Tiny white worms...help? - Aquarium Advice

meedo · 06-13-2008, 07:09 PM

Hi everybody

I started my fresh water aquarium 3 weeks ago. First two weeks with no fish and last week I got a sail-fin molly couple (I love the Alpha mail I got

) plus two tiny plecos (white nuggets) and then a dalmatian molly couple with a leopard catfish 4 days later. My water chemical test results are perfect and the fish all seems happy and in good health (watching their eating habits and activity through the day), only today I noticed tiny white worms on my glass , hair like with a maximum of 3 to 4 mm long

(unfortunately they don't show on camera), there are not much of them "yet" but I am concerned they might be a warning for something big...any advice

krustykrab99 · 06-13-2008, 07:25 PM

tetra flake foods and some of their pellets I have found they have had worm eggs in them and the more you feed the more worms. They didn't seem to bother the fish but i didn't like them. I had to totally clean out the tank and stop the foods. I had to then clean it again about a month later and then no worms. You should be able to feed dreid blood worms or tubifex worms and your mollys should be happy. I like to feed my cats and plecos hikari tablets.

**Devilishturtles** · 06-13-2008, 08:05 PM

The worms are not from worm eggs in your food, rather they are a normal part of microscopic life in freshwater. When nutrients get out of hand (like in new tanks or tanks that haven't been cleaned for a while) the worms thrive and multiply and you see them on your tank glass. They are likely Planaria, and harmless.

meedo · 06-14-2008, 02:20 PM

Well both guesses can be right, I am indeed using Tetra foods (variety of them, no room to mention them here) and at the same time my tanks is new. I also discovered that I have snails in my tank, probably they with the plants, one of them is considerable big (1.5 cm) the other 4 or 5 are really tiny like 2 to 3 mm, are they related somehow?

**Purrbox** · 06-14-2008, 03:11 PM

Generally this type of microscopic life is a sign of good water quality. Many fish find them to be a delightful snack, which is why they aren't seen in some aquariums. If they are free swimming and move in an S pattern, I believe they are probably nematodes. If they are more leech shaped, then probably planaria. Or if they appear to be attached to the glass with tiny finger like branches at the tip, then they are probably hydroids.

krustykrab99 · 06-14-2008, 11:09 PM

I had a similar problem years ago and the lfs guy told me that feeding with tetra products which he carried had worm eggs in them and that I should switch to hikari or wardley. since then i have had several different tanks started with every kind of fish imaginable and as long as i don't use tetra products i don't have worm problems. they started out as just a few i noticed in the light and soon the water was clouded with thousands of worms. i tried using parasite treatments salting the water and anything else i could find to treat the water but until i stopped using tetra flakes the worms stayed.

06-13-2008, 07:09 PM	#1
meedo Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 26	Tiny white worms...help? Hi everybody I started my fresh water aquarium 3 weeks ago. First two weeks with no fish and last week I got a sail-fin molly couple (I love the Alpha mail I got ) plus two tiny plecos (white nuggets) and then a dalmatian molly couple with a leopard catfish 4 days later. My water chemical test results are perfect and the fish all seems happy and in good health (watching their eating habits and activity through the day), only today I noticed tiny white worms on my glass , hair like with a maximum of 3 to 4 mm long (unfortunately they don't show on camera), there are not much of them "yet" but I am concerned they might be a warning for something big...any advice

06-14-2008, 03:11 PM	#5
Purrbox Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Iowa USA Posts: 5,381	Generally this type of microscopic life is a sign of good water quality. Many fish find them to be a delightful snack, which is why they aren't seen in some aquariums. If they are free swimming and move in an S pattern, I believe they are probably nematodes. If they are more leech shaped, then probably planaria. Or if they appear to be attached to the glass with tiny finger like branches at the tip, then they are probably hydroids. __________________ ~Joy 10 Gallon Planted Photo Log - 5.5 Gallon Planted Photo Log - 2.5 Gallon Planted Photo Log - Pico Planted Photo Log

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06-13-2008, 07:25 PM	#2
krustykrab99 Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 35	tetra flake foods and some of their pellets I have found they have had worm eggs in them and the more you feed the more worms. They didn't seem to bother the fish but i didn't like them. I had to totally clean out the tank and stop the foods. I had to then clean it again about a month later and then no worms. You should be able to feed dreid blood worms or tubifex worms and your mollys should be happy. I like to feed my cats and plecos hikari tablets.

06-14-2008, 02:20 PM	#4
meedo Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 26	Well both guesses can be right, I am indeed using Tetra foods (variety of them, no room to mention them here) and at the same time my tanks is new. I also discovered that I have snails in my tank, probably they with the plants, one of them is considerable big (1.5 cm) the other 4 or 5 are really tiny like 2 to 3 mm, are they related somehow?

06-14-2008, 11:09 PM	#6
krustykrab99 Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 35	I had a similar problem years ago and the lfs guy told me that feeding with tetra products which he carried had worm eggs in them and that I should switch to hikari or wardley. since then i have had several different tanks started with every kind of fish imaginable and as long as i don't use tetra products i don't have worm problems. they started out as just a few i noticed in the light and soon the water was clouded with thousands of worms. i tried using parasite treatments salting the water and anything else i could find to treat the water but until i stopped using tetra flakes the worms stayed.