worms in tank; turning into flies

[serjuanca888]

I have worms in my aquarium. They start out in little brown tubes about 1/4 - 1/2 inch long. Then when they break out of the tube they become free swimming worms. After a while they become fruit fly sized flies. What are they? and how do I get rid of them?

[wetmanNY]

Could you have caddisflies, that fly fisherman like to tie imitations of? http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/angling/bugs/caddisfly/caddisfly.phtml

More descriptions are at www.google.com "caddisfly"

Why aren't your fish gobbling them up?

[beviking]

What caddis fly is the size of a fruit fly???? There may be one, but fly fishermen/women aren't tying ones so small. Think of the teeny fish a fruit fly would catch (about the size of that hatchetfish or platy you have in your tank!), might just as well eat the fly and save your time. Besides, cleaning a fish that small would be a PITA!:D

Not so scratchy...

[wetmanNY]

Stuart Little 3: Stuart Goes Fishing

[esox48]

caddis, may, and stone fly, in the larval stages are not worms, so it can not be one of those. How long are the worms? And where in the world do you live? Aquatic insects vary a great deal depending on which continent.

[wetmanNY]

Blood"worms" are Chironomid midge larvae. Many people seeing an insect larva in their tank would think "worm." Aquatic insects do vary according to species from continent to continent, but "generically" they look similar to us amateurs.

[Faramir]

These sound like midges or mosquitos to me. What colour is the "worm"? Does it live at the surface or on the substrate?

[serjuanca888]

The worms themselves are about 1/4 inch long and red. The worms typically reside in the gravel. I had these worms before in my other tanks, but never this bad. I live in texas. west texas if it matters.

[serjuanca888]

Would a copper treatment get rid of these worms? I know in saltwater copper kills all invertibrates.

[Tom.E]

Agree with Wetman and Faramir, it’s midge larvae. Some of the Chironomids tube builders and some build transportable cases.

Don’t use copper, it’s worse than the larvae blight. Remove them manually as you find them. The majority of aquatic insect larvae are nocturnal to avoid predation. That’s the best time to look for them.



Tom

[PlecoKeeper]

Hi I dont understand how you could get little worms in your tank. Is your tank outside or near a open window? Maby a fly laid its eggs in there or something. I would move the tank in a safe place and change water every day. While you are doing that go to a local pet store and tell them the problem.

[Slappy*McFish]

Most of the kids working at LFS don't know their arse from their elbow...I would stick to getting my advice from the forums...many of the people here have decades of experience between them and a few have created some very nice websites with a wealth of information...*cough*wetman*cough*

[serjuanca888]

I can't see how the flies would have gotten in there. The tank is in my bedroom and i never open the window. I think the worms come from petsmart where i occasionly buy fish.

Is their anyway to kill them? any natural predator which will eat them? Anything? These stupid flies drive me nuts.

[wetmanNY]

What fish are in the tank? Don't they *know* what they're supposed to do when they see a midge larva? What! do they think? there's a hook in it?

You feed them so well that they're lazy.

"No flakes til you eat your larvae."

[corvettekid82]

Originally posted by wetmanNY
What fish are in the tank? Don't they *know* what they're supposed to do when they see a midge larva? What! do they think? there's a hook in it?
This is a great thread.. about a month ago, I thought my prized 3" Golden Topwater minnow was acting very pecular. I was afraid that he might have had a fungus or something similar because he was hitting his body into the glass as if he was trying to scratch himself. Upon close inspection, he was jumping OUT of the water to reach the dry glass on the inside of the tank were a few random worms of some type had taken refuge (the 'worms' in my tank are transparent pink and hang out at the top of the water. If they are cut in 2 they continue along in 2 pieces like nothing happenen and when they swim, they always go for the surface and look like ribbons in the process). They're a treat for him and he gets lots of excersize jumping out to catch them :D

[serjuanca888]

I have two 6 inch oscars who dont even notice the worms. They are just too big. I tried putting some smaller fish in with them, but the oscars ate them. I expected that tho.

[Firsttanks]

You might want to try freshwater Puffers, they love bloodworms:D
But that depends on how attached to your Oscars you are, my Dwarf Puffers (about 3/4 inch long) killed a 2 1/2 inch Mbuna Cichlid the first night they were in the tank with him.:p

[serjuanca888]

I would be surprised if a puffer could kill my oscars. I have heard of oscars killing piranhas before.

[Slappy*McFish]

Indeed, and I've heard of piranhas killing everything before;)

[serjuanca888]

So does anybody have any idea how to get rid of these? My fish are beginning to look bad. I dont know what to do.Would taking out the gravel be helpful?

[wetmanNY]

Hey Mike corvettekid! I bet your worms are Aeolosomatids. Do a www.google.com search or come read the brief bit at www.skepticalaquarist.com .

Aeolosomatids?

[Faramir]

I don't think your fish looking bad has anything to do with these larvae. I would look elsewhere for causes of the fishes' malaise.

[corvettekid82]

Originally posted by wetmanNY
Hey Mike corvettekid! I bet your worms are Aeolosomatids. Do a www.google.com search or come read the brief bit at www.skepticalaquarist.com .

Aeolosomatids?
Cool, thanks for the trail to follow up on! They sound like tubifex worms from some of the discriptions. In an old Angel tank I had, they grew so dense that they'd make clusters (lil balls) of worms so dense it would look red. They have never seemed to bother anything at all and I'd have fun busting up the gang and watching them all clamour to the top again. The angels didn't bother to eat them, but BOY does this topwater minnow love them :D