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.

Yep, Mystic has it.

Don't worry, they'll go away, juss make shure that u only feed enuf for them to eat in 5 mins and still be lookin for more.

Alan 104

Planaria are flatworms, related to flukes and tapeworms. They are quite small, and if examined closely have eyespots as well as protrusions from the sides of their heads.

Although they do not harm fish, they love to feast on eggs, and therefore are dangerous if breeding egglaying fish.

The Real Problem

Even though Planaria do not harm fish, they are an indicator that the aquarium has a problem. They require a food source, which means there must be excess food wastes in the tank to support them.

If you have Planaria it's time to give your aquarium a thorough cleaning. Pay particular attention to the substrate, as that's usually where they find their food. Make sure there are no dead plants, or other wastes in the tank.

You should also take a hard look at how much you are feeding your fish. Usually the excess waste the Planaria are living on is the result of overfeeding your fish. Reduce the amount you feed your fish, as well as the frequency of feedings.

Finally, once you've cleaned things up, be sure to continue with regular maintenance and water changes. A clean tank is the best defense against becoming overrun with Planaria.

Be a good food source for the fish too.

Frenchy

It's a snail only tank so I guess the culprit *sp* is the slice of cougette I left in there when I went away for a few days. I'll gravel vac and do a w/c each day. Should I put a fish in there for a few days too?

HOW BIG IS THE TANK??

approx 60cm x 30cm x 30cm

Planaria worms tend to feed only on protein. Google search a picture of Planaria worms & compare that to what is in your tank, just to make sure.

Frenchy

Nope, they dont look like the photos of planaria. The ones in my tank are super thin and 1-1.5cm long and a redish colour.

I gravel vac'd and emptied out 90% of the water and wiped the glass dry. I removed all the equipment and washed them in scolding hot water and rinsed with cold water. I rinsed the java moss covered driftwood and dosed the tank with flourish excel.

When cleaning your tank, unless the water is really really bad you dont want to drain that much water out, and avoid the use of hot water because the organisms/bacteria that live on your equipment, in the water, on the gravel etc are the ones that eat excess food and process ammonia and nitrites etc Its not such a drama in your case because its a snail tank, but thought I'd pass on that information anywho.

Just the occasional gravel vac and a whipe of the glass is all you should really ever do on an aquarium. If the water is eww then 50% change, but generally not more than 20% is advised.

I've had the little red worms before in the past too, think they're bloodworms? Sorry I'm not much of a worm person, dont know much about them. Any fish you have will LOVE them though.

Why did you dose Flourish Excel? Thats expensive stuff and only really needed with strong lighting and in conjunction with another fert such as Flourish. I mean, it can't hurt, certainly a good product, just a pain in the wallet lol

You should totally get some white cloud mountain minnows to hang out with your snails though

When cleaning your tank, unless the water is really really bad you dont want to drain that much water out, and avoid the use of hot water because the organisms/bacteria that live on your equipment, in the water, on the gravel etc are the ones that eat excess food and process ammonia and nitrites etc Its not such a drama in your case because its a snail tank, but thought I'd pass on that information anywho.

I know I only did it as a once off because of how many worms there were.

Why did you dose Flourish Excel? Thats expensive stuff and only really needed with strong lighting and in conjunction with another fert such as Flourish. I mean, it can't hurt, certainly a good product, just a pain in the wallet lol

I'm using it till I find time to mix a jello CO2 reactor (sounds flash :lol: ). That and I thought it'd help the plants use up the excess nutrients maybe possibly .

You should totally get some white cloud mountain minnows to hang out with your snails though

Yeah I'm trying to decide between harlequin rasbora and white cloud mountain minnows

I'm using it till I find time to mix a jello CO2 reactor (sounds flash ). That and I thought it'd help the plants use up the excess nutrients maybe possibly .

You're right, it will All good. Was just an auto-reaction question, a lot of people buy it as a fertiliser not realising its a carbon supplement.

I have heaps of DIY CO2 setups, they're great, I'd love pressurised but the cost jeez! Remember to try and set them up above the tank or use a one way valve, one of mine ran out today and the syphon pressure blew a T connector off and the tank started draining :roll: :roll: wanted to just slap myself

You're right, it will All good. Was just an auto-reaction question, a lot of people buy it as a fertiliser not realising its a carbon supplement.

I have heaps of DIY CO2 setups, they're great, I'd love pressurised but the cost jeez! Remember to try and set them up above the tank or use a one way valve, one of mine ran out today and the syphon pressure blew a T connector off and the tank started draining :roll: :roll: wanted to just slap myself

The first one I made up I didn't leave enough empty space in the bottle :oops: . The last one I forgot to secure and the cat knocked it over and jello got everywhere :oops: Oh to have pressurised one day :bounce:

I hate to step in and contradict all of the valuable opinions expressed above, but my belief is that you had a tubifex worm infestation. Get some fish for the tank and all will come right. Snails are great for algae control but hardly fill enough gaps for a mini ecosystem. As you have a small planted tank with no other fish may I recommend the new Galaxy Rasboras? They're a bit more pricey but a setup like yours would be PERFECT for them, specially with the tubifex infestation

I hate to step in and contradict all of the valuable opinions expressed above, but my belief is that you had a tubifex worm infestation. Get some fish for the tank and all will come right. Snails are great for algae control but hardly fill enough gaps for a mini ecosystem. As you have a small planted tank with no other fish may I recommend the new Galaxy Rasboras? They're a bit more pricey but a setup like yours would be PERFECT for them, specially with the tubifex infestation

Until recently I've had baby goldfish in there (moved into a pond at when they reached 2"). I guess they were keeping the worms under control. I would love to have school of Galaxy Rasboras cos they're just what I've been looking for tiny, brightly coloured and hardy (from what I've read).

Wicked. You may also want to try White Cloud Mountain Minnows or Red skirt phantoms. Both will be considerably hardier than wild-caught Galaxies... and at least half the price... If you want to go REALLY small you might want to try and find Amber Tetras.

Wicked. You may also want to try White Cloud Mountain Minnows or Red skirt phantoms. Both will be considerably hardier than wild-caught Galaxies... and at least half the price... If you want to go REALLY small you might want to try and find Amber Tetras.

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into them

ok I managed to get a pic hopefully this helps

This is the small breeder tank which got infested after I move a couple of snails from the big tank.

Looks like an octopus to me.... :lol: But seriously.. Wheres the worm(s)?? i cant see anything worm like.... :-?

oh those incy wincy white things that look like scratches? cant help sorry 8)

yeah sorry they're only a couple of mm at the moment but I've seen them get up to 1.5cm.

They are planaria (flatworms) they are on the glass and move along like a slug. Tubifex would be in the media anchored at one end and the other waving in the water.

Thanks