# Found a Worm in the tank



## cmw1966 (Mar 13, 2007)

Hi I found a milky/clear worm floating about in the tank, it is a new tank but I've done everything according to the pet shops advice. Is it something to worry about?. I'm due to add another fish at the weekend from a smaller tank where the fish were all previously kept together, should I wait? I do have a tendency to overfeed the fish but the two who are in the new tank aren't showing much interest in food and are lethargic.


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## Kate (Feb 26, 2007)

Welcome 

I don't know about the worm (maybe an intestinal parasite?) but the lethargy of your fish concern me. Also - a LOT of pet stores give inadequate advice. What kind of fish do you have? In what size tank? At what temp? The water chem might be off as well, so test it for us and post your parameters. All of these factors (and more) could really affect how your fish are behaving and their overall health.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Sounds like planaria to me which is nothing to worry about. Your fish will simply consume them. Planaria are a sign of overfeeding or poor tank maintenance.


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## Kate (Feb 26, 2007)

http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Planaria.htm

Hopefully that will help


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

a milky/clear worm? does sound like a glassworm which the fish should eat is it a straight and level insect like creature or is it a true worm?


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## amphibi-man (Mar 28, 2007)

*Hi I have white worms in my sump!*

I have small ... very very small white worms in my sump because I sometimes place old sword leaves in it. If I stir the sump a bit these worms go up into the aquarium where all my fish devour them quickly. OK so I've been doing this for years and my fish, especially my Black Phantoms are in incredible sparkling shape. I haven't gotten a case of ick or any other kind of sickness in years. However they do die of old age after about 5 years or more (they become very droopy and just wither away). And, I feed them brine shrimp and flakes and the occasional summertime Daphnia from a farm pond. They aren't glass worms though like the pic in the replies. The worms feed on the dead leaves I put in the sump next to the sump pump. Could these be the worms you have? If they are I wouldn't worry too much. My advice to you would be to feed one very small pinch of food twice a day for every twenty fish. And skip weekend feedings. Keeping them hungry for awhile is healthy for fish (This last step is only recommended for non-agressive fish ... mine don't nip each others fins!)


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

*Re: Hi I have white worms in my sump!*



amphibi-man said:


> I have small ... very very small white worms in my sump because I sometimes place old sword leaves in it. If I stir the sump a bit these worms go up into the aquarium where all my fish devour them quickly. OK so I've been doing this for years and my fish, especially my Black Phantoms are in incredible sparkling shape. I haven't gotten a case of ick or any other kind of sickness in years. However they do die of old age after about 5 years or more (they become very droopy and just wither away). And, I feed them brine shrimp and flakes and the occasional summertime Daphnia from a farm pond. They aren't glass worms though like the pic in the replies. The worms feed on the dead leaves I put in the sump next to the sump pump. Could these be the worms you have? If they are I wouldn't worry too much. My advice to you would be to feed one very small pinch of food twice a day for every twenty fish. And skip weekend feedings. Keeping them hungry for awhile is healthy for fish (This last step is only recommended for non-agressive fish ... mine don't nip each others fins!)


Your worms sound like planaria to me which fortunately are harmless. And, yes, reducing the food rations will help reduce their numbers.


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## amphibi-man (Mar 28, 2007)

*Planaria and worms.*

By Planaria do you mean the gray worms with the head shaped liked an arrow and cross-eyed look? I don't believe this is what I have. Please correct me if I am wrong... Thanks!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

*Re: Planaria and worms.*



amphibi-man said:


> By Planaria do you mean the gray worms with the head shaped liked an arrow and cross-eyed look? I don't believe this is what I have. Please correct me if I am wrong... Thanks!


Planaria vary in shape and color. I believed yours are planaria.


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## amphibi-man (Mar 28, 2007)

*Planaria*

Come to think of it I believe Planaria can be found sometimes with the Black worms you can buy at pet stores. Those Planaria are cool looking if you really take a close look at them with a magnifying glass.


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## amphibi-man (Mar 28, 2007)

*Thanks!*

Yes I do stand corrected. Planaria must come in many forms I just didn't know that they could...I used to believe that Planaria could be carriers of pests that could adversly affect aquarium fish. The Planaria I feed my fish are totally healthy as I can raise them in my sump just by placing one or two Sword leaves or Almond leaves in there. I doesn't really cost anything to do that and I can get lots of them in just under a week. Then I just discard the leaves before they get too mushy. Hey, I should try crypt leaves to see what happens.


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## nvmyluv420 (Mar 29, 2007)

sorry to jump in hear, im new to the fish career and never heard of this befor. you put leaves in your tank and they "grow" worms? im really interested in feeding my fish live worms but im so nervous of trasfering disease. the dried blood worms are polluting my tank and i heard that live food keeps ammonia down. please tell me more about your magic leaves!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

nvmyluv420 said:


> i heard that live food keeps ammonia down.


I don't think live food reduces ammonia or I may have miss this point.:dunno: If live food rots, your ammonia increases instead.


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## nvmyluv420 (Mar 29, 2007)

oh ok so pretty much any extra food live, frozen, dried is going to cause ammonia levels to raise.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

nvmyluv420 said:


> oh ok so pretty much any extra food live, frozen, dried is going to cause ammonia levels to raise.


If they are left uneaten or not syphoned, it is possible.


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## nvmyluv420 (Mar 29, 2007)

ok tanks!


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## amphibi-man (Mar 28, 2007)

Hi its actually quite simple. Here's a pic of my sump. As you can see I have bags of charcoal and zeolite to help keep the water clean. There is also one sword leaf cutting from that same aquarium. That's where the pump is. To the left of that are the bio-balls. How does the water get into the sump you say? Simple. There is an overflow box hanging on the back of the aquarium where the water goes into and down to the sump by way of gravity. (Those black strips are velcro which I use to keep my 2 year old son from putting his dirty little fingers in it. ha ha.) I bought all the stuff I need (after a bit of research) on Ebay. The research I did was to make sure that sump will fit in the stand. Oh yes, and after placing 1 or 2 leaves in there it will take about a week or a bit more time for the worms to start. I'm not sure how they get there but hey I'm not complaining. Several people have replied that these are planarian worms. They live in ponds and rivers. I suppose it works the same way as when a person would put some straw in a see through glass. You'll get lots of tiny citters that fish fry would eat...


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## amphibi-man (Mar 28, 2007)

*Sump pic*

I'm having trouble getting this pic posted sorry.


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