puked. :unsure:
So, now I'm just posting a link. In short, water changes, vacuum the gravel (not so easy in a planted tank) and they're pretty harmless.
Good Luck,
Tim

 

[Laxison]

Thank you thank you THANK YOU everyone! I cannot tell you how relieved I am to know that this is a treatable situation!! Tim, I'm so sorry your response was deleted prior to reposting, but I read the article and I believe that it describes exactly what I have in the tank. I did quite a large water change tonight and even vacuumed the gravel as best I could (sucked up some weak leaves on plants, but that's OK!).

I don't feed these guys live black worms but I've feed them frozen blood worms, so maybe they are leaches if not planaria worms. I didn't notice any today when I was looking at and cleaning my tank so maybe my fish have been munching on them!

Thank you again so much everyone!!! I can rest a it easier now knowing that I should have this situation under control

 

[JustRon]

They are just a common harmless worm. Plenaria or something like that. Feed your fish.

 

[Laxison]

They are just a common harmless worm. Plenaria or something like that. Feed your fish.[/b]

So do you mean "feed your fish" as in they may not be getting enough food or as in "don't restrict their diet" because of these worms?

I'm happy to report that I haven't seen these worms since I last posted, so hopefully I nipped this problem in the bud!