View Full Version : White hairs that wiggle in tank. Worms? Parasites?
mmaunder
11-13-2003, 6:49 PM
Hi,
My 2.5 gallon freshwater Betta tank is filled with these tiny white hairs about half an inch long that move. They're little worms of some sort. They seem to live mostly in the substrate because when I to a partial water change, they are kicked up by the turbulence and float around the water for a while. Anyone know what these things are? Are they harmful to my fish?
I did a complete water change a while back - and had to deal with the predictable cloudy water for a week - and they just came right back after a couple of months.
Thanks for any help.
Mark.
chefkeith
11-13-2003, 6:57 PM
Sounds like Planeria or planaria, which ever way its spelled. They arn't harmful to fish.
kveeti
11-13-2003, 7:00 PM
If, when in the water column they thrash around, probably nematodes. Not harmful. However, if you are seeing them in great quantities, it could mean you are over-feeding. When they are in the water, your bettas should love to eat them.
If you use the search button at the top of the page, and type in "white worms" and search in the General Freshwater forum (options at bottom), you should get lots of reading, I got 32 results.
edit... As mentioned by above poster, planarians are a possibility, too. Also not harmful. Planarians crawl on the glass. Nematodes thrash in the water.
mmaunder
11-13-2003, 7:18 PM
Thanks, I am much relieved. I also have little white dots that dart around, the size of a pin head. They are in much fewer numbers than the planaria, but also appear on occasion. Ever seen these?
Thanks.
MelJr
11-13-2003, 11:46 PM
I have those little white worms in my tetra tank. I stir up the gravel sometimes and the fish love the worms. Very few of em make it back to the gravel.
wetmanNY
11-14-2003, 5:14 AM
mmaunder, if they are bouncing and hopping and scrambling over debris, they could be ostracods. A mini-arthropod. Not dangerous. A hard shell to crack for fish though.
i hvae the damend things too, didnt notice until i turned on the light in the middle of the night one time, and saw them all wiggling around like cork screws, if only my gourami was awake! he would have feasted!
The worms are kinda creepy at first but I have gotten used to them. The best thing about them was I found this site when I did a web search for them :D