Brown Worms Found During Water Change?

I am in the middle of changing my 10gal with 3 pea puffers. I just syphoned the gravel and took out 2 gallons of water. After dumping it, I was checking the bladder snail shells that stayed in the bucket for inhabitants to put back in the tank and I saw a dozen brown worm like things racing around the bottom rI'm out the pail where the last bit of water was. Some are over a 1/4” long and they are quite fast. What are they? Why do I do about having them in my tank? I leave for a week in a week and don’t want any problems while I’m away!!! Help??!!

 

I’ve never seen anything like this and my treatment options will be limited because I’m not going to be here for a week straight. I’ve just got a friend coming in to feed them every now and then but I can’t ask them to do water changes or anything like that...

 

I believe they are flatworms. I'm not sure if they are likely to become a pest. Most small animals utilise excess fish food so they may not become a problem. I have been aware of them in my tanks without them proliferating. I suggest searching online for other people's experiences.

 

My puffers are ferocious live food eaters so maybe they will just eat them? Snails don’t stand a chance in this tank. As long as it’s not some parasite sort of thing I need to treat for, I can relax. Hopefully that’s the case!

 

I believe they are flatworms. I'm not sure if they are likely to become a pest. Most small animals utilise excess fish food so they may not become a problem. I have been aware of them in my tanks without them proliferating. I suggest searching online for other people's experiences.

A quick google search makes me think yoga re right. They won’t make the fish sick though? That would be a relief. This is my best tank of 3 for health and strength of the fish at the moment. I’d really like to keep it that way!

 

I don't think they harm the fish at all.

Its completely natural for an ecosystem to try and develop in our tanks.

Our insistence on sterility is against all the rules of nature (which ultimately we are a part of).