# White Wiggly Worms 1/16 In



## muskielover1 (Dec 7, 2004)

i havent had a parasite or anything since my early fishkeeping days,so im totally out of the loop.
i saw a handfull or 2 of these lil wigglers in my 75 tonight,floating along the current and they flip back and forth like crazy and are white/transparent.was thinking it may be some insect larve but who knows.
probly a n00b question,but like i said,i havent had to deal with anything before,really.

thanks


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

They're harmless planaria. Although they are unsightly. Its a sign of maintenance lacking and/or overfeeding. Sub being to deep doesn't help either beacause you can't properly clean it like it should be.


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## Piranha-Freak101 (Dec 8, 2010)

X2

planaria


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## muskielover1 (Dec 7, 2004)

hmm,tanks only been up for 2-3 months and ive done about 5 water chanes.ive NEVER had this happen before in 15+years of fishkeeping.theres not an over abundance of substrate,but they are cichlids and have everything pushed in the corners.


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## Guest (May 9, 2011)

Its most likely from over feeding. Cut back on the amounts being fed, a few water changes and thorough gravel vacs and they should disappear pretty quickly


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## muskielover1 (Dec 7, 2004)

thats another thing,they havent been eating quite so much since i moved them to that tank,and i never let food sit either.i guess ill just keep doin the changes.

thanks for the replies


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

If their not producing in the tank, you should check your filter media. Other than that I agree with the others that the cause may be from left over food or waste. Even if you dont allow the food to sit and do regular water changes there is still a chance of them producing. I had this happen to me before in my 90gal with my oscars, they started prducing out of the waste over night. They may be a eyesore but they are not anything to worry about, their completely harmless unless the tank becomes over swarmed with them. I got rid oof mine by doing 2 water changes a week and adding snails into the tank.


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## bob351 (Oct 23, 2005)

and if you have other tanks watch out they ca spread like wildfire... i hate those bastards haven't had em in a long while tho


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

They're not planaria.
Planaria stick to the glass like little white slugs.

You have nematodes.
They're a free swimming roundworm, not a parasite.

They are like planaria in that they are:

Harmless.
Unsightly.
The result of uneaten food in the tank, whether it be in the open tank, substrate or filter media.

Easily removed by:

Increasing the temperature... mid to upper 80's for a few days.
Thorough vacuuming of the substrate and rinsing of the filter media.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Planaria can & will be in the water column if they're stirred up by say moving decor, siphoning gravel, ect.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

What he's describing are nematodes.

_"...floating along the current and they flip back and forth like crazy and are white/transparent."_


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## sadboy (Jan 6, 2005)

I got those nematodes once and it took me like a month to get rid of them. P-man is right on the money. Rise your temp a bit and clean out your tank. Do a few water changes.


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