Attack of the worms

[choupic]

My tank is being invaded by Spaghetti Worms. Anyway to get ridd of some of them they are multiplying fast...They are all over my sand rocks and even on powerheads and skimmer.

Making my sand and rocks look nasty....

[melosu58]

Supposedly 6 line wrasse are good at eliminating worms. I`ve heard others take their rock out and dip it in hyposalinity water.

[lando]

I am not really an advocate of adding livestock to help with infestation issues, however, in this case I like the idea of adding a sixline wrasse. I does not look like your bioload is too heavy and, as Mike said, it may work. Besides...they are a way cool fish 8)

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by lando

I am not really an advocate of adding livestock to help with infestation issues

Me either. Most times I will not recommend fish but sometimes and I mean only sometimes drastic action is needed for drastic measures. Thanks for bringing that up Brian.

[Hara]

spaghetti worms are one of the signs of a healthy tank. I wouldnt worry about them. They serve a useful purpose as well.

[TheChad]

Originally Posted by lando

I am not really an advocate of adding livestock to help with infestation issues...

Why is that?

Isn't the best way to take care of a problem, the natural way?

Idealy If you could have your tank stocked in such a way that all the livestock would take care of typical problems, Wouldn't that be how the real ocean works?

IE: Cleaner shrimp for ich, Emerald Crab for Bubble Algae, Pepermint Shrimp/Long Nose Butterfly For Aptasia, 6 line wrasse for worms, etc...

It certainly seams better than adding chemical to rid of a problem, and unlike manual and chemical removal, having livestock that feeds on your infestations, will be an on going solution that will prevent the 'problem' from becoming an infestation in the first place..

Just My thoughts...

-TheChad

[melosu58]

The ocean and your tank are two different things. In your tank the worms might run out but in the ocean they never run out plus as Mrs Hara said they do serve a purpose and you would not want to get rid of all of them. But depending on the amount of them IMO too much of anything can be bad.

[TheChad]

Originally Posted by melosu58

The ocean and your tank are two different things. In your tank the worms might run out but in the ocean they never run out plus as Mrs Hara said they do serve a purpose and you would not want to get rid of all of them. But depending on the amount of them IMO too much of anything can be bad.

The biggest problem in our tanks, is the fact that we can't recreate the ocean, but the more you can do to get closer to it, the better.. Atleast that's what I would think...

If it's an "infestation" that would say to me that there is enough of them reproducing that by adding 1 animal is not going to rid your entire tank of them, but keep them under controll...

Just my thought..

-TheChad

[choupic]

I'll post some pic's when I get home. To show how many is in my tank. Some are even comming out of the sand onto my glass.

[chase33]

Hopefully if the wrasse is added there will remain a continuous supply for it or another food source is provided.

[Ziggy953]

I have to agree with Hara on this one. They are a part of the system that each of us strives to create. Having these worms, coraline and many other things in our tanks shows that things are going well. I have tons of them in my tank too but my nassarius snails keep them stirred up enough that they aren't unsightly. I'm all about the natural approach too but you have to remember as Melosu said the ocean is totally different then our tanks.

[TheChad]

Originally Posted by Ziggy953

...as Melosu said the ocean is totally different then our tanks.

Shhh! Don't tell my Fish that...


-TheChad