CraigJ Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 Hi Everyone, Been awhile since I've been on here. but I'd like to know if someone has any idea on what this is. I setup my large Red Tail Shark tank (300ltr) and after putting in some plants which I thought I'd cleaned and checked well enough I start to find baby snails. (no biggy, I can deal with them easily enough I think. But. doing a water change today I noticed this little guy swimming around (See img I attatched) . It's about 5mm long.. (Sorry about the photo quality I need a new microscope..) Any ideas on what the hell this is (I watched it for about an hour before removing it and the sharks don't appear to go at it as food) Thanks.. Craig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interfecus Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 I can't see the head of the worm in that shot. If it has an 'arrow' shaped head then it will be a planarian flatworm. Planaria are scavengers and are usually a sign of overfeeding in a tank. Normally planaria aren't harmful but if a large population builds up and their food supply is exhausted they may start killing snails, esxtrememly small fry, or other tiny organisms in the water. With a reduction in feeding and a good clean planaria should go away easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigJ Posted February 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 Hi Interfecus, I can't see the head of the worm in that shot. If it has an 'arrow' shaped head then it will be a planarian flatworm. It doesn't appear to have an "arrow" shaped head. I've done some looking around and the closest thing I've found to what it looks like is thread worm. I havn't seen anymore since doing a major water change, but i'll keep a closer eye on it over the next week. Should I go as far as dosing the tank with anything or should I just go with doing water changes every couple of days? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 28, 2004 Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 Definitely don't dose the tank with anything. Anything you'd dose it with would likely be more harmful than the worms, they're probably harmless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northland chic Posted March 1, 2004 Report Share Posted March 1, 2004 I don't know what they are but whenever I clean my axolotls corner filter (charcoal & wool kind) I always find quite a few white worms. They don't seem to cause harm and the fish don't really eat them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigJ Posted March 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2004 thanks Ira & Northland chic. I'll keep an eye on them but by the looks of it I manage to clean the majority of them out with water changes and hopefully the new (external) filtration will help keep the tank reasonably clear of them. I've kept a couple in an incubation container to try and see if they grow into something else. my eldest daughter (7) came up with the idea for a science experiment so it should keep her amuzed if nothing else. now to start moving / squashing some of those snails before they decide to go fast food on the plants... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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