long skinny worms...

[SkunkBotia]

found these guys in the pond. just wondering if i should be worried
There're a few thousand of these averaging a foot in length, brown, one end in forked and the other had a blunt end that is much darker

 

[guppy]

These are hair worms, they are the breeding stage of a nemotomorph worm that parasitizes crayfish , aquatic insects, and insects such as grasshoppers when juvenile, as adults they are free living. They are not known to parasitize vertebrates. They are very common is slow or still waters in the central USA.

 

[SkunkBotia]

common names often get missused. are you talking about: Trichostrongylus axei
i really need to get a bigger pump to move more water.
would these be safe to feed to loaches and cichlids?
would they infect snails? i keep apple snails in the pond during the summer

 

[guppy]

No, these are Spinochordodes (probably tellini), not the equine parasite Trichostrongylus sp.
I don't know what eats them.

 

[Nabbig2]

I would freak....I hope you get rid ofm.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

wouldn't some praziquantel kill these worms?

 

[guppy]

I do't know but it would not hurt your fish to try.

 

[chromehearts]

GROSS!