miraloma

I was looking at my tank and all of a sudden, I noticed a little white worm on the glass. It was just 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch, barely visible. It was crawling around on the glass. As I searched, I found more of them. I've had some deaths of fish and shrimp in this tank so I'm guessing they might be related. In addition to the worms, I seem to find some white specs that are moving around as well. They are no bigger than a period on a page. I could see them grab on to the glass, move around a bit, let go and would just be floating every which way in the water.

Is this something to be concerned about? Do I have parasites? What should I do?

SereneReyn

sounds like parasites to me, but i couldn't be certain. in any case, i would be so creeped out. stuff like that gives me the heebie-jeebies bad... lol, fish probably aren't the right hobby for me!

- just looked up the parasite section in axelrod's mini-atlas, and i couldn't find any pictures that sounded like what you described... sorry.

miraloma

Did a bit of research online and now I think these worms are planaria. If so, they are non-parasitic. I hope I'm right about this. The 2 tanks I have with these little buggers in do not have any fish, just shrimp. I've read that some fish like to eat these worms. Would shrimp eat them, too? I've not seen my shrimp trying to eat them at all.

As for the bugs, they seem to look more like a coma than a period. I think there's a short tail. It's really hard to tell without a magnifying glass. They are just too small.

Most common cause seems to be over feeding. I might be guilty of that so I'll try not to feed so much. If they are not harmful, I'm not going to worry too much....

tkfury

Hmm, I've noticed the exact same things in one of my 10g tanks. I try and check daily because I believe I have a habit of overfeeding but they didn't show up til two days after I had shut the tanks down (still have water - just haven't had a good time to get the gravel out, wash it, dry it, put it in baggies, drain the tank, scrub the tank, clean the filters/heaters and get them ready to cycle again). I noticed the worms in the tank I had some shrimp in but the other kind was present in both tanks But I still find it odd they showed up after there was a cut in any sort of food source and heat (62F hehe).

mcdonald.kk

I have a 20 gal. that just finished cycling. I only have driftwood and live plants in it at the moment, but I too have noticed tiny, thin white wormy things. I'd pretty much come to the same conclusion-that they are planaria. I'm not worried about it though because I plan on getting neons for my tank and tetras like to eat planaria (at least from what I've been able to find out).

bbfeckawitts

The things that you said look like a comma sound like baby ghost/glass shrimps. I had baby ghost shrimps once and that is exactly what they looked like. The other sounds like planaria.

miraloma

The comma looking bugs crawl along the glass and sometimes jump off to free swim in the water. Upon closer inspection, it looks like they have 2 tenncles sticking out to the sides at the top of the head. So, they look a bit like a T with an O in the middle, obviously the O is filled in.

I've also seen another kind that looks a bit like a figure 8 possibly with tails (kind of hard to tell). Or, it could just be 2 of the other kind mating or something. Not sure.

Research online has found some article suggesting that these are cyclops (copepods), or water flea (daphnia). They do kind of remind me of fleas.

random06

I had similar bug/worm thing couple weeks ago. I just cleaned the tank with wipes and they haven't come back, yet.

jennyandpeter

I have just set up a small tank and put some plants in it on Sunday, and today have noticed funny little worm things, should this be something i need to worry about? We currently don't have any fish, but i have noticed that the plants seem to be dying or being eaten with little spots on the leaves, is this sum sort of bug that eats with plants? Anyone have any experience with these

mcdonald.kk

I'm not sure about the holes in the plants but in optimistic mode it could be that your plants are just a little droopy from the stress of transport and being put in their new home? I do know a yellowing of the leaves can mean there is a mineral deficiency, but I'm a newbie myself and can only speculate about this type of thing. (please pardon the grammar, I'm too tired to speak correctly--very long day)

Kayin1470

I found some info on some salt water flea type things, they sound a lot like what you were describing.... maybe this crustacean evolved to live in freshwater lol. just a guess.

Kayin1470

oh sorry here..

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/pes...a/aa061200.htm

Kayin1470

Isopods, crustaceans related to land-dwelling pill bugs, helped to break down the leaf litter and other decaying matter in the tank. They thrived, providing necessary food for larger predators in the tank.

Moving through the water were many minute creatures that required a hand lens to observe. The aquarium was teeming with tiny crustaceans, such as copepods, ostracods and water fleas. One group of copepods with a terrific name, Cyclops, inhabited our tank. Yes, they have one eye in the middle of the head. The females carry eggs in a pair of sacs, like saddlebags. Ostracods, also known as seed shrimp, actually look like microscopic clams that zip through the water. Within the bivalve is a shrimplike creature with legs and antennae that protrude from between the shells, aiding in its propulsion through the water. The ostracods are never visible in the aquarium when we first add the pond water in April. But within a couple days the tank is swimming with them. Do they hibernate in the winter as mature adults, emerging when the water warms? We'll need to look into that. We've also observed that they disappear from the tank, and natural bodies of water, by early summer. A professional naturalist I spoke with said he has observed this as well.



this was taken from the site:

http://www.menunkatuck.org/pages/micro2.htm

jaimoes

i've noticed those little bugs in my tank too. But from what you all say they can be a good thing?
I started feeding my fish live blood worm and soon after the little bugs apeared. I think they may of come from the water the bloodworms were in.
I also noticed that the bloodworm that the fish don't get to in time will actualy bury themselves in the gravel and stay alive. Are they bad for the tank? its fresh water. Advice needed

miraloma

My problems have gone away. From the research I've done, they appear to be beneficial critters for fish to eat. I did reduce the amount of food I toss into the tanks and in the course of a few days, they disappeared. I am, however, having an algae bloom in one tank. Annoying and unsightly but however harmless to the residents of the tank. I guess I just have to deal with it.