Black worms that turn into flies

[rmorse]

Hey guys,

A customer approached me today and asked me about her tank. She has a 55 gallon with 1 small koi and 1 comet. She has been feeding them tetra flakes.

A little while ago, she noticed black worms floating in the tank. These gathered in the filter, and then the worms/larva turned into black flies, bigger than a fruit fly but smaller than a house fly.

Any ideas on what this is, and how to get rid of them? Thanks!

 

[Cakilla]

No Idea ! never heard of anything like this before

 

[cjbarth]

I have had them too. They usually coincide with little white worms on the glass of your tank. Fish food producers use a larvae in their food. So if you overfeed to much or food does not get eaten, the larvae hatch. They are harmless and the fish eat them.

So if you want to control them, don't overfeed and keep up with water changes to maintain wc.

 

[rmorse]

I have had them too. They usually coincide with little white worms on the glass of your tank. Fish food producers use a larvae in their food. So if you overfeed to much or food does not get eaten, the larvae hatch. They are harmless and the fish eat them.

So if you want to control them, don't overfeed and keep up with water changes to maintain wc.

Yea, I'm familiar with the worm aspect. The whole "turning into flies" deal is a new one for me....