FW FishTank Experts, I need Help.

[PrincessToad]

I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank that I keep guppies and platties (sp?). The tank has been set up with no new fish for about 2 years. All of a sudden I have a small snail and little tiny hair-like worms infestation. The fish don't seem to be bothered by this, but I am. How did I get them and how do I get rid of them (without disposing of the fish I have)? :? I was thinking that maybe they came from the fish food I feed. Is that ludicrous? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Erin

 

[DnKslr]

Most likely came from the fish food. The worms are a real nightmare to get rid of. The snails are not too bad but you may have to set up another tank while you completely clean out the old one. Even then you might still have them from being on or in the fish.

 

[PrincessToad]

Thanks Diane. I do have an extra tank I can transfer them to in the meantime. Will the worms infest and kill the fish?

 

[DnKslr]

They're most likey blood worms, fish will eat them most of the time if the fish are small enough but they won't harm the fish. It's more of an inconvenience than an threat. I've never been able to get them out of my Oscars tank but I try to keep the numbers down by cleaning every 2 weeks. You could try to remove the gravel completely and letting your filter catch most of them for a few days. Then clean the gravel really well or replace it. That should bring the numbers way down since there might be eggs in the gravel. The eggs are the hardest to get rid of and they are very resiliant.

 

[Deliverme314]

Incredibly unlikely that they are blood worms and even more unlikely that they came from food. If you are feeding guppies and platty's I assume you are only feeding flake and no live food which is the only way it would coem from food... if its the food you are feeding. It is more than likely that it is some sort of larvae(indiginous to your area)... I have had multiple kinds in my tanks. I have been keeping fish for 10 years and kept at least a dozen tanks... I sincerley doubt that these worms were introduced via food/or that they are blood worms. I suggest throwing in something like a gourami who will devour those suckers.

 

[moricollins]

did you add any ornaments or plants to the tank? i got a couple of snails in with my plants, (i quickly killed the snails).
i have no ideas about the worms though.

 

[DnKslr]

I had the little hair like worms analyzed at the vets office and they told me the worms were blood worm or Tubifex worms that are commonly used for fish food. They also use tubifex worms in flake foods so there are eggs in the flakes. The eggs will hatch if all of the food is not consumed. They are not a threat to the fish just a mere unsightly inconvenience. And hard to get rid of.

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[Deliverme314]

tubiflex are different than blood worms. And in the intense drying process I dont see how eggs could survive... A vet would know more than me I am sure... But i just dont see how that could happen. I feed tubiflex to my guys and none survive ever. Stop feeding for a couple days and add something like a gourami and that should take care of it.

 

[PrincessToad]

I feed live bearer food. It is flakes and dried worms (not blood worms, they look similar though). I Have had many problems with this tank. Maybe I should just leave it dormant for a while. For a while my fish were disappearing. Really, they would just be gone. There one day and the next not. No sign of them, I would clean the tank out and nothing. I thought maybe the other fish were eating them if they had died, but I have fish every now and then die and when they do they are always there. The worms are real icky. They look like little scratches on the glass but when you watch them you can see them moving. The fish store will take my fish, would this be a bad idea? I don't want to infest their tank that they put them in, but I think it would be best to let this particular tank go dry for a while. I guess I could just wait til they die.

 

[vulpina]

Tubifex worms and blood worms are two entirely different worms. Tubifex worms will settle in the bottom and stick their tials in the air and wave them around to collect food and oxygen. Blood worms are red mosquito larvae and swim throughout the water coming to the top to breathe. I feed flakes, live and frozen food to my fish and have never seen this problem before. I guess that tubifex eggs could be in flake food and hatch if uneaten. You can hatch brine shrimp eggs that have been totally dried and dessicated, so that theory is not unbelieveable. Neither of these worms will harm the fish, but I would have to lean more towards tubifex. These worms will be a treat for the fish, if you really want rid of the worms get a couple of corydoras catfish to root around in the bottom or another good fish to remedy the situation would be any member of the loach family, keep me posted. Hope this helps.

Andy

 

[DnKslr]

Catfish are a good idea. Unfortunately for me, my Oscar is about 9-10" long and would find the catfish rather tastey.=D

 

[jaijjs]

One thing you might want to add to your tank is a small amounr of salt. check out what they sell at petshops. It might be worth trying..

 

[P-Rice]

One good way to get rid of the snails and maybe the worms to is to buy a product called "Had-A-Snail". This stuff works great and will not harm your fish. I believe it comes in a small bottle and is liquid.
Sincerly,
P-

 

[PrincessToad]

Well it is tubifex worms that I feed with the dry flake food and have been feeding this for as long as I have had the tank set up. I noticed that the worms that cling to the glass, wave one little end around like they are saying hi. So I assume that is probably what they are. As far as the snails I am thinking those came from a piece of corral I put in the tank, cuz I didn't have the snails before that. I think I will go for a couple of the fish suggested by Vulpina, to help clean out the tank.

What would salt do to the tank?

Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions, it is all appreciated and I will let you know how it turns out.
Erin

 

[Deliverme314]

Dont go loach... I think you mentioned it being a ten gallon and no loach will be happy for long in that size. Maybe the smallest of Kuli's but thats it. And most loaches are sensitive to water quality. Cory's would do well though.

 

[jaijjs]

Salt, [NaC1] is used as a prophylatic bath. Only natural sea salt that is sold at pet shops should be used. It keeps all tropicals very healthy.

 

[vulpina]

The salt helps condition the water and it actually benefits the fish but, you don't need marine salt, you can use salt you but at any grocery store as long as you buy plain salt (non iodized). It is much cheaper than the salt at the pet stores. I have kept tropicals for almost 20 years and have had no problems with non-iodized salt. Diane, you could use a large member of the Synodontis catfish family with your Oscars, my Lace Synodontis is over 6" long and much too fat for an Oscar to eat, another good catfish for the Oscars is Pseudodoras niger, the Black Doradid, they get to 39" in length and are gentle giants, also a bit pricey though, I have seen 8"ers go for over $100, I have one about that size in my tank. @ Deliverme, the loaches would do fine in a 10 gallon, just don't use a larger species of loach, try something like the Javanese Loach (Acanthophthalmus javanicus) max size 8cm and very fond of tubifex, Kuhli Loach max size 8 cm, Long-nosed Loach (Acanthopsis choirorhynchus) 12cm, Banded Loach (Botia macracantha) 12cm, Pakistani Loach (Botia lohachata) 10cm, Orange-finned Loach (Botia modesta) 10cm, or the Dwarf Loach (Botia sidthimunki) 4cm. The loach family is very sensitive to water change, but if it is clean and well aerated they do well, actually they make you take better care of the other fish by making you take care to keep up on water changes and keep the other fish healthier by making you pay more attention to detail. The loaches also will cure your snail problems by eating young snails which they are particularly fond of. @ PrincessToad, the way you describe the worms as sticking to the glass and waving about make me think they are hydra instead of worms, the hydra are a small freshwater polyp that will feed on baby fish, to rid the tank of hydra buy a couple of Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus), they will not harm your other fish and have a real appetite for hydra. If you leave the hydra they will reproduce in your tank. The reason I think of them is tubifex burrow in the bottom and do not stick to the side of the tank. I hope this info helps.

Andy

 

[vulpina]

Princess, have you had any luck getting rid of these "worms"?

Andy

 

[PrincessToad]

Andy
I have been having a heck of a time finding Blue Gouramis. I find silver ones and giant ones, but they are all so big. I rehoused my fish into another tank and have been working on the 10 gallon. I have been able to get most of the snails and my worm population is much smaller but not completely gone. SOmeone told me that if I add copper to the tank it will kill the snails and worms. They told me to drop pennies in the tank. Ever heard of this? Thanks for the help.

Erin

 

[Deliverme314]

Originally posted by PrincessToad
Andy
I have been having a heck of a time finding Blue Gouramis. I find silver ones and giant ones, but they are all so big. I rehoused my fish into another tank and have been working on the 10 gallon. I have been able to get most of the snails and my worm population is much smaller but not completely gone. SOmeone told me that if I add copper to the tank it will kill the snails and worms. They told me to drop pennies in the tank. Ever heard of this? Thanks for the help.

Erin

its true that copper will kill them. Copper will kill pretty much any aquatic inverts... so if you ever want any really cool fresh water shrimp... they will die even if the copper haslong since been removed. I speak from experience. I used a copper medication and for 6 months after (which of course I did my bi weekly water changes) all shrimp I added died with in a few hours. Of course... if you do dig FW inverts than its not an issue.