# Little worms (nematodes)



## lithodora (May 24, 2012)

Hello,

I have a 10 gallon planted fresh water tank. There have been fish in it for less than a month now. Plants have been in there for several months. I am doing weekly 50% water changes. I also have the DIY CO2 setup to help the plants grow (and grow they have). I have 3 guppies and 2 cories.


I noticed during my cleaning of the substrate in my aquarium that I kicked up a few little worms. I forgot about it last week, but this week I did some searching on the web. From what I read here they are nematodes. 

The article seems to be contradictory:


> The vast majority of nematodes are parasitic. All three are able to live within the aquarium; however the scavengers are usually the most common.


So how do you know which you have? There are more varieties that are parasitic but you'll likely have scavengers... what?

When I do the cleaning the fish eat them. If they're parasites then that is bad... if they are harmless then they're just food.

Fish seem healthy and happy, but I know that can quickly change if something goes wrong. I'd rather do something about it now before it becomes a problem if it is going to be one. 

I am still working on the perfect schedule for feeding so I am planning to cut the amount of food back some. 

Should I be concerned about these worms or not?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Planaria is very common. Comes from over-feeding. Cut back and they should disappear. I have them show up in my shrimp tank every so often.


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## lithodora (May 24, 2012)

Every picture of planaria I've seen shows them up close. What I'm seeing looks nothing like that but then again I'm not using a microscope to look at them. 

I'll cut back on feeding and see what happens.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Planaria, non microscope view, appear white in color, are usually about 1/8" long, but can stretch out longer and can get so thin when stretched that they look like hair.


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## graybot (Apr 24, 2011)

I've had both planaria and nematodes... Planaria seem to travel only on the surfaces inside the tank and appear brown or reddish colored. Nematodes are as thin as a hair, white, and can swim pretty effectively by wiggling through the water. Planaria seem to be hitchhikers on plants and such, and don't thrive in my tanks. I have seen white nematodes when stirring the gravel in all of my tanks for the past few years and I have not noticed any ill effects.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

I had them in my 55 gallon for a while. my fish loved to eat them and after a while they all just died and I havent seen a single one for about 6 months. platys love them the most by the way


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