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What is this?

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:49 am
by october004
I was cleaning my tank today and noticed some small silvery ish worms floating in the water. They were flipping and flopping but I don't know where they came from or what they are. Any help would be appreciated.

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:24 am
by Barbie
Those are usually a sign that there is too much uneaten food in the tank, either in the water column, or in the filter. They used to say they were planaria but now I think the common consensus is that they are a nematode. They aren't parasitic, but they ARE a sign of impending problems if you don't clean up the water conditions. Don't worry about trying to kill them. They'll just disappear when you get things cleaned up enough.

Barbie

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:34 am
by october004
wow I am impressed but that brings more questions....I had 7 fish in the tank to cycle it but fed them very little. At least never more than they ate. I am running 2 30-60 filters in a 55 gallon tank with a nitrate and ammonia absorber plus a sponge filter. What am I doing wrong?

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:00 am
by Raul-7
Are you sure they aren't Hydra: http://www1.gorpli.com:8080/hydra.jpg

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:01 pm
by zebra046
I got this problem too, because I only feed them once at night I tend to over feed and has a lot of left over, if you look closely in the glass near the surface of the water they are there too but if i start keeping tabs on my tank keep up with my water change I could lessen it very quickly.

I might think hydra would be a good thing for a tank with this type of infestation because they eat microscopic stuff it has been a very long time since I got hydra in my tanks, but if somebody would care to experiment on this I would like to know the results.

Good Luck

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:33 pm
by october004
well it doesn't look like a hydra?????

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 3:28 am
by Barbie
It's VERY rare to actually have hydra in your tank, and they aren't free swimming. I'm not sure why you're seeing this problem, but it's definitely something you'll want to research a bit. Water test results can be helpful for us to help you diagnose issues ;).

Barbie