WendiDeCato
08-09-2008, 06:01 PM
Hi guys and thank you for reading my post and I am sorry that is is going to be such a long one. I just want to cover all of the questions that I know you will ask before you have to ask them.
First off, I have already read every thread here concerning planaria, stylaria, nematodes, etc. I realize that they are a symptom of a dirty tank and are not supposed to really be harmful to the discus, etc.
The problem is that the worms that are floating in the water (I have 3 filters and a lot of water circulation) are somehow attaching themselves to my Discus as they swim by. My discus are now twitching a lot and once in a while, when I look close, I can see the little worms crawling along their skin. Then, the discus twitches and the worm dislodges and floats away. No wonder my fish are uncomfortable!
Can these worms crawl inside their gills and cause even more problems? I also notice that my fish are eating the worms, is that okay?
Background information:
-180 gallon tank - About 1 month old, I think. Cycled with sponges from my 125g discus tank.
-13 Discus also transferred from my 125 gallon tank (only 1 discus is full grown. The others range from about 2.5-4")
-3 Emporer 400 Filters with 6 biowheels and 12 sponges. Adding an XP3 as the fish grow and need more filtration.
-2 large air stones
-2 350w titanium heaters
-Bare Bottom Tank with 2 pieces of fake driftwood and 8 silk plants
-Tap water from Python with dechlorinator (Prime) added before filling the tank. Same method used for the 125 gallon discus tank for over 2 years.
Current Water Readings: Ammonia - 0ppm, NitrIte - 0ppm, Nitrates - between 0-5ppm (they have never been over 5ppm), Ph - 7.8 and steady, Temp - 86.4 and steady.
Very tiny (maybe 1/4 inches long) white worms appeared in my 180g tank out of the blue a couple of days ago. I am pretty sure that they entered the tank via the sponges from the 125 gallon. My bf is in charge of cleaning the 125g and although he does daily water changes w/ gravel vacuuming of 60-70%, he isn't good at wiping things down. There is a tiny bit of gravel in that tank and I think the worms have been hiding there. I checked yesterday and saw the tiny worms going up the tube as the 125g gravel was being vacuumed.
Back to the 180g - It started with waking up a few days agoto find the bottom of my bare bottom tank covered in white "dust" particles. I did my best to vacuum them when I did my water change that evening. The next morning, more "dust". Two days later, the worms appeared floating in the water. I have a lot of water/air circultion in my tank, so I don't think that the worms are really able to crawl along the glass when the filters and air are running. When I shut everything off to do my water changes, the ones that drift close enough to the glass will attach and start crawling up the glass like an inchworm. Others will float down to the bottom and start inching along.
I was doing only a 20-25% water change every day since the tank is understocked and the nitrAtes have always been below 5ppm. During the water changes, I vacuum the bottom and use a sponge on a stick to wipe the sides and bottom. This really just stirs stuff up, in my opinion, so I wait for everything to settle and then vaccum the bottom.
I cannot wipe down the bottom or back of the tank or the lower sides with a paper towel because the tank is really tall and I am pretty petite and can't reach those areas with my hand. I have to stand on a chair to even vacuum the tank.
Since finding the worms 2 days ago, I have changed 50% of the water daily and have rinsed 6 of my 12 sponges in tank water. Rinsing the sponges caused a temporary .25ppm spike in ammonia (probably because the tank is new and doesn't have a huge amount of bacteria yet) which I handled with Prime. For this reason, I have not yet rinsed the other 6 sponges or done a major cleaning of the filters. I don't want to add ammonia to the current problem.
Once again this morning, I woke up to white "dust" on the bottom of the tank and worms are still floating around in the water. Less than before, but there are still a lot of them.
The worms are somehow attaching themselves to the fish and really irritating them. Sometimes, I see the fish jerking forward and when I walk over to take a closer look, I see that my fish are pecking at them as if they were FBW!
What should I do other than what I have done so far?
Will the worms crawling on the fish hurt them or cause a skin or fill infection of some sort?
Is it safe for my Discus to eat them?
I am really worried about this because my fish seem very uncomfortable and I am afraid that they are stressed enough that they might get sick.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Wendi
First off, I have already read every thread here concerning planaria, stylaria, nematodes, etc. I realize that they are a symptom of a dirty tank and are not supposed to really be harmful to the discus, etc.
The problem is that the worms that are floating in the water (I have 3 filters and a lot of water circulation) are somehow attaching themselves to my Discus as they swim by. My discus are now twitching a lot and once in a while, when I look close, I can see the little worms crawling along their skin. Then, the discus twitches and the worm dislodges and floats away. No wonder my fish are uncomfortable!
Can these worms crawl inside their gills and cause even more problems? I also notice that my fish are eating the worms, is that okay?
Background information:
-180 gallon tank - About 1 month old, I think. Cycled with sponges from my 125g discus tank.
-13 Discus also transferred from my 125 gallon tank (only 1 discus is full grown. The others range from about 2.5-4")
-3 Emporer 400 Filters with 6 biowheels and 12 sponges. Adding an XP3 as the fish grow and need more filtration.
-2 large air stones
-2 350w titanium heaters
-Bare Bottom Tank with 2 pieces of fake driftwood and 8 silk plants
-Tap water from Python with dechlorinator (Prime) added before filling the tank. Same method used for the 125 gallon discus tank for over 2 years.
Current Water Readings: Ammonia - 0ppm, NitrIte - 0ppm, Nitrates - between 0-5ppm (they have never been over 5ppm), Ph - 7.8 and steady, Temp - 86.4 and steady.
Very tiny (maybe 1/4 inches long) white worms appeared in my 180g tank out of the blue a couple of days ago. I am pretty sure that they entered the tank via the sponges from the 125 gallon. My bf is in charge of cleaning the 125g and although he does daily water changes w/ gravel vacuuming of 60-70%, he isn't good at wiping things down. There is a tiny bit of gravel in that tank and I think the worms have been hiding there. I checked yesterday and saw the tiny worms going up the tube as the 125g gravel was being vacuumed.
Back to the 180g - It started with waking up a few days agoto find the bottom of my bare bottom tank covered in white "dust" particles. I did my best to vacuum them when I did my water change that evening. The next morning, more "dust". Two days later, the worms appeared floating in the water. I have a lot of water/air circultion in my tank, so I don't think that the worms are really able to crawl along the glass when the filters and air are running. When I shut everything off to do my water changes, the ones that drift close enough to the glass will attach and start crawling up the glass like an inchworm. Others will float down to the bottom and start inching along.
I was doing only a 20-25% water change every day since the tank is understocked and the nitrAtes have always been below 5ppm. During the water changes, I vacuum the bottom and use a sponge on a stick to wipe the sides and bottom. This really just stirs stuff up, in my opinion, so I wait for everything to settle and then vaccum the bottom.
I cannot wipe down the bottom or back of the tank or the lower sides with a paper towel because the tank is really tall and I am pretty petite and can't reach those areas with my hand. I have to stand on a chair to even vacuum the tank.
Since finding the worms 2 days ago, I have changed 50% of the water daily and have rinsed 6 of my 12 sponges in tank water. Rinsing the sponges caused a temporary .25ppm spike in ammonia (probably because the tank is new and doesn't have a huge amount of bacteria yet) which I handled with Prime. For this reason, I have not yet rinsed the other 6 sponges or done a major cleaning of the filters. I don't want to add ammonia to the current problem.
Once again this morning, I woke up to white "dust" on the bottom of the tank and worms are still floating around in the water. Less than before, but there are still a lot of them.
The worms are somehow attaching themselves to the fish and really irritating them. Sometimes, I see the fish jerking forward and when I walk over to take a closer look, I see that my fish are pecking at them as if they were FBW!
What should I do other than what I have done so far?
Will the worms crawling on the fish hurt them or cause a skin or fill infection of some sort?
Is it safe for my Discus to eat them?
I am really worried about this because my fish seem very uncomfortable and I am afraid that they are stressed enough that they might get sick.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Wendi