Confused on cause of white worms.

[StreetCypher]

I've had small outbreaks of small white worm before, and it was fixed with a thorough cleaning of my tank.

I have an outbreak of these guys in a 20g, and at first suspected they were anchor worms because some were attached to the fish (i am treating with life bearer, seems to be getting better).

But, now i have a huge outbreak of the worms in my newly setup 180g. They are all suspended in the water column, just floating around. I haven't seen any attached onto the fish yet. Its been a little over a week since its been setup. Its got a thin layer of sand covering only half of the bottom, floating plants, and some rocks. I was thinking i cross contaminated it from the 20g, but how could they thrive in such a clean environment?

I'm confused as to what their cause is because this tank is pretty clean. Water is new, sand is fresh and clean... the only thing i can think of is overfeeding. I feed my fish raw snapper, market shrimp, silversides, pellets, earthworms and crickets. Its all eaten within a few minutes though.

Could it be the type of food i'm feeding them (mostly raw fish and shrimp)?Any input is appreciated.

 

[TKOS]

The worms are either planaria or nemotode. They are safe in and of themselves and most fish will eat them. But their cause is generally too much food. If you are feeding meaty food like you are them a more intense cleaning of the tank will be needed each week.

 

[Leopardess]

Yep. Planaria or nematodes. My guess is planaria (they'd be very thin ...like hair). Nematodes tend to be thicker and redder, IME.

As TKOS said, they are not harmful to anything (any free swimming worms aren't) but do indicate excess nutrients/wastes in the ecosystem. More gravel vaccing, less over feeding, and cleaning out the filter cartridges will help get rid of the majority of them. A few of them are a good sign of a diverse system, but too many are a problem because of their implications.

I think they could have come in on the floating plants, too...if those were a new addition and were live.

If they're free floating, and not eating down in the substrate, it is possible that they are dying off and being carried around by the current. Are the majority of the floating ones moving around or just lying still?

 

[StreetCypher]

Hmmm... It could be the plants, they were transfered from the 20g into the 180g. Its watersprtie and AFAIK they do well floating, they sort of do circles in the middle of the tank.

But is it normal for planaria or nematodes to attach onto fish? And just to clear things up, they don't swim in an "s" motion. They are floating around, twitching every once in a while... same thing?