Aargh!! HELP! White and brown things in tank. What are they?

This morning I woke up to find little white things on the glass of my 7.5gal tank. At first I thought they were little pieces of food or something, but then I spotted loads more and they were moving around on the glass. There was nothing there last night. What are they?

They are about the size of this line : _

PLEASE HELP! What are they and how do I get rid of them?

Also, I noticed that there are little brown dot things in the gravel, moving around. What are these?

I'm confused because there was nothing in the tank last night (except for the 4 guppies), and this morning there are all these things in the tank. :-\ ???

What can I do to get rid of them?
Will they hurt my fish?
My mum thinks they could be parasites. Is she right?

Please help I don't know what to do.

thanks

Gwenz :-\

 

Could they be planaria? Planaria are tiny-bity worms (that can grow larger if not removed) that grow feeding on the wastes in your substrate. They can crawl out of the gravel on tank glass. I think fish should eat planaria, just like bloodworms. But anyway, the best way to get rid of planaria are frequent and thorough gravel vacs, and making sure the gravel stays relatively clean. The more of the wastes are trapped in the gravel (and the longer they stay there), the more likely it is for planaria to form.

 

Sounds like planaria to me.




...only smaller and may look lighter colored. They usually crawl on the glass and rock and decoration surfaces at night and then move back into the substrate when the lights go on. Usually a sign of too many organics (uneaten food, etc.) in the substrate.

Most planaria, like most other worms and critters you will actually see in your tank are free-living, not parasitic. Most parasites are already in the fish or at a life stage that is still microscopic. They are no danger to healthy fish, but they increase the tank's bioload (which in the case of a small tank like yours is not a good thing).

They can be controlled by a good vacuuming of the gravel and better tank maintenance. Vacuum the gravel very well and do a 50% water change. They proliferate when the tank is too dirty. This will remove not only some planaria but their food source as well. Also, feed less. Planaria love it when too much food is provided.

 

OK thanks. It does sound like that is what they are. They are there at night and go down to the gravel when the lights come on. I'm a bit tired right now. Will do a water change first thing tomorrow morning.

Should I keep doing water changes daily until they are gone?

Thanks again.

Gwenz

 

I would personally do a 50% change every other day along with a vigourous vacuuming of the substrate. No reason to stress the fish so much. You may never get rid of them altogether but you can at least keep the population down.

 

I think that not so much the larger water changes (unless you have a high nitrate), but rather it's the thorough gravel vacs that are more important when trying to get rid of planaria. If, however, it takes you long enough - when vacuuming the gravel - to remove 50% of the water, I guess so be it, lol

 

OK thanks for the tips.

Gwenz