Micro-red-infectious-worms?

[Johnnie]

Micro-red-infectious-worms?

Hey Guys, what kind of micro-red-worms are these? Are they infectious and deadly to my fishies?

They have clogged up my fountain nozzles after every 24 hours or so.

Are the worms going to infest my fishies and get them sick or what? If so, what can I do about them before they kill all of my fishies?

 

[Imabeast2125]

Do you feed live bloodworms?

 

[ALLENIRIVERA]

I've had this problem in my pond filter before as well, I took them to a local LFS and the guy told me they were regular earthworms that crawl in to the filter, he said they were skinny because of them being in water and not earth. Just give it a few cleanings and get them all out. As for being harmful, regular earthworms are not harmful. If there is any earth around, they most likely will be earthworms. My first encounter had me spooked as well. Hope this helps.

 

[studd muffin]

I have these in my pond filter. They do no harm even though im terrified of worms If i see them swimming in my pond i can count on my mosquito fish to eat them

 

[Johnnie]

Bloodworms? Most of the time any little guys like that are harmless fly larvae of some sort. I've given up worrying about them, and my fish never seem to ail. And they'll eat them as snacks, so unless someone else (Graham?) knows for sure they're dangerous, I'd just ignore them.

I had little black worms all over my waterfall for about 2 weeks and then I never saw them again...

OK, see Graham & Stroppy's posts below for interesting knowledges about midg-fly-larvae.

Do you feed live bloodworms?

No, see Graham & Stroppy's posts below for interesting knowledges about midg-fly-larvae.

I've had this problem in my pond filter before as well, I took them to a local LFS and the guy told me they were regular earthworms that crawl in to the filter, he said they were skinny because of them being in water and not earth. Just give it a few cleanings and get them all out. As for being harmful, regular earthworms are not harmful. If there is any earth around, they most likely will be earthworms. My first encounter had me spooked as well. Hope this helps.

OK, see Graham & Stroppy's posts below for interesting knowledges about midg-fly-larvae.

I have these in my pond filter. They do no harm even though im terrified of worms If i see them swimming in my pond i can count on my mosquito fish to eat them

OK, see Graham & Stroppy's posts below for interesting knowledges about midg-fly-larvae.

yep harmless and extra fish food

OK, see Graham & Stroppy's posts below for interesting knowledges about midg-fly-larvae.

who makes that fountain?

NoobFisher, The fountain has been homemade by yours truly. I started out with an 1-nozzle-fountain; then I changed it from an 1-nozzle-fountain into a 2- nozzle-fountain...hmm... I like to add 2 more nozzles to the fountain for a total of 4, perhaps in next summer. I guess you can call me a "fountain nut".

Blood worms and they are food. Usually show up where the organics are heavy

they look like blood worms to me larvae of the midge fly ... your fish will eat them, they are harmless

Graham and Stroppy, right on! Because of you guys, I have learned more about the midge-fly-larvae (aka bloodworms) through Wikipedia. Here's an official photo of the larva showing the characteristic bloody red color. ~40x magnification

 

[Johnnie]

blood worms are high protein food for your fish...you will usually find them in your filter due to their preferrence for dirtier enviroments, they actually will live in and on the fishwasste and plant matter muck that accumulates within the filter. but they definately harmless. and fish love them..you can buy bloodworms frozen and freeze dried at any fish / pet store.and its true they are the larvae of the common midge fly

Koiguy, ditto that. I found lotsa bloody worms hatched among the bio-media inside of my bio-filter. See photo:

NoobFisher: who makes that fountain?


Johnnie: The fountain has been homemade by yours truly. I started out with an 1-nozzle-fountain; then I changed it from an 1-nozzle-fountain into a 2- nozzle-fountain...hmm... I like to add 2 more nozzles to the fountain for a total of 4, perhaps in next summer. I guess you can call me a "fountain nut".

NoobFisher: Ok so do tell how and what they are made of maybe do a write up on it they look wonderful

NoobFisher, sure, yes can do. Pictures are better than 1,000 words... I took 2 pics to help you understand what my fountain was made up of.

Here's how you build a fountain. First, go to Home Depot and buy materials

1) 1-inch-PVC pipes and connectors ( couplings and elbows),
2) PVC cements to glue pipes, couplings, and elbows together,
3) A medium-size-plastic-sheet (use it as a base to hold up the fountain),
4) A nozzle (you can buy a watering wand, unscrew the nozzle, and use it as a fountain nozzle.)
Ask a Home Depot guy to help you to get the above items if you're new to the plumbing stuff.

Next, cut the pipes according to your pond size and glue them together just like the fountain-pipings shown in the above photos. With some good old commonsense, you will build your own fountain in no time. For example, use your commonsense to figure out 1) how to glue pipes together with a coupling or elbow connector, or 2) how to hook up your plumb into the fountain. Post your questions as you go when you run into problems in building your fountain; I'll be happy to help you out.