# Blackish colored spiky looking worms!!!!!!!



## jsbauter (Dec 21, 2008)

HELP!!!

I have seen some blackish looking small spiky looking worms in my tanks!!! I have tried to find info on what these might be but have not found anything.

I was wondering if any one might have an idea of what they are and are they harmful to my fish!!! They are in my Oscar tank. They seem to hide in the gravel and when I vacuum the bottom they get stirred up. There are not very many of them but they are creeping me out! I don't know how to get rid of them. I don't want to use chemicals in my tank. 

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Can you get a picture? Pictures usually are the most helpful.


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## jsbauter (Dec 21, 2008)

I will try but they are so small I am not sure I could get a good picture. They come out of the gravel and float to the top and sort of just wiggle slowly at the top then sink again. I try to catch them with the net to get them out! They wrap together, I assume they are mating and swirl around in the water. I usually only see them after I vacuum the bottom as I disturb the gravel. They are very dark almost black and have tiny tiny spiky looking things along their bodies.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I can think of a few things they may be, and all of them are harmless.


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## jsbauter (Dec 21, 2008)

Any suggestions of what they maybe is helpful. Then maybe I can search for more info to try and confirm it. I am not sure I can actually capture a picture of the worms they are so small.


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## Fishychic (Dec 7, 2008)

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Freshwater-Aquarium-3216/2008/11/black-worms-2.htm

Is that what they look like?


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## jsbauter (Dec 21, 2008)

yes they are shaped like that and are very ugly when you look at them closely. So they are probably harmless. I have not seen any lately. I did a really good tank cleaning recently and even took out some of the decorations I had in there and cleaned the air tubes etc. 

Thanks for the picture...I have looked and looked but could not find anything even close.


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## Sea-Agg2009 (Aug 2, 2008)

Some fish will eat them if they are hungry enough. Otherwise they are probably not going to harm you tank in any way. I know flatworms are a problem in reef tanks, but I'm not sure how/if they effect freshwater. If you can grab one in a cup, you can either take a picture and post it here, or take it to a fish store, where they can identify it. I know there are chemical treatments for flatworms. Most small worms do not harm a tank in any way while they are alive. Once they die, they can release some very nasty toxins wish can quickly kill fish.


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