Help! Small & thin wiggling worm

[reefsin]

I had set up a small 1 ft (hopefully) low maintnance shrimp tank in the office 4 weeks ago. It is filtered by a external filter with only mosses tied to a driftwood. I have not introduced any shrimps/fishes into it yet.

Today, I saw a couple of thin worms wiggling away in the tank (might be more on the driftwood). They are about 1-1.5cm in length and white (almost transparent) in colour. Is this normal? If they are sucked into the filter, will they mutiple? What should I so?

[dts_spawn]

i think the worms came from the driftwood. did you soak your dirftwood for a few hours before putting it into your tank? well, i didn't, and had the worms u were talking about. i noticed them the morning after i put in the driftwood. after i came back in the evening, the worms are gone. i think they either got sucked into the filter or eaten up by my tetras.

[chua]

This is simple.

Just introduce some fish into the tank once it is fully cycled.
Your fish will eat them up.
If not, starve your fish for a day or two and they will goggle up anything that they consider as food.

[reefsin]

Thanks Willy and Chua for your reply. Incidentally, saw an article after my post on petfrd.com

http://www.petfrd.com/forum/articles...e&artid=67

[neon]

My shrimp is having the white worm now. Are these the parasites ? Does the cherry lay eggs first then will transform to larvae before becoming baby shrimp ?

[azurehalcyon]

neon,
shrimp babies dont look like worms. They'll seem more like copepods or brine shrimp. Is that worm attached to your shrimp? might be a nematode *urgh*!

[azurehalcyon]

just visited an aquarium at beauty wolrd, think its choong sua. Saw a fish with lots of white immobile curly worms, seemingly just under the scales... would that be a nematode?

[izzat]

this is the same thing that i encountered in my tanks...
it's either you leave it and it will be gone after some time
or you introduce tetras or boraras into you tank...
they will help you goble up these worms...

[fastlee84]

bro... last time my rummy nose had a white worm sticking out of its fin.. i tot it was nothing but over time i see more on other rummy noses. so i conclude that this must be parasites.
i immediately put them in a hospital tank and add more aquarium salt. wat i read was these parasites hate water with high salt content.. but these parasites are on fishes..
i think ur case is normal... fishes will eat those kind..hopefully arent like my case which caused some casualties...