55 Gallon Tank Please help - Detritus Worm Infestation

Hi so I recently got a new 55 gallon tank about a month and a half ago and i have been dealing with an ammonia issue. I have been treating it but recently I’ve noticed the Detritus worms in my tank. It started small and I just figured it was normal but I changed the water today (I’ve been changing the water everyday) and there’s just huge pockets of the worms in my gravel. I then noticed they were also in my filter and filter cartridges. I took the filter out to rinse them out. I put it back and turned it on and a load of the worms came rushing out and took over the whole tank water. I’m not sure why there are so many and what’s causing the infestation. Is it something to worry about? What can I do about it? Why is it happening? I haven’t been over feeding due to the ammonia issue. I do a pinch or two of flakes and an algae wafer daily. Sometimes I skips days too. Any info would be great, thank you!

 

how much is a "pinch?" one or two flakes crushed up is a good amount for my 20g and there's 15 fish involved in the feeding. granted they are smaller fish

detritus worms tend to appear in large numbers when a tank is still cycling or having a spike. I'm cycling a 10g at the moment that I've never put food into and there is a large population of them

Once your tank stabilizes and matures you will rarely see them. I have to search very hard to find any in my main tank

are you taking care of your cycle issues? feel free to ask for help if you need it

regards

 

how much is a "pinch?" one or two flakes crushed up is a good amount for my 20g and there's 15 fish involved in the feeding. granted they are smaller fish

detritus worms tend to appear in large numbers when a tank is still cycling or having a spike. I'm cycling a 10g at the moment that I've never put food into and there is a large population of them

Once your tank stabilizes and matures you will rarely see them. I have to search very hard to find any in my main tank

are you taking care of your cycle issues? feel free to ask for help if you need it

regards

I do pretty decent sized pinches bc I have a pretty big angel fish, another angelfish that’s growing, a molly, a paradise fish, 3 corys, a bumble pee catfish, a loach and a pleco (which I’m getting rid of the pleco soon bc he’s getting too big . ) I try not to feed too much but my two angelfish constantly ask. I feed a little at a time. Wait for them to finish and they ask for more so I do a little bit more until they finish all of it again. Yes I had a spike but that was a few weeks ago bye to new tank syndrome but I’m now getting between 0.50ppm and 1ppm.

 

I do pretty decent sized pinches bc I have a pretty big angel fish, another angelfish that’s growing, a molly, a paradise fish, 3 corys, a bumble pee catfish, a loach and a pleco (which I’m getting rid of the pleco soon bc he’s getting too big . ) I try not to feed too much but my two angelfish constantly ask. I feed a little at a time. Wait for them to finish and they ask for more so I do a little bit more until they finish all of it again. Yes I had a spike but that was a few weeks ago bye to new tank syndrome but I’m now getting between 0.50ppm and 1ppm.

0.5 to 1 is a bit more than a spike... generally a spike is 0.25, a bad one is 0.5. Yours sounds more like a crashed cycle

Since you have so many fish in there I strongly recommend a bottled bacteria product. Tetra safe start plus and fritz are the best options. That will help you cycle a bit faster than usual and get things back on track

 

0.5 to 1 is a bit more than a spike... generally a spike is 0.25, a bad one is 0.5. Yours sounds more like a crashed cycle

Since you have so many fish in there I strongly recommend a bottled bacteria product. Tetra safe start plus and fritz are the best options. That will help you cycle a bit faster than usual and get things back on track

Well no actually I’ve been having this ammonia issue for weeks now where it was at a 4. I’ve finally got it down to .50 with nitrates and nitrites now showing up.

 

Well no actually I’ve been having this ammonia issue for weeks now where it was at a 4. I’ve finally got it down to .50 with nitrates and nitrites now showing up.

cool, should be done soon then

 

cool, should be done soon then

What should I do about the worms? Are they harmful?

 

the fish should be snacking on them, maybe don't feed for a day or two.

 

What should I do about the worms? Are they harmful?

Nope they're actually good just unsightly