# fish all dead, have black worms in tank now.



## vorian14 (Feb 6, 2011)

any help is appreciated. I have had an established aquarium with one electric blue african ciclid for over a year. a few weeks ago i added another and things were going good so i bought another (orange african ciclid). it did not fair well against the others and was huddeling a lot. 2 days later my original blue and my new orange were found dead. the next day the new blue was also dead. today i was doing a water change and planning on getting 2 oscars and start over then i saw THEM! small brown/black worms were in the water moving and on the glass. about 6 or so were in the water change waste water bucket when i dumped it out. i tried to google these critters but not finding much luck. i have never fed live only ciclid flakes. i don't think they are planaria as they are not white. did these worms kill my fish? are they harmful or just coincidental? i'm including a photo. i have not done a water change in quite some time 6 mo. or so. I feel terrible. i'm sure this probably could of been avoided and don't want it happening again. i am scared to put any fish into my tank now. sorry about the rambling. i guess i am looking for any info. please help. thanks, JASON.


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## vorian14 (Feb 6, 2011)

sorry tank info.
28 tall
milennium 3000 filter
heater
wood hood


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## fan4guppy (Feb 4, 2011)

vorian14 said:


> any help is appreciated. I have had an established aquarium with one electric blue african ciclid for over a year. a few weeks ago i added another and things were going good so i bought another (orange african ciclid). it did not fair well against the others and was huddeling a lot. 2 days later my original blue and my new orange were found dead. the next day the new blue was also dead. today i was doing a water change and planning on getting 2 oscars and start over then i saw THEM! small brown/black worms were in the water moving and on the glass. about 6 or so were in the water change waste water bucket when i dumped it out. i tried to google these critters but not finding much luck. i have never fed live only ciclid flakes. i don't think they are planaria as they are not white. did these worms kill my fish? are they harmful or just coincidental? i'm including a photo. i have not done a water change in quite some time 6 mo. or so. I feel terrible. i'm sure this probably could of been avoided and don't want it happening again. i am scared to put any fish into my tank now. sorry about the rambling. i guess i am looking for any info. please help. thanks, JASON.
> View attachment 23296


Well I can help you with what I would do to get your tank reset up. USE BLEACH for the tank, filter system, heater, etc. Bleach is a powerful disinfectant that will probably make your tank safe to use again. 

Throw away any filter media that you were using. 

Gravel and Rocks I would dispense with too, Where Gloves while you are doing this as you never know the harmful bacteria and pathogens that are around in this aquarium. 

Regular water changes are important.

I have seen red worms that act like parasites but I have not seen anything like what you have posted here.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

It looks coincidental to me. If they were parasites, they would be unable to survive outside the host's body. I don't believe these are parasites. Just vacuum them off.

Trouble is you did not quarantine your new fish. That would be where the problem is.

Could you please provide info in this form? Copy and paste the form into your new reply and provide answers after each question.



> 1. Size of tank?
> 
> 2. Water parameters
> a. Ammonia?
> ...


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

vorian14 said:


> sorry tank info.
> 28 tall
> milennium 3000 filter
> heater
> wood hood


 
Biological filter was sufficient for the one african you had before adding two more.Sudden addition of more waste for filter to process, and perhaps more foods offered,could have resulted in the death of fishes.(ammonia and or nitrite spike)
Is also possible that one of the new fish was sick and as Lupin mentioned, without quarantine,,the possibilty that one of the new fish brought pathogen unknown to your tank is real possibility.
Is literally no hope for longterm health of fishes with water change every six months.(unless tank is heavily planted and sparsely stocked with fish)
Weekly 25 to 50 percent water changes and gravel vaccum will help maintain the health of fishes and remove those things like the worms you see.
If your tank is 28 gal,, then you could not hope to keep even one Oscar in such a tank for more than a couple months.
The Oscar's are large fish as Adults and need large tanks that will allow them to grow properly and they produce much more waste than four or five africans.
Excess waste = more water changes assuming you want the fish to thrive, and upgrades in filtration will be needed as the fish grow to possibly twelve inches inside a year with proper care,hence the minimum 75 gal to support just one of these personable fish.


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## fan4guppy (Feb 4, 2011)

> sorry tank info.
> 28 tall


... however even with african cichlids a 28 gallon tank is considered rather small due to their territorial ways. which could have lead to the death of one or both of them through fighting. 

I agree with the previous poster though with this tank really not suitable for african cichlids, Oscars would not be a good fit into the aquarium also.

If the tank is empty of inhabitants I would still consider bleaching it as there is no real identification of what those worms really are and other pathogens that could still be in the aquarium.


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## vorian14 (Feb 6, 2011)

*Nuked the tank*

hey all thanks for your input and i really thought about all that has been posted. here is my decision. NUKE THE TANK! i emptied all but about 5-7 gallons and removed all the worms possibe. next i poured straight bleach (about a cup) into said tank. the worms lasted about another day an a half than all motion seized. i waited another 4 days checking to see if anything reanimated. yesterday i did about 6 flushes with a gravel clean, pouring water about 7 gallons in at a time and then draining with a python cleaner. did a deep clean on all my ornamentals and plastic plants, changed the media for the filter. I have also decided against oscars due to the lack of space for them. instead i will go with a male betta for my centerpiece and add neons, and other docile tropicals. tank is up and running now, i plan on addding fish soon, just waiting for treatment to settle and temp to get right. thanks for all your help and i will post pics soon. --Vorian.:-D


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## SweetPoison (Jan 16, 2011)

And don't forget to QT next time. Unless you want to keep going through this. It is a hard lesson to learn for some.


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## vorian14 (Feb 6, 2011)

QT?


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## SweetPoison (Jan 16, 2011)

Quarantine.;-)


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