FW infestation

[kww69]

My tank has been invaded. They appear to be slugs, but advice from chat line said it might be worms. They are fat, round, brown, approximately 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch. They crawl amongst rocks and on the tank sides. No swiming. Can anyone tell me what they are? How they got there? Are they harmful? And most importantly, how do I get rid of them? I await your wisdom. Thank you.

 

[amphibianboy528]

any pictures???

 

[Fluff]

Your bugs have been bugging me since we talked in chat. Do you think they are leeches? Do they stretch and shrink while moving? I'll keep looking and see if I can find anything. If you can get a pic that would help alot.

I found this site on freshwater fish parasites.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA041

 

[millipede]

could be planera(spelling)... Do a quick search on them and find some pics to compare. If it is them they are harmless. Like a number of other cirtters they feed of leftover food and stuff in the tank. Keep the gravel clean, that should help. But unless you see them on your fish or anything like that I'm sure they're probably harmless...

 

[Fluff]

planaria

http://www.olympusmicro.com/micd/galleries/darkfield/planaria.html

That's the worm I was refering to in chat. I did a search for planarians and everything I've read says they are white/whitish. Read the article above and see if that sounds like your slug.

 

[poppab02]

I've never heard of planaria that weren't white so I'm going to say it's probably not them. I've had them and they're usually pretty easy to identify and definitely are not brownish.

 

[TankGirl]

If you have gotten any new plants recently it certainly could be leeches. No matter what they, are, you can add salt to the tank, raise the temp and increase water changes, if your fish don't dine on them. I sincerely doubt they are harmful overall, though, just gross!