White worms? how to get rid of? What are they?

[tony2001]

Help, ???

I have searched this site but Im not sure what I have Planaria, flukes ?????

I have white thread like worms about 1/4 to 1/2 in long that wiggle in the water. Im new to discus and have never seen these and all I ever see is microscopic views of critters, but never a REAL life photo that looks like what I got.

My camera cant seem to focus well enough to get a picture or I would posted it.

I have a pair of breeding Discus in a 29 gal that I newly set up. I moved the Discus over to the new tank in an attemp to rid the worms and a week later I see them again.

The pair just laid eggs again and last time when I came back from vacation the wrigglers that had hatch were gone. I lost power and the temp was at 74 when I got home. I dont know if the temp or the worms got the wrigglers.

Im afraid that the worms might harm my pair. I had 4 discus in a community tank and after they laid eggs the third time I seperated them with a divider. My little is guy(3in compared to 4-5" the rest are at, he was bought at the same time and always seemed stunted) then got sick and died about 2 weeks later.

I really started to notice the worms in the sick tank. My other discus that was seperated also is looking bad. He is tails standing. I dont know if the worms are related to these symptoms or the death of my little one?

After I moved all the discus out of my 55, I removed all the gravel and cleaned out the tank and the filter. I rinsed it out and then filled it up.
I let it set for 2-3 days. I started the filter today and I see the same worms. I dont know if they were in the filter or in the water cause I didn't check. Could they be in the water?

1. Are these worm like things flukes? Planeria?
2. Can they be harmful?
3. How do you get rid of them? :o
4. Are they in the water possible? ???
5. Anybody have good pics of links to good pics of actual worms let me know.

I would really appreciate any help as this will likely be my first brood to hatch and have a chance of surviving and I dont want these worms to mess it up.

Thanks ???
Tony
tony2001@ameritech.net

[brewmaster15]

Hi Tony,
Mosty likely they are free living nematodes. Many hobbyists see them in their tank, and often call them "threadworms." They are also called stylaria. Often small discus will eat them. I don't know of any health probelms associated with them, except that they can indicate a water quality probelm. They seem to explode in tanks where the water quality drops and multiply rapidly in filter material. Rinsing your sponges(or other filter media ) more often can help.

Planaria glide along the glass, and flukes are too small to see without a scope.

hth,
al

[tony2001]

Thanks Al,

I read a bunch and talked to people who say they are harmless. Glad you confirmed what they said.

I think I have been over feeding them plus the tank is on the verge of finishing cycling Nitrite off the chart.
Cant believe the laid eggs with all that going on. Apparently my discus aren't to picky on the cleanliness!!!

I tried to clean out the tank with a W/C and found a few hidden particales that had some fungus like stuff
on it so the tank definately needed to be cleaned.

Ill cut back alot on the feeding.

How much do you feed two discus?

Im feeding them twice a day.Frozen Beef heart in the Morn and Spectrum Discus formula litttle pellets.
I have 1/2 squares of beef heart. I think Im going to cut them in half for now on.

How many pellets 1/8 diameter?

Thanks
Tony

[brewmaster15]

HI Tony,
For spawning fish 2x a day is fine. You can feed them more if you like the key is that they eat it all. If not either cut back, or syphon off the uneaten. Its actually better to feed Discus several times a day in small amounts if you can.

hth,
al