black worms and leaches

[NickT]

i was inspecting my black worms and saw a bunch of small round things that stretch like worms when they crawl around... they look like leaches and they seem to feed on the black worms. should i throw these portion away or is it safe to feed to my fish?? i purchased these from a reputable dealer and they looked fine until i watched them a little closer. also i have already feed some of these to my fish before i saw the leaches so i think some may have already been eaten.
should i toss em?

 

[NickT]

yes? no?

 

[moneywastedonfish]

just to be safe i'd toss them, or better yet take them back and show him so no one else buys them. If they are leaches i'd be very wary, especially if you have any other invertebrates, crustaeca in particular seem to suffer from leaches. And the principle of the thing, you paid for black worms so should get blood worms.
Catch ya.

 

[blue_ram]

It's probably predatory planaria. They are free living, and feeds on small worms and copepods. One way to verify this is to see if they have a feeding tube attached to the black worms. If they do, then they are definitely planaria. They are harmless to the fish, but I'm not so sure about their nutritional value.

I would just return the worms; who knows what else (that you can't see) is also with the worms.

 

[NickT]

the pet shop said the same thing and wont take them back. they said its planaria and that the black worms are safe. i think I'm going to keep them since there the only thing my BGK will eat.