ACK! Worms??!

[Rhaethe]

So, I have the 10g up and going, finally. Doing its fishless cycle thing.

I look over just now and I see WORMS on my tank glass. Little tiny whitish flat WORMS. I smooshed one up on the glass as I was trying to retrieve it for closer inspection.

Then I saw 2 others .

I did introduce a piece of fake driftwood from an established tank from the LFS that had a little bit of java moss on it. I can only assume the worms came from there.

Any guesses on what the damn things are, and if I need to completely clear out the tank and start over again?

[Aeonflame]

Those are probably planaria.. they wont harm the fish. It happens sometimes with overfeeding. Regular water changes and gravel vacs will clear them up

[Zilla]

Ewww! Were there food bits or something stuck in the moss?

I wouldn't tear the tank down and start over, but I would pull the fake driftwood and moss out. The driftwood can be boiled and I don't know what would kill critters hiding in the moss. PP kills snails, but I don't know about worms.

Did you stir up the gravel to see if any come up to the surface?

[Rhaethe]

But the tank's not been fed yet, as there's nothing in there. Just started the cycling process yesterday. :sconfused:

I'll hazard the buggers came in with the java moss decoration thing. It sat in a shrimp tank.

*goes off to read about planaria*

[Zilla]

Yes, but if the worms were feeding off any gunk on the driftwood or moss, I would think it would be best to deal with the source.

You're not the source, your LFS was.

[Rhaethe]

Ewww! Were there food bits or something stuck in the moss?

I wouldn't tear the tank down and start over, but I would pull the fake driftwood and moss out. The driftwood can be boiled and I don't know what would kill critters hiding in the moss. PP kills snails, but I don't know about worms.

Did you stir up the gravel to see if any come up to the surface?

Yeah, I think I will take that java moss piece out. There probably were food bits still in the moss as it was a shrimp tank it came out of. The substrate is sand, but I'll go ahead and stir it up anyway.

I figure if their food source goes away, they will too.

[Rue]

I agree...not to worry...

Relax...try to enjoy the invertebrates...:hmm3grin2orange:

[rich311k]

Do nothing. Once the food is gone the planaria are gone. Every tank has them, you only sometimes see them.

[Rhaethe]

I went ahead and ditched the java mossed decoration. I didn't like it that much. And there was a concern in my mind that even though the planaria are/were benign, it might harbor something else not so benign.

Don't get me wrong ... it's nice to know my water, even day one on its cycle, can support at least inverts of that sort.

However, whereas I do like snails and shrimp, I'm really not fond of worms.

I should put Gus the Greedy in there for a day. I'm sure he'll find and slurp up every single one. :ssuprised:

[Aeonflame]

You can go ahead and use your decoration Rhaethe, its really not that big of a deal, especially since your tank is newly set up. In an established tank, an increase in the population of planaria would indicate an excess of food, and likely poor water conditions.

[jcarr71]

Planaria are 100% harmless as everyone is saying. I see some time to time. They just wriggle around eating excess food. When the food runs out, they'll go away.

[Cascade]

Quick question, semi-off topic, but your post made me think. Is there a reason you are doing a fishless cycle if you have another established tank? Couldn't you just skip this part and borrow some media from Gus's current home? Anyway, no big deal, I was just curious...

[Rhaethe]

Quick question, semi-off topic, but your post made me think. Is there a reason you are doing a fishless cycle if you have another established tank? Couldn't you just skip this part and borrow some media from Gus's current home? Anyway, no big deal, I was just curious...

No reason other than being forgetful that I actually could do that ...

:11: :hmm3grin2orange:

[annageckos]

They are harmless little things, relax and don't panic over it. There are all kinds of things in your tank that you don't know about.

[Rhaethe]

*eyes the new tank*

*eyes the current tank*

Alright, you two ... if I don't ask ... don't tell me!

*****

Kidding aside, I still decided to opt for other decoration. A part of me was dubious about the large fake driftwood piece anyway. And further dubious about the Java Moss. What looked really nice in the LFS tank looked not so much in mine.

On a positive note, I did learn more about planaria. I've probably never seen any in the 5g since Gus is such a billy goat. Sid, too, for that matter, since planaria would be small enough even for him to hunt down.

[Mith]

Speaking of planaria (sp?)... I have a 20g fry grow out tank and one day, almost over night in fact, I discovered what must have been a billion and four of those suckers! To get rid of them I did a huge water change and while the tank was almost empty I wiped down the glas with a paper towel and that did it.

I suspect the excess food was the problem because I made sure no food stayed on the bottom (no substrate).

Just info only....monitor the excess food in your tank!