# Help! White tiny worm things swimming in my tank!



## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

I just noticed these tiny worm like thinks crawling on the inside of my tank. A few of them were swimming through the water. There's a lot of them and they're too tiny to take a picture of. Could it be Ick? There is a white thing on one of my Betta's fins. But that's the only one. I'm going to take both fish out right now and put them into 1 gal temporary bins. 

Should I start treating the fish with an AQ salt treatment?

Also what should I do for the tank? It's a cycled 14gal with live plants. The temp is at 78 to 79. Usually at 80 though. They fish don't seemed to be bothered right now. I'm going to have to leave them in till I am done with class for today.

I think my filter has carbon in it, that's what the cartridge came with. I do have Ick Away from Wardley's should I just treat the whole take with the fish in there? As far as I can see now only one of them has a grey-white thing on their fin, the other one has nothing. I have some treated water with AQ salt on stand by currently and ready to put them into separate bins once the temperature gets to room temp. I only have one unadjustable heater so I'll pry put that in with the Betta that has something on him already.

After getting a closer look I guess they could be larva of something too. A while back I has these weird slow moving bug things that eventually disappeared from my tank. I guess they could have laid eggs, the larva are hanging out near the bottom half of the tank.


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

Anyone help?


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

can you get a picture of them?


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

Yeah I will, they're really tiny though. I'll post a pic in a few minutes. Thanks for replying!


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

They are just too small to get a picture of but could they be planaria?


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

I just noticed them today and they are hard to find. Most still look like small specks that I can hardly see moving. You have to almost press your face right up against the glass to try and find them.


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

Should I just start using the gravel vac twice a week for a couple weeks? I know I don't have too much uneaten food in the tank because I make sure that both my fish eat what I give them.


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

If they're free-swimming worms then they're not ich.. usually critters that appear inside a tank are beneficial (mostly, there are a few exceptions) and a sign that your tank is healthy. They can become a nuisance when left out of check, though.. try cutting back on how much you feed (less waste) and up your water changes a little bit. 

We don't want a tank to be a sterile environment, so unless you dump everything and start fresh you'll probably have some critters left in there.. though try to find out what you have just in case.


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

I've found a few free swimming but a lot of them are on the glass squirming around. I got some off with my aquarium scraper. I am currently doing one 50% once a week. Should I start doing two? They are much to small to see what they are yet but my fish don't seem bothered. There is this gray thing on one of my Betta's fins so I took him out. It doesn't look like Ick but I'm putting him on a low AQ salt treatment just incase, will help with a fin he tore too.


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

I've only ever seen ich as a white cyst on a fish's body.. like grains of salt. 95% sure that what you have is not ich.


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

That's good but at the same time I'm worried about what it could be. Then again it could just be something stuck to him. Thanks for your help


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

No problem! There's a link someplace floating around that is a page for identifying tank critters... give me a bit and I'll see if I can dig it out for you.


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

Ok thank you!


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

Aha, here it is! I had to dig through OFL's posts to find it, she usually gives it out.

http://planetinverts.com/what_is_that_bug_in_my_aquarium.html 

This should help you out!


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

Awesome! Thanks, I think what's in my tank is Planaria. Still not sure what's on my other Betta. This is a great site!


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

Ewww, planaria. xD

Luckily, harmless! Like I suggested, you'll want to feed less to reduce waste and try to vac the gravel every time you change the water. I think that site also has some other ways to get rid of them, as well! Don't fret if you can't eliminate all of them, though.


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## c4talys7 (Sep 7, 2010)

Ok, I'll just cut back on the food a little then. I got a lot out that I saw with just my scrubber. Thanks for your help! Hopefully I won't see them too often.


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