# aaaaaaah they are scaring me!!!!!!



## Bymer (Aug 22, 2008)

Hey guys and gals!


i need some help. In my tank i have these little white worms on the walls. They are about 1mm long and there are like a 10000000000 of them. 
does any one know what these are? :fish:


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## Bymer (Aug 22, 2008)

and i forgot, they are like white/clear in color.


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## Phantom_Ram (Oct 23, 2008)

They're Planaria, a sign of a very messy substrate. Vaccum the gravel and check your filters to make sure they haven't established in your filter(s).


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

if the tank is loaded with them,then they are also in the filters..do they swim around?
planaria are not that big of a problem.many fish will eat them.like ram said,give your tank a good cleaning..stop feeding for a few days.then feed lightly..they are often caused by overfeeding.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Hmmm... Many of my planted tanks get these little microworms for awhile before they fade away again. They might be planaria, but I think nematodes are a more likely suspect. Are they much thinner than a human hair? Is it easy to see which end is the head & which is the tail with your naked eye? Without a picture or a better description we can only guess.

It doesn't really matter, of course, as the same causes and treatments apply. Both are harmless enough unless your fish have laid eggs.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

By:

If you have a planted tank these may be baby Maylasian Trumpet Snails (aka Maylasian Livebearer Snails) and most probably are if you do not observe them an hour or so after turning on the lights.

If they are MTS's you are fortunate to have them as they are a real cleanup crew but if you have loaches few or none will reach adulthood but they will propagate.

TR


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## Bymer (Aug 22, 2008)

hmmmm... 


all of the above apply to me... lol... :chair:

i did measure the size of them with a hair, and a hair seems thinner then they are, but not by much. I cant seem to see which end is the head or which is the end, but they are moving around definitely. 

to make life even more difficult i did pick up some Malaysian snails 2 weeks ago. ))) 

but here is the thing, the worms appeared just after a 75% water change and the gravel has been washed thoroughly this time around. 


:?: :fish:


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Okay, then, are they "gliding' along in a freaky sort of way, or are they inching along instead? I hope that made sense.


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## Bymer (Aug 22, 2008)

i would say that they are probably gliding in a freaky way)))


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

what do you mean you washed the gravel??
Why??
Are you having any fish deaths?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Okay, then. Planaria glide and are much thicker than hair, so they take the lead again.


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## Bymer (Aug 22, 2008)

sorry didnt answer for a couple of days, unpaid internet bill :-(

no i didnt have any fish deaths. The reason the gravel is being washed is the tank is highly populated. its not my tank. ))) 

i washed the gravel to get rid of the poop. by washing i mean i just vacuumed it. 

the old salt, i was thinking for a couple of days about what you said and i have to say that they are probable inching away rather then gliding away)))))) believe me i gave this a lot of thought... lol..... :fish:


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Ok, well then, back to nematodes.


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## Bymer (Aug 22, 2008)

TheOldSalt said:


> Ok, well then, back to nematodes.


 can you tell me a bit more about where they come from, why and how do i get rid of them... lol.... :fish: 

tnks


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## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

i have the same problem in my "temporary" shrimp tank. in fact, i had these worms too when i had only shrimp in my main (planted) tank and no fish.

no doubt the harlequin rasboras eat them up like candy. took them but a few minutes before they started once i put them in the tank.

thing is, i don't think that i overfeed, a small pinch once a day, sometimes every other day.

i cringed at the thought of my wife looking after my tanks when i'm away for 2 weeks in dec/jan.


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## Bymer (Aug 22, 2008)

but what causes them? any one knows?


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## ThatFishKid (Aug 9, 2008)

they come around whit lots of things. (though it only takes one of these to give you a "noticeable" amount). ways that I've gotten them are:
little or no filtration and or water flow
overfeeding
little or no water changes.

the ones normally seen are known as "detritus worms" (planaria are actually an aquatic flat worms, and i've seen ones almost an inch long. when they get bigger thay are brown black or grey.)
D. worms are harmless, and clean up extra food and poop and such. if they are extremely established enough that they seem to cloud the water at all, then it is a problem, but if your tank isn't a wreck with way to much food and waste and you STILL have them, I'd just leave them, as they're not terribly noticeable, and do more good than harm. 

P.S: for reference, ALL of my tanks have colonies of these.


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