Unknown Aquarium Worm

[darius3]

Hi,

I noticed a strange worm in my fish tank.
If you know what is it please let me know.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlYE8Zb1xDQ
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od169FBUyv4
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwAZ39qj8oo
http/picasaweb.google.com/darius.munteanu/WormAquarium#

Regards,
Darius

 

[nmonks]

It's a leech of some sort. Some are parasitic, others predatory on tiny invertebrates. I'm not enough of an expert to tell in this case.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Carlovel1]

Dunno what it is but you should remove it from the aqaurium incase its harmful

 

[darius3]

Dunno what it is but you should remove it from the aqaurium incase its harmful

i removed it, i found it under a floating leaf.
any idea how it could arrive in a tank?

 

[nmonks]

Probably on either plants or some live food. Most of these critters are harmless or else fish food. Only occasionally do they cause harm. I wouldn't get too worried.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Curiosity101]

Eugh, that actually made me shudder.

nmonks is spot on saying it's a leech, and I'd go one further to say it might be a Piscicola geometra.
But it's not something I really know about, I just did some googling on freshwater aquarium leeches, and a few pictures of that came up and it looks quite similar to yours.

 

[nmonks]

Nope, it's another species. It's a Glossiphonia species. Look here:

http/www.aquatic-photography.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11323

Fascinating things. They eat snails! And the moms feed their babies. Really very cool critter.

Cheers, Neale

nmonks is spot on saying it's a leech, and I'd go one further to say it might be a Piscicola geometra.

 

[darius3]

Nope, it's another species. It's a Glossiphonia species. Look here:

http/www.aquatic-photography.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11323

Fascinating things. They eat snails! And the moms feed their babies. Really very cool critter.

Cheers, Neale

nmonks is spot on saying it's a leech, and I'd go one further to say it might be a Piscicola geometra.

So it's a leech.
Probably I got it two weeks age when I bought three Eichornia crassipes.
Next question would be if this leech is harmful for my fish and shrimps.

 

[Curiosity101]

Facinating... maybe. But I'd be more inclined to go with creepy, it's the movement that does it. I don't mind bugs, or squishy bugs. But that undulating... eugh.

 

[nmonks]

Apparently only feeds on snails. So you should be fine. But I'm not speaking from experience! It's clearly one of the predatory rather than parasitic leeches, so catches small prey rather than sucks blood. There might therefore me a chance it could take other small animals, like baby shrimps or even newborn livebearers. I'd chance it, but only in a small tank where I could remove the leech if I started having problems.

Cheers, Neale

So it's a leech.
Probably I got it two weeks age when I bought three Eichornia crassipes.
Next question would be if this leech is harmful for my fish and shrimps.

 

[darius3]

i checked and it looks very similar to a Snail Leech (Glossiphonia sp.)
thanks nmonks!

 

[nmonks]

All in a day's work!

Have fun with your new pet.

Who says marine fishkeepers are the only ones who get to keep funky invertebrates?

Cheers, Neale

i checked and it looks very similar to a Snail Leech (Glossiphonia sp.)
thanks nmonks!

 

[wdl76]

Hi

Also see some weird worm, looks like normal oligochaeta, but how come it ends up in my fish tank

Can anyone tell me what this is, where it came from and is it dangerous?

 

[nmonks]

If it's cylindrical and segmented, then yes, it's an oligochaete, and completely harmless. Indeed, according to some writers such worms are positively beneficial, keeping the sediment clean and promoting good biological filtration. See here:

http/www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_7/volume_7_1/dsb.html

Cheers, Neale

 

[wdl76]

If it's cylindrical and segmented, then yes, it's an oligochaete, and completely harmless. Indeed, according to some writers such worms are positively beneficial, keeping the sediment clean and promoting good biological filtration. See here:

http/www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_7/volume_7_1/dsb.html

Cheers, Neale

Urgh thanks

I feel a lot safer now