Worms????

RocknRollMoCo

RocknRollMoCo

Can I get bigger livebait?
Jun 1, 2004
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I have 3 Veil Tail Oscars in my Aquarium.. I just got through feeding them and I noticed little squiggly lines in the tank swimming around. At first I thought it was some junk floating in the current but after I turned the filter off it was STILL sqiggling around.. there are about 4 or 5 in the tank (that I can see).. I have no idea what it is or how or if I should treat it. My fish look healthy.. they have a great appitite.. The only thing I can tell you is that the "worms" are red in color and very thin and small.. HELP what has happened.. I am in a panic.. I called the guy at the local fish store and he just suggested I take some water out of my saltwater aquarium and put it in my fresh.. I understand the logic but will it kill it.. he had no idea what it was he just had a suggestion on treating it (useless to me) Please Please help before I freak out!
Thanks in advance!
Lyn in Alabama
 
Likely nematodes or planaria, common in tanks with organic build-up, especially in the substrate. The solution is water changes, mechanical filter rinses, and very thorough vacumming of the substrate - all more frequently than in the past.

Oscars are very messy fish, and require more housekeeping than other fish.
 
I found this post at another site that I visit.

"They're most likey blood worms, fish will eat them most of the time if the fish are small enough but they won't harm the fish. It's more of an inconvenience than an threat. I've never been able to get them out of my Oscars tank but I try to keep the numbers down by cleaning every 2 weeks. You could try to remove the gravel completely and letting your filter catch most of them for a few days. Then clean the gravel really well or replace it. That should bring the numbers way down since there might be eggs in the gravel. The eggs are the hardest to get rid of and they are very resiliant."


A lot of other people at the same site said using salt as well.
 
dont bloodworms rarely accidently get introduced into the aquarium?
I thought they were larva of some insect that doesnt typically sneak into the aquarium.
 
I posted the same question on the ciclid forum and this is the remark and answer I gave..

It's really hard to tell from the description, but I wouldn't panic right away, have you/ do you feed any kind of frozen worms, have you bought any new plants recently. I have had lots of different hitchickers come in on plants and have heard stories of daphnia appearing after feeding frozen or freeze dried daphnia. I want the snails so I rinse lightly and carefully when I buy plants. I've seen tubifex, bloodworms and some un identifieds in my tank, but nothing that has harmed my fish in most cases once the fish saw them they were eaten. Your oscars will probably rid the tank of the problem as soon as they see them. Any chance you could get pics?

Also someone else is bound to say it so I might as well, I hope a 125g or a 180g is in the near future plan with three oscars. That 55 will get too small in about 4 months. Just a random thought that may help you avert disaster down the road.
HTH
Dave

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Thanks for the reply.. Here are the answers to your questions...

have you/ do you feed any kind of frozen worms, have you bought any new plants recently

I have only fed my fish floating pellets with the occasional goldfish or two. I dont have any plants or anything in the aquarium so that the fish will have the most swimming room.

but nothing that has harmed my fish in most cases once the fish saw them they were eaten. Your oscars will probably rid the tank of the problem as soon as they see them.

I thought that too but I think these things are way too small for them to even see them... That's why I didnt even try to get a picture because you have to really look for them to see them.

I hope a 125g or a 180g is in the near future plan with three oscars.

I thought about it after I posted that I should say something about that... we are building a house and our new house is going to have a 300 gallon aquarium build in the wall just for the big babies.. I gave up alot of fancy molding so they would be happy.. I'm sure it will be worth it.

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RTR wrote:

Likely nematodes or planaria, common in tanks with organic build-up, especially in the substrate.

I looked up both and what I can find is that they are both white in color.. and these are red...


SOOOO I am still not sure what the heck they are if you are in agreement with one of these guys or you have another idea I am all ears.
Thanks
Lyn
 
weird- I was guessing planaria too but I thought those were whitish to clear- you've probably already thought of thios but did you bring in any rocks or anything from streams in your area
 
I DID have some rock that came from the mountains of North Carolina but I took them out months ago. I really have no idea that would have put it in there... Do you think they could have been in the water hose when I did a water change? I usually runit a little before I bring it in but I can not say for sure I did it this time.
I tried to get a picture of the little buggers but they are so little they do not show up on film..
I did get a good picture of two of my Oscars I thought I would share.
Lyn
 
Many roundworm/nematodes are dark pinkish in color. Planaria tend to stick to surfaces rather than free float (unless some get knocked off).

They themselves are not a threat - but they do indicate that the water is dirty from excess organic wastes, food or poop. More frequent water changes with heavy gravel vac-ing will help decrease their population.

So, while you shouldn't worry about the worms, you should worry about what is causing them in the first place. "Dirty" water will lead to sick fish.

HTH
 
Well.. I may be guilty of just that :o I do try to give it a good waterchange when I vacuum at least twice a month but I think it had been awile since I did it last.. I did do it this past weekend and I didn't see any then.. I hope they will be ok.. I found this site that talked about some red worms that go into the fishes anus and kill them. You have to get some sheep dewormer to get rid of them.. Lets just say I put a whole in my carpet running to take a look at my fishes bum. (I would have bet money I would never do that). Ahh the things we do.

Thanks for everyones help and thank Leopardess for the insite on how to take pictures of the tank.. its a neat website. Beautiful tanks that I hope make the move well.
 
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