Small White Worms

[summerdragon]

My friends tank has some very odd worms….. about ½ an inch long (that I can see), body is almost transparent, with a whitish “head?â€, they are very thin…. They seem to be in little groups on the bottom of the tank and keep there “tail?†under the rocks, never seen them swim/detach from the bottom… They “hide†when any of the corys swim by them….They look like white grass “growing†out of the rocks….. I just noticed this in his tank yesterday, and wondering what are they, are they dangerous, and what should he do about them??? I’m used to little odd swimmers in aquarium water, but nothing like this, these “worms†are super creepy…… Any help would be great…. Thanks all…..

 

[WILDER]

First off check the fish for puncture wounds or sores on the body.
Is the tail forked.
Take a look here first to rule these out.
http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/manage...aria_Worms.html

 

[summerdragon]

thanks Wilder... will give that a read right now..... At this point all the fish look in good condition, no illness or sores.....

thanks

 

[summerdragon]

Well gave a read and did a google search on “planaria worms†and they are not what he has in his tank…(I on the other hand had those in my tank before, cut down on feeding and they went away, just didn’t know what they were called until now)…..

The worms in my friends tank do not go onto the glass, do not leave the gravel, and seem to hang out in groups… It looks like (although I’m sure it’s not the case) they are all attached under-gravel to each other…Never saw one alone, and the groups seem to be made up of 5-10 of “themâ€â€¦â€¦

Please keep posting ideas for me to check out, thanks all…

 

[WILDER]

Tell her to do a deep gravel vac, and check the bucket for a good description of them.
Look for a forked tail.

 

[summerdragon]

Thanks again Wilder.... Just passed the message along.... Will update post when we know more.... Anything else distinctive other than the forked tail that we should look for?

 

[WILDER]

Hooks and suckers, and shape of body.