Tiny Worms in Substrate

[theslowminded]

Not sure if this will be the right category, as there’s nothing wrong with the fish, but I am concerned about these being in my tank.

Can anyone confirm if these are Planaria please?

Is there anything that I need to do?

 

[smallfry53]

I'm no expert but I'd guess they are detritus worms, which aren't really harmful. Just need to be careful not to feed too much, and vac the substrate/clean filters better.

 

[libertybelle]

I'm no expert but I'd guess they are detritus worms, which aren't really harmful. Just need to be careful not to feed too much, and vac the substrate/clean filters better.

Agreed, they don’t look like planaria. But they’re still a sign of heavy organic load and possibly overfeeding or under cleaning so be aware of that.

 

[theslowminded]

Agreed, they don’t look like planaria. But they’re still a sign of heavy organic load and possibly overfeeding or under cleaning so be aware of that.

Thanks for the replies.

I do a 30% water change weekly and clean the entire filter out each time. I’ve not really got much options for gravel cleaning, because it’s a heavily planted tank (around 80%, just not quite reached the tank edges yet). Are there any other ways to get rid of them?

 

[libertybelle]

Thanks for the replies.

I do a 30% water change weekly and clean the entire filter out each time. I’ve not really got much options for gravel cleaning, because it’s a heavily planted tank (around 80%, just not quite reached the tank edges yet). Are there any other ways to get rid of them?

Well you can see in the picture all the gunk building up in the substrate, that’s what they’re eating. Like we said they’re not harmful per se, just kind of unsightly and an indication that the substrate has a lot of stuff for them to eat.

Technically you could treat the tank with fenbendazole (dog dewormer) but that is likely to cause an ammonia spike because of rotting worms so I would be careful going that route. It doesn’t address the core problem anyway.