# I have Red Worm's!



## Gerrad (Jan 5, 2008)

Hey guy's, 
I recently, bought a 120g tank w/stand. My old tank is a 55g, with 3 hob's. I would say, within the last 7 month's. I noticed these worm's, creeping along the floor of my tank, on top of the gravel. They would also, wedge themselve's in the gravel. I know there not planira? 
They are reddish brown. 1/2 inch in length, and half these's line's that divide there body up. I just thought of a good way to imagine them. There like smaller version's of meal worm's. They don't seem to swim, unless they get kicked up by my fish or happen to reach the inlet of the filter water. 
I don't know if they hurt my fish. I had a BM elong, last in the tank. I've never seen any worm, attaching or even swimming toward my p. My elong was healthy all the way, then I sold him. 
I'm going to cycle my new tank, and would be nice to use the used media from the 55. But, I don't trust them. I don't want the same worm's,making a new home in my new tank.
I just want to know if some of you, have ever seen them? How to get rid of them. When I first seen them, I scooped them up. Got rid of all my gravel and sccooped every time I saw one. It's been a few month's, and they do seem to be, less and less around.


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## No0dles (Dec 16, 2003)

hmmm. nematodes. that's what i'm going with. they are usually introduced by feeder fish. usually pretty harmless but if they get out of control they can be a f*cking eye sore and mess with your tank environment. there's some stuff you can buy to get rid of these turds, look for anti parasitic treatments. once you treat it make sure you vac gravel as much of these dead lil' bastards as you can then do a major water change.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

If they have lines that divide the body up into segments, then they are annelid worms and not nematodes. I can't see anything from those pictures...try to get the little suckers in focus! They could also be insect larvae, but you should notice mouthparts and/or tail parts. They sound to me like blackworms which are a good live food, and can survive in the gravel. If you didn't put them in there, they could have hitched a ride from the pet store if they use them.


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## No0dles (Dec 16, 2003)

yes could be blackworms, how do they act when you touch them? do they move in corkscrew type fashion or does it try to reverse it's body? also, the end that would be it's head would also be more of a darkish green pigment if it where blackworms. also aren't annelids either segmented with hair bundles or look like leeches?


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## Gerrad (Jan 5, 2008)

Well, I just went downstair's to find one of these worm's. I don't have a heater going in the tank. I don't know if this has anything to do with them living. But, I couldn't find one, at the bottom of the tank. This were they are alway's. So, for a short bit, I thought that maybe i froze them all. Oh by the way the tank is at 58 degree's.
So, then I checked one of my filter foam, pad whatever you call it. And, sure enough there is a few of them on the foam. I checked each foam of my filter's, and found some. What I notice, is that , I could only see them at the top of the filter foam. At, the beggining of the outlet of the filter. I couldn't find or didn't see any of these worm's, anywhere, other then the top. Say, 1 inch down, from the top of the foam pad. 
I picked one from the pad, had to dig a bit to get a worm. I put him on the desk, that's near. Tried to take a pic, with the family camera. Don't really know how to focus it better. But, unfornately no luck. Just a black line, couldn't get a clear zoomed up look. So, I got my cell phone, and tried to take a pic. I used the sun to lighten thing's up, but no good. Sorry guy's couldn't get a clear pic.
So, I gave up and just watched the worm. It move's like a catapillar, the body arc's, goes toward the front of the worm, and the body move's forward. I believe it has a head and a tail. Where I think the head is, there's like a thing sticking out. Like a black tongue, that isn't shaped like rest of the body. And, where the tail would be, it look's like a extension from the body. Like a rattlesnake's tail, where this thing extend's, and doesn't look like the body. 
Whatever the case, I will definately will not be using this media, for my new tank. They do seem blackish then red.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Sounds more like insect larvae of some sort then. Can you get a hand lens and sketch it trying to capture the major features?


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## Gerrad (Jan 5, 2008)

I wonder if they came about, thru the frozen silverside's, I use to feed my bm elong.


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## No0dles (Dec 16, 2003)

BioTeAcH said:


> Sounds more like insect larvae of some sort then. Can you get a hand lens and sketch it trying to capture the major features?


yeah i might go with bio on this one, it's really hard to diagnose over the forum without a very clear pic or some sort of sketch like he mentioned.


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## sandman503 (Feb 10, 2009)

they look like red tubifex worms to me, ive got them. they show up on my glass after a water change. if theres not a bunch of them they are harmless.


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## Guest (May 11, 2009)

Does it look like this?


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## Gerrad (Jan 5, 2008)

ksls said:


> Does it look like this?


Not really. In your pic, that worm look's like something you would see in a microscope. Notice how your worm has little arc's that form the side of it's body, that form with each line that bisect's the body. The worm's i have, have straight bodyside's. I'll try to find a pic from the net.


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