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This morning when I was cleaning my aquarium I found a black worm. I have no idea what kind it is and if it is harmful. Which is really pathetic considering I am in Animal Bio at college and should have been able to tell what it was.

Is this worm thing possibly harmful and is this normal to find this sort of thing in an aquarium that is planted also???

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Worm shape, length & diameter? Photo?

There are blackworms that are round, striated worms of about an inch, and about 1-2mm in diameter but I believe they aren't common/available outside of Aus.




For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I think it was more round but it was kind of flat too. It was probably about an inch long too and like 5 mm wide. It was using something on one end of its body to attach to the bottom of the bucket I sucked it up into with the gravel vac from inside the gravel. I ordered my plants from AquariumPlants.com so I have no idea where it would have come from. I didnt think to take a picture at the time either. Hopefully I gave enough information.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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It sounds like a leech. They tend to go from flat to round and have a sucker end that they use to attach to a food source and move about in wet surfaces.

I am unsure if it could/would attach to a fish, but it can attach to human and other mammalian skin very easily. If you find any more, I'd just remove them, but I don't think they are harmful enough to go searching for more.

If you want to kill any you find (not that it is really necessary) you should be aware that they are tough as old boots and squash very flat, so squashing is rarely effective. You are better off going with the old table salt method. Same thing goes if any attach to you, don't pull them off but annoy (damage) them into letting you go.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

A photo certainly would be helpful.
If it is a leach it could have easily hitched a ride on a plant. As soon as it attaches itself to a plant leaf cut that leaf off it is the only way you will be able to remove it. There is no way know you can lift it off as it suction is very strong.
If it attaches its self to a fish it will suck its blood that is their main source of food. If it attaches its self to a fish that could be a totally different method as Callatya stated salt could be used but if that does not work this might sound strange use a lighted cigarette just behind its head and it will come off immediatly

Next you could have a damaged fish I just hope you can get off a plant leaf before it attaches to a fish.

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I got a picture of another one I found attached to the bottom of a rock in my aquarium the other day. It will take me a few days to load it and remember to post it somewhere so that it can be viewed. This one I found is tan in color though, but the same thing.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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It seems a dugesia (planaria) to me. Was it looking like this?:
http://images.google.be/images?um=1&hl=nl&q=dugesia
If it is this one don't worry, they don't attack fish.

i have found 1cm long planaria in a tub i kept outside before, but IMO it would be rare to find a 1in long black planaria in a fishtank.

Id have to say leeches.

I just cleaned my tank and I keep finding these little worms or whatever they are still all over the place. If anyone can ID them, is there a way to get rid of them? Are they harmful to the fish? Even if they arent I would still like to try and get rid of them somehow because I dont like sticking my hand in there and digging around in the gravel with them in there.

Here is a pic: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=200766&l=c7c5a4b659&id=1221167544

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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hey kj,

it would be great to get a picture of the attached end of the worm in focus, but to me it definitely looks disc-like in your pic - i would say a leech species.

i have no idea how to get rid of them. good luck with it.

It looks like a leech to me. The thing is it could be a herbi. If your tank can withstand salt, try raising the salt content of the tank. Just a suggestion... If your fish can't take salt, you may have to remove them to a different tank. After the salt treatment, completely clean the tank. Remove everything and give it a good rinse. Remember to change out the water...

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

did you ever feed live bloodworms to your fish? that thing looks just like the live bloodworms i've seen in several lfs. if you feed them to your fish, they will inevitably find their way into your gravel. if you have a lot, you can look at the gravel real closely and see them sticking one of their ends above the surface, but they may hide when you get too close.

---

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Not all of them are as black as the one in that picture. They range in size, but I think the one in the picture is probably about as big as I've seen them.
They like to stay in the gravel. I dont know if they stick their heads above the gravel, but I will have to watch for that. But I highly doubt they are bloodworms because I have never fed any kind of live food to my fish.
I have harlequin rasboras and panda corydoras. Would they be able to stand salt being added to the tank? If I were to do the salt option how much would I need to add to a 20 gallon tank?

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Are there segments on it? All annelids (such as leeches, earthworms, and Tubifex) have segmented bodies. It's hard to tell in the picture. A smooth worm-like animal could possibly be a nematode...?

I haven't taken a course in inverts, though.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I thought I saw segments in the photo. I'm just not clear on how much salt kj should add to the water. Most snails, worms and whatnot can't tolerate much salt. If this was a salt water tank.... I would suggest the opposite. Deprive the thing of salt to kill it. Right? Now if it's adaptable then you will definitely have to move into chemical treatments.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

I think I am going to have to catch one next time I do a gravel vac in my tank to answer the more specific questions. Don't leeches move using suckers on both ends of their bodies?

Like I said earlier the tank is a 20 gallon freshwater community tank with harlequin rasboras and panda corydoras.

I think that is correct about the segments vs no segments if I remember correctly from Animal Bio last fall.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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I went to a website for Nova:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0305/01.html
Check the ask the expert portion. There's all kinds of interesting questions and facts on leeches. The leeches do have suckers on both ends but one is much smaller than the other. Surprisingly, the smallest end is the mouth and the larger end is the butt. In this Q & A, he does state that there are non-blood sucking leeches and blood specific sucking leeches. (certain leeches only drink blood from certain sources) It does hint that only a small amount of salinity is needed for non-salt water leeches to retract or to be harmed.

The question now is how much salt can panda cories and rasboras take... You might want to pm Calilasseia and see if he can answer that question for you.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

I managed to gravel vac a few more worms out to take better pictures of. I only found 3 today, but there are 2 diff types this time.

The first one: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=514717&l=746ce058ad&id=1221167544

This is the one that I have been finding a ton of. They have since dwindled in number since I have been able to care for my tank really well. I read somewhere that worms flourish in tanks with very dirty gravel since there is lots of stuff for them to feed on. Hopefully this will help get rid of them. I was also thinking of getting some clout to take care of them or adding some salt depending on if my fish can handle it. Can anyone ID this worm for me to help in ridding my tank of them before I plant it? They appear to have suckers on both ends so I am guessing it is some kind of leech.

The second one: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=514718&l=0d325a3fcf&id=1221167544

I have only found a very small number of these in my tank when I have done a gravel vac. Does anyone know what this is? I am guessing that whatever I do to eventually to get rid of the other worm thing will also rid the tank of this too.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Today when I did a quick water change and gravel vac, I sucked up 2 extremely large reddish colored worms like the small one in my pic in the post above. They were both like 3-5 inches long. I also found 3 more black ones which I suspect our indeed leeches.

How do I cure my worm problem? I read that Clout gets rid of all sorts of worms. Would this work in my situation?

I was going to plant my tank again, but would like to fix this problem before I do. How do I prevent this from happening when I get new plants?

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Did you try to pm Calilsseia about adding the salt? Do you have a temporary tank to house the fish while you exterminate their permanent home?

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}