White worms in my tank!

[grenlif]

Hi AQ bros,

I just did a 15-20% water change and dosed very tiny amt of Old Sea Mud in my tank and after 5 mins, white worms started to swim around my tank! i fished them out 1 by 1 using a chopstick and transferred some into a plastic container. I've fished out around 30 or so of them so far and here's how they look like. They just let the water current carry them and they dont wriggle much in the water. They're like white earthworms, max 1cm or so in length


I've read this post: Bugs-you-might-encounter-in-your-aquarium and the white worms doesnt match the description of Planaria. So any idea what are these worms? Are they harmful to my Fire reds? I had 2-3 deaths over the past 5 days, I dont know if it's due to these worms.

My water parameters:
pH 6.5
NH3 0
NO2 0
Temp 27.5

My FTS


Thanks in advance for the help

[stormhawk]

These worms usually appear if you overfeed the shrimps. They are not Planaria, but some type of worm related to them. The shrimp deaths can be related to other factors like GH/KH and/or nitrate levels being out of balance. You might want to do further tests to be sure. Sometimes they die when someone sprays insecticide nearby, or fumes from paint etc get dissolved in the tank water.

[grenlif]

These worms usually appear if you overfeed the shrimps. They are not Planaria, but some type of worm related to them. The shrimp deaths can be related to other factors like GH/KH and/or nitrate levels being out of balance. You might want to do further tests to be sure. Sometimes they die when someone sprays insecticide nearby, or fumes from paint etc get dissolved in the tank water.

Thanks! So that means these worms aren't harmful?

[Navanod]

The layman term for such types of Oligochaetes worms is "detritus worms".
They're not harmful and acts pretty much like earth worms, eating leftovers

[mimin5zidane]

Just a question.

Any way to get rid of them?

[stormhawk]

Control your feeding and vacuum the top most layer of the gravel. They feed on trapped food particles and poop.

[mimin5zidane]

Control your feeding and vacuum the top most layer of the gravel. They feed on trapped food particles and poop.

Thanks bro stormhawk! You helped me in my post too.

[stormhawk]

You're welcome. A point to note, you should not use drugs to control these worms unless truly necessary. They are part and parcel of an aquarium system and only explode in numbers if you don't keep the tank maintained.

[grenlif]

Thanks! I can sleep better now

[ZackZhou]

Grenlif:
Try google nematodes and see if it matches your pest. If it does, read about it too. Hope it helps

[deone]

I'm also having these worms in my tank. They only hide in the gravel.
How do you vacuum your gravel? I have some plants on my gravel.

[stormhawk]

If you are unable to vacuum the gravel, then leave it as it is. These worms are common in fish tanks and you should not be too alarmed by their presence.

[Navanod]

I'm not sure if it'll help, but will pygmy cory eat the worms?
GC also brought in this tiny fish, a stickleback, that is really small and eats worms and other tiny things. They seemed really safe for shrimps too as their mouth is really small but don't get too many, or your worms will be wiped out and the fishes may starve

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...omus-paradoxus

[Noobz]

Just to share my personal experience that newly born planaria also looks like white worm. They turn darker color when bigger.

[stormhawk]

Indostomus will hunt these tiny worms but after awhile, these little fish need to be fed with live foods like Moina and BBS or they will starve. A single fish may be sufficient in a shrimp tank, but chances are, you won't see it so often because they're so cryptic in behaviour and colouration, thus you will be inclined to think that it died somewhere and got eaten by the shrimp.

Pygmy corys do not seem to feed on these worms.

[Fariez]

I used to have these problems before. What i do is i put 1 galaxy in my tank and now, no more white worms. I took out the galaxy and put it in another tank.if they appear again, my galaxy will get the job done again.

[polyho]

I used to have these problems before. What i do is i put 1 galaxy in my tank and now, no more white worms. I took out the galaxy and put it in another tank.if they appear again, my galaxy will get the job done again.

Hi Fariez, Where to get this galaxy fish. Look very nice. You keep them in school in your regular tank?

[Fariez]

I bought the galaxy at lfs in tampines. Bought it just to get rid of the worm. You should have tell me earlier so i can give it to you to try. I just gave it away yesterday. Anyway it doesnt cost much, around $1-$2 per fish. Bought it at superstar aquarium at blk 400+ tampines st 42.

[reiner09]

I bought the galaxy at lfs in tampines. Bought it just to get rid of the worm. You should have tell me earlier so i can give it to you to try. I just gave it away yesterday. Anyway it doesnt cost much, around $1-$2 per fish. Bought it at superstar aquarium at blk 400+ tampines st 42.

Bro do you think they will eat planaria of this length --- ? having some planaria problem too..hehe

[polyho]

I bought the galaxy at lfs in tampines. Bought it just to get rid of the worm. You should have tell me earlier so i can give it to you to try. I just gave it away yesterday. Anyway it doesnt cost much, around $1-$2 per fish. Bought it at superstar aquarium at blk 400+ tampines st 42.

Can you tell me which block is it or near where. Keen to pay a visit to this LFS. I stay around there but never notice it