# little white squirmy....worms?



## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

Not sure what these things are, I had them in a tank before many years ago but they went away, I am confused this time tho as I just spotted them in a tank that has been cycled but no fish have ever been in it, it was fishless cycled with ammonia and never has had any fish food or shrimp or anything in it like that, so where did these things come from?
I am not overly concerned, but I am wondering if I should be because I ordered my fish today and this evening when I got home from work I saw them, and my fish will come on Wed. I have read and remember from the last time I looked up what they might be, that they are harmless for fish, but can be a sign of bad water? Should I take some of the sand out of my tank to reduce the depth of my substrate? It is a few inches in some spots where the sand has moved, I was thinking about removing some anyways so thats no biggy.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Sounds like nematodes. I've read they're associated with over feeding. Use any old decor or substrate from a different tank?

I had some in a 20 long and I wasn't sure where they came from. Bare bottom tank used for growing fish out. Regular water changes. I did add plants so maybe that's how they showed up, I don't know.


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## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

Yes I did use some decor and plants from another tank to seed the new one to help with the cycle, I kind of figured that's where they came from but I was confused because I don't know why they just showed up after a month and a half of cycling with no fish in the tank, what would they be eating to cause them to grow now? I guess I will do more research on them but do I have any reason to be concerned about them or are they fine for now?


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## andywoolloo (Apr 12, 2014)

Is it maybe planaria?

Just from over feeding I believe

Can do extra water changes and gravel vacs and cut back on feeding if so

I don't know the neomodes but planaria are harmless I've read I'm pretty sure

They are little skinny white threads of a worm


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## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

That's the thing, there is no fish in the tank, so there hasn't been any feeding.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Do a search in the old posts here to see if you can dig up some info. I determined that I had nematodes. Most of the answers regarding them were that they are harmless and related to overfeeding. I'll see if I can find some more out for you.


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## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

Through some searching on the forum, I found a product called PraziPro, haven't heard of it before but looks kind of promising, any experience or knowledge of this product?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

PraziPro is the liquid solution of praziquantel, which is a dewormer/parasitic med. I've only used praziquantel in its pure powder form. PraziPro needs to be used in water with no ammonia present, so if you do use it you'll have to wait until your cycle is complete.


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## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

Tank is cycled, I Will do more research on it and decide if I want do try anything or just give it time and see if they go away, I may still try pulling out some of the sand tho to see if that helps any


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Hmm. did you get your fish today? If not, we've got a few options to try. But if you did, I don't think these nematodes are parasites, and I don't know how prazipro would work on them. Are your fish wild caught? Mail ordered? I would not feed them for a couple of days, do a few extra water changes, add a bit of salt perhaps (what fish are these anyway?)... and wait on medicating until they've settled in.


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## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

Yea, I got my fish today but I saw the critters a couple days ago, after I ordered the fish. African Cichlids and a school of Syno Lucipinnis cats. Everyone is in and I wont be feeding for a day or two, then it will be light feedings every other day for a couple weeks. After that point I am hoping the little wigglers are gone. I have some aquarium salt on hand if I need to try some of that, there isn't any in the tank atm.


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

I would bet your fish will eat them. I used to have a shrimp-only tank and saw little worms (pretty sure they were nematodes). After adding a couple endlers, they were gone. I wouldn't worry about it unless your fish start showing problems.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

shelbynjakesdad said:


> I would bet your fish will eat them.


That would be my guess as well. My thinking is that we rarely ever see these kinds of critters in a tank, because the fish will spot them long before we do, and consider them a tasty treat. I am not surprised you have seen them in a tank that has no fish in it yet. The fish will be introduced to your tank with some free life food, and I bet they'll feel right at home!

Where do the worms come from? I don't know, but I recently heard a talk by Dr Stephen Weeks at the Greater Akron Aquarium Society about creatures that live in temporary pools, meaning bodies of water that are dry for part of the year, have no fish, and no inflow or outflow. The talk was not about worms but crustaceans like daphnia and related species - apparently there are a gazillion different species. At any rate, these things can lie dormant in soil for decades, and maybe even centuries, enduring drought, heat and cold, and many adverse conditions that would kill most other life. As soon as water comes, they wake up and the cycle of life begins again. It's a fascinating subject, and showed me that you never know what lies dormant in a bit of soil or on a rock or a piece of wood you ad to your tank. The good news for aquarists is that virtually none of this stuff is harmful for fish. Mostly its food!


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## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

I have seen several times now one of the squiggles go floating by a group of the cichlids and they all dart for it, I see them every so often still but not nearly as many, my sand has little poke holes from the cichlids digging so they must be taking them out which I like.


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## wortel87 (Apr 15, 2014)

their starting worms.their normal. you will most likely always get them in the first few weeks. especially if there are no fish in it. fish eat them  you really dont know all the stuff thats in your water suply hehe. here in holland no chlorine is added to the water. so no need to use a water conditioner. lucky me  malawi water straight from the tap. my father in his early days worked for the water suply company. he said there are allot of critters living in the water suply tubes that makes your stomach turn


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## Swimmy (Jun 4, 2014)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Sounds like nematodes. I've read they're associated with over feeding. Use any old decor or substrate from a different tank?
> 
> I had some in a 20 long and I wasn't sure where they came from. Bare bottom tank used for growing fish out. Regular water changes. I did add plants so maybe that's how they showed up, I don't know.


These little guys? 

[url=http://www.organicgardening.c...w.organicgardening.com/learn-a ... /nematodes
[/url]
Friend of foe?


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