Not your average worms.. or are they?

[Jenalepac]

I’ve spent hours researching freshwater worms and can’t identify this one. I have a turtle tank with some guppies and ghost shrimp. I noticed today that there are these worms all over. They’re in the gravel and on the glass immediately above the water level. There seems to be an abundance on this fake moss ball, also. They are clear/black with black heads. They’re round and have clear fuzzies on them. They wriggle like worms or caterpillars.

I know that I’ll need to clean the tank and probably deworm to get rid of them, but what are they? Are they good or bad for the fish/turtles/shrimp?

 

[Sprinkle]

probably some kind of a nematode. if you dont like it, get some flubendanzole.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

I don’t know if nematodes hurt stuff but if they don’t, don’t get rid of it. The guppies will anhillate it anyway

 

[Wyomingite]

Hard to be sure from the photos. The pictures don't show enough detail and freshwater worms are a varied bunch. Based on the shape I'd guess a planarian or a nematode, in that order, but it could be something else. They're probably not harmful if they're free swimming, more of an unsightly nuisance. A good gravel vacuuming in conjunction with a water change, coupled with ensuring that you don't have uneaten food left over in the future, should eliminate them without medications. It may take two or three water changes to deal with the current infestation.

WYite

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Hard to be sure from the photos. The pictures don't show enough detail and freshwater worms are a varied bunch. Based on the shape I'd guess a planarian or a nematode, in that order, but it could be something else. They're probably not harmful if they're free swimming, more of an unsightly nuisance. A good gravel vacuuming in conjunction with a water change, coupled with ensuring that you don't have uneaten food left over in the future, should eliminate them without medications. It may take two or three water changes to deal with the current infestation.

WYite

+1