Tiny White Worms

[JL15219]

Today I was doing my usual water change I usually turn off the canister filter....so when I finished I turned the filter back on and a bunch of white hairlike tiny worms came out of the spray bar.....At first I thought it was some white gunk but on closer inspection they were wiggling all over the place and some of the discus were eating them.....Any idea what this maybe? I really hope it is nothing bad......

[David Rose]

Sounds like Stylaria or Planaria.... harmless, but a good tank and equipment cleaning is in order. Usually a sign of overfeeding. Do you use a pre-filter to prevent food from getting sucked up into your filter(s)?

[JL15219]

Yes I use a prefilter, do 100% w/c daily, wipe the sides and equipment in the water once or twice a week, and cleaned the canister filter very good less than two weeks ago....I usually clean the filter a least once a month......

[jball1125]

Planaria can sometimes be a PITA to get rid of, even if you have a very clean set up.

[JL15219]

Planaria can sometimes be a PITA to get rid of, even if you have a very clean set up.

Hmmm...Really but if they are harmless I dont need to worry about them right? The discus were eating most of them....

[Jhhnn]

If adult discus are eating them, then they're not planaria, which are too small to interest adult discus- only ~1mm in length or less.

My tanks have planaria, and I see no point in eradicating them. I look at them as a sort of pre-filter for the bacteria...

If what you have looks like this, it's probably stylaria or some related species-

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bryozoans.nl/pictures/fredericella_sultana/2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bryozoans.nl/pictures/en/fredericella_sultana.html&usg=__-FKXE-5UISL6IFZdUezTwtyYsDg=&h=768&w=1024&sz=473&hl=en&start=19&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=kxbRq7wrjnxx6M:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstylaria%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client% 3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26tbs%3Disch:1

They're harmless, if perhaps unsightly if the population becomes large...

[JL15219]

If adult discus are eating them, then they're not planaria, which are too small to interest adult discus- only ~1mm in length or less.

My tanks have planaria, and I see no point in eradicating them. I look at them as a sort of pre-filter for the bacteria...

If what you have looks like this, it's probably stylaria or some related species-

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bryozoans.nl/pictures/fredericella_sultana/2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bryozoans.nl/pictures/en/fredericella_sultana.html&usg=__-FKXE-5UISL6IFZdUezTwtyYsDg=&h=768&w=1024&sz=473&hl=en&start=19&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=kxbRq7wrjnxx6M:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstylaria%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client% 3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26tbs%3Disch:1

They're harmless, if perhaps unsightly if the population becomes large...

No they are not adults...still juvies....and they dont really look like the pic in the link....how are they some sort of pre-filter for the bacteria just curious?

[David Rose]

They feed on left over food before it decomposes.

Your maintenance routine sounds good. Given you have juvies, are you feeding three or more times a day? Perhaps you just may need to rinse your sponges more frequently...daily after the last feeding.

[johnny313]

how do they get into the tank?

[JL15219]

They feed on left over food before it decomposes.

Your maintenance routine sounds good. Given you have juvies, are you feeding three or more times a day? Perhaps you just may need to rinse your sponges more frequently...daily after the last feeding.

Yeah I feed them as many times possible.....and they leave nothing behind from what I can see.....maybe there are tiny small particles of food floating around that I may not be able to see....

[JL15219]

how do they get into the tank?

Good question...thats what I want to know.

[David Rose]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planarian

[Jhhnn]

how do they get into the tank?

They can easily be introduced with new livestock, either as adults or eggs. It may take months for the population to become large enough for you to notice.

They graze on microscopic food particles and the microscopic flora and fauna present in all aquariums...

Apparently I was in error saying they don't get very big- mine don't, but apparently some do-

http://media.photobucket.com/image/planaria/cottonmanifesto/digital%25205/4planaria101206.jpg

Big enough to use for bait...

[JL15219]

I wonder if they can be grown to feed the discus.....