# small white worms



## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

were not sure if this is a disease/parisite or what not, but we were looking at our 29g tonight, and noticed about ten small white worm looking things in the water. we think they are worms because they stop moving for a moment and then start back up again, at first we thought it could just be moving from the water flow. any help is appreciated.


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

Could it be planaria? not sure but when I had white things not planaria on my tank, everyone thought at first that is what I meant, so that could be your culprit  and I think I read that they weren't harmful, but not sure.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

thanks for the info, im pretty sure thats what the problem is, they are not attached to the fish at all.


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

Yeah have you tried looking up pics of planaria...the description was little white worms floating in or on the side of aquarium. I haven't had them but when I had my little weird white things hehe I was told by a few ppl that it was planaria at first. Plus I read somewhere that some smaller fish such as mollies might eat the planaria..if not it said wash gravel, and maybe use some quick cure or something if necessary. Good luck!


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

yes i did search the net, theyre only about 1/4 inch long and they do this little wiggly thing in the water. it says they appear with an ammonia spike, but the fish are acting fine and our parameters are checking out fine. there is an electric catfish, bumblebee catfish, and ice blue zebra cichlid in this tank. so these things arent harmless to us or the fish? I plan on doing a water change today, hoping that will help out. i did further reading and i found this "Please note that Planarian worms can get into the gills of aquatic livestock and cause irritation, leading to fish etc. becoming jumpy and starting to scratch against the decor. I have witnessed this with Axolotls, and when a friend's Red Cap Oranda was constantly rubbing against the decor with no signs of a disease infection. We ultimately discovered that an abundance of Planaria in the tank had caused this problem. " uh-oh. i havent seen them scratching, so im going to keep my fingers crossed and do that water change, thanks again for the info and fast response.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

They most often appear when the tank matainence is being done thoroughly. Not harmful but a sign of dirty water conditions (usually too much gunk in the substrate).


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

well i did a waterchange today, and i dont see them anymore, but i will keep an eye out over the next few days.


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## warren126 (Oct 8, 2005)

*I have them*

I just notice them in my 75 gal what did u do to get rid of them is there any chemical are something I can buy and how much of a water change did you do they are creepy


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## drosera (Feb 2, 2005)

Hi,

At the size you mention, and more specifically the swimming action you describe, I'm suspecting more Nematodes, a different sort of worm. There are many different kinds of them, some parasitic, but if you are seeing them free living in the tank and your fish are fine, they are probably benign 'sludge' feeders. I would do the following to reduce their numbers:

- Clean the filter on a regular basis.

- Avoid overfeeding the fish.

- Watch that a layer of mulm (muck) doesn't develop on or in the gravel. Vaccuming the gravel would be a great help here.

Smaller fish would definitely eat them, but since you have large fish, that isn't a possibility right now.

I invite you to check out my website, listed below, for additional information regarding worms and other micro fauna in aquaria.

Take care!


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