Red worms in roots?!

[mlm251]

I was rearranging some plants in my 20g and saw little red worms tangled in the roots. Does anybody know what these are and if they are harmful? I removed all the ones I could find and they were only in the roots of plants.

In the roots


This is them curled up, kinda nasty looking


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[Haileyjade]

Annnndd now I'm scared to touch my plants...

Following because I'm curious too!


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[jetajockey]

No, they aren't harmful, they actually help the plants in the same way that earthworms help terrestrial plants. They are likely california blackworms, tubifex, or something of the sort.

 

[aqua_chem]

To further what Jeta said, they're also generally detritivores, meaning they'll help clean up the tank by eating debris/detritus in the tank, turning it into more plant-usable forms much.



They're also delicious. To fish, that is.

 

[mlm251]

Well, now I wish I would have left them in there


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[jetajockey]

There's probably more in there.

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[Brookster123]

Would you send me some??

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