Freshwater pods?

[jipee]

I got home yesterday from vacation (2 weeks) did a 50% water change, scrub and dose. After feeding I looked closely at the bloodworms on the substrate and notice the what looks like worms, pods, and what looks like planaria. Theyre kind of everywhere once I noticed them. Any feedback is appreciated. Any fish find any of these tasty,
https://youtu.be/NPzcYJntXrQ
https://youtu.be/m-4eC-jyycc if they arent good for the tank?

[MD.David]

Get rid of your substrate, its full of Debris that those cridders are feeding on.
I do not like nor recommend any substrate, it does look nice, BUT... Discus need very very clean water, any left over rotting food or feces in the gravel Substrate is a parasites heaven.
IMO, many Aquariumists are selffish, they sacrifice the health of the fish so "it can look pretty", to me this is ridiculous. I would rather have super healthy fat discus then a "pretty looking substrate" and thin ill discus.
Don't get me wrong there are many people that keep amazing tanks and these people are full blown artists, but if you want low maintenance and very healthy environment then bare bottom is the way to go and the way most people should keep fish.

[jipee]

Thank you for your feedback MD.David

[Filip]

I doubt that they are harmful to fish in any way , but the problem is that their presence indicates a very dirty substrate. And like David also said a dirty substrate full of detritus and sludge is an "all you can eat" party invitation for harmful bacteria and parasites that may attack and compromise discus immune system.
So in a indirect and a secondary way , yes they are very harmful.
If you are about to keep the substrate you better start to disturb it and clean it very throughly every day followed by a big WC .Start ASAP with everyday and you can cut back a bit later when there is no detritus nor critters left.
HTH.

[jipee]

Thanks, I may do a bare bottom planted instead. Take all the substrate out and rinse it till its coarse

[Filip]

You can try BB with potted plants , it would be the cleanest way. If you can't stand BB and must have some bottom go with PFS - #20-#30 grade sand.
It is the best option to keep it clean and prevent detritus buildup . You also shouldnt go deeper than 1-1.5 inch sand depth.

[Kyla]

u could also do pots with ur preferred substrate and a fine layer of pool filter sand elsewhere in the tank. that way ur plants will have deeper substrate for rooting but the majority of the tank bottom is easy to clean

[Kyla]

bb is best tho :) if h have never tried BB give it a go, u may love it!

[MD.David]

I started on the bare bottom kick a few years ago, will never go back to sand.

[jipee]

Well I finally did my switch today to a bb and pots. Up and running. But.. My kobalt got stick imbetween my heater and the glass! I swabbed the spotin hydrogen peroxide and will be adding salt in ratio to the tank:(99915