What the heck are these creatures-PT II

S

SBee

AC Members
Feb 19, 2003
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Delta, BC, Canada!
Oooookay. So I was looking at my jewel cichlid tank today........and at first it looks like there is some crap floating around in the water..........then....it appears like there is LOTS of crap floating in the water........and upon closer inspection.....it looks like there are WORMS floating around in the water.

they don't seem to be attaching to anything

they are very very thin, less than 1mm diameter

they are 4-8 mm long

there are HUNDREDS of them .


ewwwwwwww! what are these!?
 
Oh hi! I just wanted to say that I'm doing a fishless cycle and have had what sounds like the same thing for about a month or so. They look like little white threads? And wiggle at times like mosquito larvae? For the most part they seem to be free floating, but I have seen a few now and then on the bogwood and the glass. At one point about a week ago the tank, (20g), was FILLED with them. And then another time I couldn't find a single one. It's my humble guess (and hope!) that they are not harmful. I think if they were parasitic and needed a host to survive, they wouldn't have flourished like they have, because there are no fish! I hope anyways...
I have done a bit of searching on "nematodes", and was a little shocked to read that almost all known ones are parasitic, but on further reading, it sounds like only internal nematodes are parasites. I'm still a little confused. Maybe Wetman can help us...
 
There are parasitic ones and non-parasitic ones. If you see one free-living, it is non-parasitic or it would be dead - they are obligate parasites.

They are often around in the early stages of an aquarium where there are lots of wastes around. Once the aquarium is balanced, as long as it's not overfed, they don't have much of a niche. They're still there (you'd be horrified if you knew everything that lives in there) but not in numbers you'd notice.
 
Unfortunately, this has to be AC's little secret, because there is a strict policy on pets in my dorm, and, if the Residential Life director knew that there were things other than fish in my tank...

(I am dead serious, too...he nixed live rock because of the creepy-crawlies on it, so I can't easily have an SW tank.)
 
Actually, it's just a $50/day fine until you get rid of them...I can't wait until they figure out that my carnivorous plant (en route by now) will be eating illicit insects! :D
 
Where are you staying at Dawg? ISU?
 
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