My tank has been up and running for over a year. I do 60% water changes every week with out fail. I'm using a magnum 350, a bio wheel and a whisper filter. Two days ago I noticed these little white worm like things on the glass. When I turned on the lights they started moving to the bottom of the tank. At first I thought they were baby snails that hatched. I have rams horn, MTS, and mystery snails in the tank but after searching the web I couldn't find anything that looked similiar. Does anyone know what these might be: their no more than a millimeter in size and move like worms on the glass. I cleaned all three filters waited a day then did a water chage. There aren't as many but their still there.
What are these things
- Thread starter raymgnz
- Start date
sounds like planaria. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/platyhelminthes/dugesiasm.jpg
these "Flatworms" are unsegmented and bilaterally symmetrical. they typically appear as small white "worms" seen crawling all over the glass and ornaments, especially at night.
Planaria commonly show up in tanks with an excess of food and most are introduced to an aquarium from other aquaria with live foods like black worms, live plants, or anything else moved from an active aquarium that has them. If a lot of residual food is left in a tank, including dead and dying fish, snails, other animals, and plants, then a few planaria may divide into hundreds very quickly. they usually reproduce by asexual fission.
If a tank is found to have planaria, they can be controlled by a good vacuuming of the gravel and better tank maintenance. to remove planaria from a more heavily infested tank:
1. Set out bait like meat in a mesh bag. remove the bait a few hours after the lights go out on the tank. it should be covered with planaria. throw away and repeat until the population goes down.
2. add planaria eating fish to the tank. such species include the paradise fish, betta, pelvicachromis pulcher and many species of gourami
3. vacuum the gravel very well and do a 50% water change. often, planaria proliferate when the tank is too dirty. this will remove not only some planaria but their food source as well.
4. reduce the foods added to the tank. planaria often proliferate if too much excess food is provided.
these "Flatworms" are unsegmented and bilaterally symmetrical. they typically appear as small white "worms" seen crawling all over the glass and ornaments, especially at night.
Planaria commonly show up in tanks with an excess of food and most are introduced to an aquarium from other aquaria with live foods like black worms, live plants, or anything else moved from an active aquarium that has them. If a lot of residual food is left in a tank, including dead and dying fish, snails, other animals, and plants, then a few planaria may divide into hundreds very quickly. they usually reproduce by asexual fission.
If a tank is found to have planaria, they can be controlled by a good vacuuming of the gravel and better tank maintenance. to remove planaria from a more heavily infested tank:
1. Set out bait like meat in a mesh bag. remove the bait a few hours after the lights go out on the tank. it should be covered with planaria. throw away and repeat until the population goes down.
2. add planaria eating fish to the tank. such species include the paradise fish, betta, pelvicachromis pulcher and many species of gourami
3. vacuum the gravel very well and do a 50% water change. often, planaria proliferate when the tank is too dirty. this will remove not only some planaria but their food source as well.
4. reduce the foods added to the tank. planaria often proliferate if too much excess food is provided.
liv2padl said:
I thought I saw some worms on my glass.... thank goodness i added my betta... who would've thought that the betta in cups would actually be useful!