Sorry, can't help with the ID of the worm. But I must say the macro of the worm is nicely taken. It is 2mm in length?
Hi,
Some of my tanks are heavily infested with this type of "worm like" creature.I have tried many times to remove them but they keep on coming back.
Here some pics:
The worms are really small,here's a photo of them with my 2 days old livida fry (2mm TL).
A closeup shot of the worm.
Any help on their ID and treatment for removal would be appreciated.
Thanks.
My website http://clearwateraquatics.biz
Sorry, can't help with the ID of the worm. But I must say the macro of the worm is nicely taken. It is 2mm in length?
Hi Haji,
Good to hear from you.
Initial guess would be planaria, a result of overfeeding. However, I don't recall seeing a close up of the worm having hairy legs. Fishes will not usually feed on these creatures for some strange reason.
Do you have more than one type of worm infestation in the tank? What is your feeding regime like and do you change water often?
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
This if I'm not mistaken is an Oligochaete worm[with bristles]. See- http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/worm.html
You can use 'Vermex' to control it's population. This worms 'appear' when the tank has excess food and no predators. Usually in shrimp only tanks.
I bought a bottle of Vermex in December at Polyart but I'm sure those shops that specialise in shrimps/medication would have it too.
You can if you dare to fail - Stan Chung
haji, great macro shots. Impressive. Even though its a worm infection.
Thanks.The adult worms are about the size of a hair.
Hi Benny,
Nice to hear from you too.Yes i have noticed that not even the fry would eat the worms.As i am running almost all of my tanks with no filtration,i do not overfeed my fishes.Instead it is always the other way around.
Funny it may be ...... the tanks that are infected would usually be the ones with the betta akarensis group.The livida fry infection is an exception though.
Looking at how nasty these worms look,i try my best to avoid touching the water during maintenance.Recently,I have read an article on the deadly nematodes that frequently attack humans.
I do a weekly 10% water change for all my setups ...... and as i said earlier ... i feed them sparingly.So far ... this is the only worm that i managed to identify in the tanks .......
Thanks Stan.I can source out for Vermex and give them a try.
Thanks.
Last edited by Haji Badaruddin; 22nd Jan 2009 at 22:56.
My website http://clearwateraquatics.biz
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