WHAT IS THIS?????

[fishwatcher]

I found this wormy thing swimming in my tank (the first one in the sig) just a little while ago. It is almost 1/2" long, brownish color. It was swimming kind of in an "s" pattern, going from the bottom to the top, as opposed to sideways through the water.
Anyone know what this is? Will it hurt my fish or me?
I have since killed it an thrown it in the garbage in a paper towel. I didn't want to risk flushing it.



here's the link... I just put it in a previous post.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...=0&#entry829022

Thanks for any help!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I don't know what the worm is, but the best way to see if its harmful to your fish is to see if they'll eat it- if they do its rarely ever bad for them

 

[camshaft]

bro im surprised that it survived long enough for you to catch it. my fish would have gobbled it up n a split second

 

[WILDER]

Can you describe the worm, how long is it, does it have a forked tail.

 

[fishwatcher]

Well, I'd never seen it before and I was re-arranging the tank, stirring up a lot of stuff and what-not. That's when I saw it swimming around. I didn't think to see if the fish would eat it; I netted it out immediately.

Edit: Hey Wilder... it's about 1/2" long, brown, no forked tail. Just a skinny little squiggly thing.

 

[WILDER]

Only brown coloured worm i can find is this.

CAMALLANUS WORMS - small red or brown worms that attach themselves to the rectum and intestines of the fish

Symptoms: A resting fish may have red or brown worms protruding from its anus. The fish may also appear pinched in the belly.
Treatment: Ask your local fish dealer to recommend a proper (marine or freshwater) medication for internal parasitic worms. Most medications for this will contain such a drug as trichlorfon, yomesan or piperazine. Follow all manufacturers recommendations and treat the fish in a separate hospital tank.

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[Erised]

Maybe a very silly thought, but could it have been a bloodworm? Mosquitos love using tanks as breeding places, and from the picture and description it could very well be one. If so, there's a chance of there being more ... the burry themselfs in the sand. Though, that does make me wonder why it didn't get eaten right away.

 

[fishwatcher]

I'm pretty sure it isn't a bloodworm, but I'm not sure it's a camallanus worm either. All of my fish seem fine other than finding that thing swimming around. I havne't seen anything hanging out of anyone's rearend. Should I see that before a 1/2" long one is swimming in the water?
BTW, can we get them???
Thanks!

 

[catyrpelius]

Do you feed your fish live black worms, cause that is what i looks like to me.

 

[fishwatcher]

nope. they only get frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, flakes and shrimp pellets, and cucumbers.
So far I see no problems with any of the fish, so hopefully it was just some little worm that got in there.