Last night I when I went to bed my tank was crystal clear and looking quite good. When I woke up this morning the water was discoloured and there were thousands of tiny worms swimming through the water, all over the glass and my snails. Alone they look white and are about 1cm long but clustered together they look redish. Any idea of what they are, where they came from and how to get rid of them.
Help! Some kind of worm in my tank.
- Thread starter _newbie_
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Worms do not just appear out of thin air.
Did you add anything recently to your tank? Possible something was accidentally dropped in your tank? Any food (even fish food) placed in/near the tank?
They could also be parasites that hitched a ride in (on your snails) and are mass reproducing in your tank.
All speculation right now.
Did you add anything recently to your tank? Possible something was accidentally dropped in your tank? Any food (even fish food) placed in/near the tank?
They could also be parasites that hitched a ride in (on your snails) and are mass reproducing in your tank.
All speculation right now.
when you introduce live food you often incur the risk of bringing in parasites or pests. They could be flatworms and if so present little harm to your fish usually in any number. They are scavengers and feed on leftover food and detritus. If so, fish like bettas, gouramis, and kirbensis will eat those and get rid of your problem 
. Check to see if any of the worms are attached to your fish as this would indicate a much more serious problem.
. Check to see if any of the worms are attached to your fish as this would indicate a much more serious problem.
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you most likely have planaria, commonly known as flatworms. they feed off of excess food in the tank; so a few water changes and reduced feeding should work. on a side not, please do not use a chemical to try and treat them. it is unnecessary and will not actually fix the problem. in addition, if you treat them naturally, you will not only get rid of them, but in the process, improve your tank's condition.
however, it is certainly possible that the worms could be something else; so a picture would help, if you can get one.
Hope this helps, Black.:cool2:
however, it is certainly possible that the worms could be something else; so a picture would help, if you can get one.
Hope this helps, Black.:cool2:
Thanks everyone. I think the problem is the slice of courgette I left in the tank for my snails to munch on when I went away for a few days. So I've removed that and I'll gravel vac and w/c daily till a few days after they're gone. Hopefully that will sort things out.