GothicCandle

Every time i set up a tank and let it sit for a while, in a week or two it gets these worms. They are white and can get pretty long. their very skinny. Do planaria always stick to the glass? i was told thats what they are, but these guys don't stick to the glass at all, they swim all the time. The tank will be empty, just tap water, no plants, fresh gravel, fresh decrations and such. It don't matter if the filter is running or not, I get them ether way.

I want to set up my five gallon, but every time i try and set up a new tank and cycle it it get these worms before i get the chance to add fish and i have to start all over again with new water and everything. how do I prevent these?

COBettaCouple

Those sound like fly larvae. Somehow they're getting into the tank as eggs laid by tiny flies.

mumzy50

Hi i have never heard of getting planaria in a new tank.You get these from over feeding,and dirty tanks.By the sounds of it thats most likely what they are.Sorry cant be of much help,as i dont understand it my self.

GothicCandle

they are some sort of aquatic animal. They live quite happily in the water it seems.

nugzboltz

They sound like nematodes - check them out on this page:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...nize-them.html

I have the same worms in my 1 gal vase, which has been sitting around for 2 weeks in the sun with only plants in it. It has no filter or any other equipment on it, so there is no water movement, which I think they prefer since my filtered tanks show no sign of them. Anyway, they should be harmless as long as they aren't taking over the tank.

lalynya

sorry no offense but the description in that blurb about nematodes is off..they aren't all free swimming and can become completly parasitic to your fish in some instances..it needs to be wider explanation as the fact that nematodes are too diverse then what it states there...next time before you start over try to put bleach in the tank with the water and let it run a for at least a week adding a little bit everyday..Make sure to bleach the gravel as well...when it is all cleaned out thugholy rinse it to get the bleach which will kill fish before you start the tank back up..that should help your problem...key word should no promises..the problem is breaking the life cycle of whatever it is in the tank...Even if you don't see any present that does not mean there aren't eggs somewhere..an important lesson I have learned from dealing with camallus which is another type of worm...your lucky in the fact that you got them before you got fish so if they do turn out to be parasitic there is no problem

GothicCandle

found this picture at that link you put up.

They look like that.

COBettaCouple

We've seen those in ours.. they do move around in the water in the larvae form, but eventually grow into flies and fly out. I don't think they harm the fish any, but i hate the things.

Evelyn1919

maybe you could catch them with a net and take them out of your tank?
they are kind of grosse!!! ewww....

i hope i never get them in my tank.

goggles

sounds like they are coming from your water system. use all new substrate and decor. clean the tank out properly with nothing in it. do not use chemicals like soap or bleach as you can't be sure you get it all out. use like a presure washer or something. if you can get water from another source. in our lfs here you can buy water if you need to which will also speed up your cycle time.

Evelyn1919

goggles- i'm not so sure it would be a good idea to purchase water from the LFS.
gothiccandle-just try to REALLY clean everything and start over again. i don't think using soap or bleach would be a good idea.

lalynya

You can saftly use bleach you just have to make sure you clean it out a lot after wards

LetDiceFly

I'm glad I don't have any maggots in my tanks, I have had roaches take up residence in the plastic molding on my glass tank though. Saw one fall in the tank once and Flash thought it was the tastiest treat in the world, but it kinda grossed me out.

goggles

it all depends on your lfs. mine is very very good ,not one of these big chains but a liilte shop that cares and knows alot about fish. they sell cycled water so if your media is already cycled then the prosses would be alot faster. from what i can tell most people on here have had bad times with there lfs. but here in england we have some very good ones ,you just have to spend the time to find them. ours is called aqua1 and is no bigger then a 3 bed house,but very good.

aquariumnewbie

those worms are so not cool. I have planaria in my tank. And they stick to the wall of the tank and they are not longer than 2mm. Right now I'm eliminating them. Their amount are getting lesser. For those worms in your tank, I hope they die off soon.

Lonely Angel

cockroaches!? I think that would gross me out worse than fly larvae.

LetDiceFly

They are all kinda gross, constant battle with both flies and roaches in southern california. Luckily I think I have rid myself of roaches for awhile, but they are attracted by tank equipment, especially the HOB filter. Something about warmth of the electronics and the moisture.

I find it surprising that you would find fly larvae (maggots) in a relatively clean fish tank, they generally lay their eggs in rotten meat or excrement. I wonder if you are mistaken and these are something else.

GothicCandle

i don't know what they are. none of my tanks have them right now, it only happens when i set up a fresh tank and let it sit too long.

the only time it happened when fish were in there was when my goldfish spawned and i was dangerously over stocked. I had about 100 or 200 baby goldfish in my 46 gallon. They live in my uncles 22000 gallon pond now though.