Strange Worms

[MHunt]

Some little white worm like creatures have appeared in my 10 gal planted tank. The tank is setup with a soil substrate with gravel over the top. The tank contains bogwood, and several plants. The fish is stocked with one endler and two shrimp. I tested the water this morning, and it doesn't contain anything nasty. I also have had a rapid increase in the number of snails in the tank.

Are these just little worms that the livestock in the tank will eventually take an interest in and eat, or could they be leeches that will attack the fish? I guess i'll need to transfer the shrimp to another tank if it needs treatment as suitable meds will probably affect the shrimp too.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

probably planaria worms, probably be because of the increase in nutrients from the soil substrate

 

[MHunt]

probably planaria worms, probably be because of the increase in nutrients from the soil substrate

Are they harmful? and where could they have come from?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

nope not harmfull at all, fish may eat them. where they come from i can't say but they often crop up in cycling tanks when the nutrient levels are high, so i assume putting a nutrient rich suibstrate could have the same effect.

 

[Kevstir]

i was reading about planaria worms the other day, from what i gather they are present in large numbers if over feeding, as you say you have had a rapid increase in snails there might be to much food in the tank as food = snails.

 

[dillowpillow]

Its probably planaria worms. I had those about a week ago, and I looked up what they were. It turns out that they are completely harmless! They are probably beneficial to the fish because they eat all of the food that isn't eaten by the fish, and then the fish get a little treat. I was probably overfeeding, and after I reduced the amount of food that I feed, they were gone in about a week.

 

[MHunt]

Cool, so reduce feeding on the tank to little if nothing till the worms get eaten by the fish! Cool.

Thanks for all the great advice!