are these worms bad?

[liberator123]

just noticed a problem with my 2.5 gallon rcs tank. what kind of worms are these and are they harmful/bad? should i be worried? how to get rid?

 

[Rivercats]

Probably Nematode's. They are harmless.

 

[liberator123]

hmm, it seems like they are growing more in numbers... Will they disappear by itself?

 

[Rivercats]

You know in over 30 years I've never had to deal with them but I'm pretty sure excess food is what causes them to multiply. Do you normally gravel vac your tank? Mostly they stay in the substrate unless disturbed. There are treatments that can be used but you'd have to do some research on line. How often do you do WC's and how much do you take out?

 

[liberator123]

i think i suspect its the overfeeding that caused them to appear. mainly because i was trying to feed the rcs algae wafers, but they wouldnt touch it, however the tabs were left in the tank for too long that it expanded. i took most out, but i guess the little bits that stayed did this. ill try to manually remove them through wc and wiping and see if that fixes it. i also have a bad green hair algae outbreak going on... funny how this small tank gives me 2x more trouble than my bigger tank.

 

[Catfish Lover]

i think i suspect its the overfeeding that caused them to appear. mainly because i was trying to feed the rcs algae wafers, but they wouldnt touch it, however the tabs were left in the tank for too long that it expanded. i took most out, but i guess the little bits that stayed did this. ill try to manually remove them through wc and wiping and see if that fixes it. i also have a bad green hair algae outbreak going on... funny how this small tank gives me 2x more trouble than my bigger tank.

That's why a lot of people stay away from small tanks. Bigger the tank = easier to maintain