# Worms I think. Need to get rid of.....



## Sowman (Aug 19, 2011)

Hello All,
So I have an issue. I've setup a new tank that's been running and cycling for about a month. The cycle is almost done but I just noticed today that I have some kind of a worm infestation. There are thousands of them and they are tiny white stringy things that are twitching. I recently added some new drift wood to the tank and I did boil it. I also took down another thank and moved all the plants to this new tank. This is a planted 5G tanks with sand and fluorite. I've included some pictures. 

How do I get rid of these things without redoing the tank?


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## MooseKnocker (Aug 5, 2012)

My friend has those, His are white and some are red he said they are good but I don't think so.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

once you add fish.... they'll be gone. extra protein for the fishies too


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## JackisLost (Feb 26, 2011)

your fish will eat it. like aokashi said, they will make a fine meal for your betta


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## deso (Apr 24, 2012)

In the worst case scenario - if there's too many of them for your fish to eat, there's a natural product called Genchem No Planaria that kills worms and any other inverts (meaning you shouldn't use it if you're also keeping shrimp and snails).


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## angelus2402004 (Jan 5, 2010)

Where did you get your driftwood?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Planaria. My tank has them too, they live in the filter. Sometimes they get spit out and I see them on the glass but Bowser eats them all up.


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## Sowman (Aug 19, 2011)

I got my driftwood at PetClub however I did make the mistake of leaving one of the pieces of driftwood outside over night after boiling it. Do these things come from driftwood? 

Thanks everyone for the responses, I'm just not sure if I want to put my betta in the tank while I have these things in it. I actually had nightmares last night about these gross things. I may just put another type of fish in this tank for now and then transfer it to my 46G when all the worms are gone.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Well you can try the planaria gone stuff mentioned above. These things, I read, are a sign of good water. They can come out of the tap water I presume since my driftwood has been boiled, laid outside in the sun and rain and used for months before I ever saw planaria. I first saw planaria afte I cycled my tank. I think they feed on bacteria in the filter.


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

I had a lot of....I dunno, maybe detrius worms or nematodes in one of my tanks. I put a nerite snail in and I stopped finding them after a week or so. Either the snail ate them, or he ate whatever they were eating and they died. Either way, they were gone and I was happy.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I noticed less of the non-worm twitching white dots after nerites as well


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## SpookyTooth (Dec 23, 2011)

They look like detritus worms. Planaria are a species of flatworms that usually have to be introduced into an aquatic ecosystem through plants whereas detritus worms are perfectly natural in a cycled aquarium.

I'm struggling a bit with data today so I'm just going to post a link to a site with loads of info rather than try to explain myself (warning: lots of photos of wormies):

http://www3.sympatico.ca/drosera1/fish/worms.htm


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## Sowman (Aug 19, 2011)

What I have definitely look like detritus worms..... Their seem to be alot less today but I cant be sure.


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