Wiggley Worms

[okimavich]

I've recently sighted four of these thin white worm-like organisms squirming their way around in two of my tanks. They're about 3/4 - 1" in length and very thin. Two were in my planted 20G and the others were in my 55G at work. Any ideas?

 

[mscichlid]

I don't know what the name of these worms are, but I seem to remember that they come in on plants and usually thrive in balanced (healthy) tanks. Small fish like pencils and tetras may go after them. I had them in my planted discus tank when the biolode was low. Now that I have cardinals in there, I don't see them anymore.

GG will probably know what they are.

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

You're not talking about planaria are you?

 

[okimavich]

Nah, planaria are pretty flat and have a distinct "arrow" shape. These guys look like the poop from a fish with Bloat: Thin, white and stringy. Except these guys were actually "swimming", although a bit vertically and not horizontally. :unsure:

 

[Charlotte]

do they look like tiny snakes when they swim?

 

[okimavich]

Yes, they do look like little snakes trying to wiggle to the top.

 

[mscichlid]

John this is what I found out about those worms:

"The worms in the sample you sent were not nematodes, but oligochaete worms.
I'm not an expert in annelids, but that's what I think they are. I don't
think they are parasitic at all - they don't have the morphology consistent
with endoparasites. More than likely they are feeding on detritus in your
tank, including the feces. Some folks actually try to buy cultures of
similar animals, such as Tubifex, which is used as fish food. If your fish
aren't eating the worms, the worms are at least doing their part to cycle
carbon and nitrogen in your tank.

I also found some bdelloid rotifers in the sample. These too, are not
parasites, but freeliving microbivorous organisms. Looks like your tank has
a pretty healthy ecosystem!"

 

[okimavich]

Interesting. Where did you happen to find the info?

 

[mscichlid]

At one of the discus forums that I frequent.

 

[Steve]

FWIW, I've had these in some of my tanks for a long time. (I've always thought that the ones in my tanks have a reddish cast to them. Very tubifexy-looking.) I've always suspected that they came in with some plants that I picked up at an auction. (I guess my "suspicion" comes from the fact that I actually saw them as I put the plants in the tank! Snails, too.)
I've not ever worried about them, figuring that with cichlids (especially if you have substrate in your tanks) you can never have too much of a filtration effort aimed at breaking down organic matter (same reason I don't have a problem with snails living in my overflow boxes). I make sure now that there is always at least one spot in the tank where the substrate is a bit deep, so that these guys can live.

Some of the fish seem to enjoy actively hunting for them (e.g., P. electras, which makes sense)when I do water changes that involve messing with the substrate and stirring things up. The yellow labs chomp 'em down, too.

But, John, perhaps the most important point for you is that, according to folklore, if you eat a small bowl of them during a full moon, your first child will be a boy!

Cheers,
Steve