super itty bitty teeny weeny worms

[Eddie]

I got some little white worms cruising around in my tank. I see them crawling on the glass and floating around. They are real real real small. Kinda looks like super fine lint or paper particles. Are these bad and how do I rid of them?

[CARY_GLdiscus]

Hello
Do not worry They will not hurt Your discus! However it is a sign of over feeding. I would just ease up on feeding and cut back on the amounts You are useing. It will also help if you clean up your tank a bit and change more water to lower the worm count back down.

There is some talk of theses worms being bad in a discus breeding setup!
some believe they will eat the discus eggs from the inside out. IME Am not sure because My worm count is very low and my breeder tanks are very clean.

Anyways the worms name is planarian
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oct98/908812019.Ns.q.html

hth
Cary Gld!

[allan_mark76]

ewwwwwwwwwww gross.....dude take some pixs.....


:fried:

[Eddie]

try when I get my new camera ;) they are too small I think

[Moon]

I did have some in my fry tank (not discus). What type of worms are they?

[CARY_GLdiscus]

common name for several genera of the free-living (turbellarian) flatworms belonging to the order Tricladida, a name that derives from their characteristic three-branched digestive cavities. Most species range from 1/8 in. to about 1 in. in length (.32–2.54 cm) although some giant tropical forms range up to 2 ft. (60 cm). The different species are white, gray, brown, or black; a few forms are transparent. Many are striped or streaked and some of the large terrestrial species are brightly colored. Although planarians can be found in marine or moist terrestrial habitats, most inhabit freshwater areas. They crawl about over a trail of mucus that is secreted by specialized epidermal cells; the smaller forms move about by means of cilia on their ventral, or lower, surface, and larger species utilize muscular contractions as well. Tactile and chemoreceptive cells, located in the epidermis, serve as general sense organs. In many species these cells are clumped in lobes at the sides of the head. Most planarians are also light-sensitive and in some, pigmented light-sensitive cells are clumped in two cups that serve as primitive eyes. Planarians are usually either carnivorous or scavengers. The mouth is located near the middle of the ventral surface. The tubelike pharynx can be everted from the mouth and inserted into the prey; food is partially digested externally before it is sucked into the gut. Planarians are hermaphroditic; each individual worm contains both male and female organs, and, most commonly, they reproduce sexually. However, species similar to the 1/2-in.-long (1.27-cm) Dugesia tigrina, the most common planarian in the United States, are much studied in classrooms and laboratories for their additional capacity to reproduce asexually by transverse rupture of the body: a rupture line develops behind the mouth, and while the back half of the worm is anchored, the front half moves forward until the worm snaps in half. Each half regenerates the missing parts. Such planarians can also regenerate parts that are cut from the body. Planarians are classified in the phylum Platyhelminthes, class Turbellaria, order Tricladida.

hth
Gld

[Moon]

Thanks Cary for the info.
I have to get one of these under the microscope and have a good look.

[Carol_Roberts]

Planaria like to cling to smooth surfaces like the inside of the tank and inside the filter box. Wipe them off all smooth surfaces. REduce feeding and clean better inside the tank. Don't leave uneaten food in the tank. Do more water chagnes. In a couple of weeks you won't see them at all. Formalin will kill them, but you don't want a bunch of dead worms in the tank either ;)

[Northwestcoastdisc]

That is good informaton , Great job Cary and Coral.

I am just wondering do little discus fry like to eat Planarians ? are they good benfits to growth?


Duncan

NWCD

[Carol_Roberts]

I don't have any idea. I've never heard of discus of any age eating planaria . . .

[CARY_GLdiscus]

Am With Carol,

But I guess if Your Babies were starving to death they Might!

Later
Cary Gld!