What are these worms in my tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Ya, they are harmless. If you want to get rid of them clean your gravel once a week. I clean my tanks once a week. I've never had them, just read about them. They should go away after a few vacuums.
 
knifegill;4979915; said:
It's really disappointing to see such prejudices still at play in the freshwater world. If this were a saltwater tank you'd be cheering that life had become more diversified in your tank. At the least, you'd be happy for the free fish food growing therein. Worms are amazing! They help keep substrates clean and aerated and indicate over-feeding for you. If the fish store sold these in a box you'd probably want to buy them. I have tubifex in my culture buckets, blackworm in a different bucket, and several types of nematodes (one of which swims like a sidewinder) and they are all fun to watch.
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Interesting view and if they are harmless then I guess they are no big deal.Funny, out of all of my tanks that are running,the one with the least amount of filtration is the one that I have noticed these worms in.
 
As krichardson observed, these worms usually appear in tanks that are not adequately filtered. Unfortunately the quality of water that these worms thrive in will be harmful to your fish over time. Test your nitrates to make sure they are not at harmful levels. If you don't have the test kits, most fish stores will do a free water test for you. Also. check the rating of the filter to see if you are moving enough water for your size tank.
 
oscarfishguy;4986132; said:
As krichardson observed, these worms usually appear in tanks that are not adequately filtered. Unfortunately the quality of water that these worms thrive in will be harmful to your fish over time. Test your nitrates to make sure they are not at harmful levels. If you don't have the test kits, most fish stores will do a free water test for you. Also. check the rating of the filter to see if you are moving enough water for your size tank.
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Agreed. Similar to certain types of algae blooms this is a sign you might have to change up your tank maintenance.
 
But how do they get into a closed system in the first place?
 
Most of them are smaller than blood worms.Mainly guppy and platy sized fish can make a meal out of them.
 
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