worms in gravel

[un Edge]

As I was using a gravel vacuum, little white thin worms about 1cm long
can been uncovered and float for a while wiggling. I was wondering if
these worms are harmful to the fish or humans.

Searching on the web, they appear to be known as roundworms, but most
descriptions of them are that they are less than 5mm. These worm things
I saw were closer to 1cm and are not seen unless the gravel is disturbed
such as when it is cleaned.

Should I be concerned or are these things harmless?

--
Jose Ng - un@gehennom | SMART
Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-bound. If you're setting
an objective it must meet these criteria or you'll have problems.

[The Outcaste]

On Thu, 6 May 2004 05:33:31 +0000 (UTC), un Edge
> bubbled forth the following:

>As I was using a gravel vacuum, little white thin worms about 1cm long
>can been uncovered and float for a while wiggling. I was wondering if
>these worms are harmful to the fish or humans.
>
>Searching on the web, they appear to be known as roundworms, but most
>descriptions of them are that they are less than 5mm. These worm things
>I saw were closer to 1cm and are not seen unless the gravel is disturbed
>such as when it is cleaned.
>
>Should I be concerned or are these things harmless?

Sounds like either Nematode Round-worms or Planaria (Flatworms). There
are many species of roundworms, the one's I've seen are typically 1/2"
up to 1" long. They won't hurt the fish and are caused by overfeeding.
Uneaten food in the substrate is a buffet for the little wigglers

Kuli loaches and Gourami's are supposed to eat them up, but my Dwarf
Gouramis ignore them and my roommate's Kuli's didn't seem to make a
dent in them. My red-tailed Black shark love's them, but won't dig
them out of the gravel, he'll only go for them when I stir up the
gravel.

Best way to control them is to cut back on the food and do frequent
gravel vacs for a while and the numbers will decrease.

HTH

Jerry

[Justin Boucher]

I've had a spell of the mini white worms previously mentioned. They're
extremely small and 1/2" max length for the ones I had. They weren't
harmful to the fish, but they were a perfect indication of a dirty tank.
Vacuuming, water changes and reduced feedings solved the problem.

Justin

"The Outcaste" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 6 May 2004 05:33:31 +0000 (UTC), un Edge
> > bubbled forth the following:
>
> >As I was using a gravel vacuum, little white thin worms about 1cm long
> >can been uncovered and float for a while wiggling. I was wondering if
> >these worms are harmful to the fish or humans.
> >
> >Searching on the web, they appear to be known as roundworms, but most
> >descriptions of them are that they are less than 5mm. These worm things
> >I saw were closer to 1cm and are not seen unless the gravel is disturbed
> >such as when it is cleaned.
> >
> >Should I be concerned or are these things harmless?
>
> Sounds like either Nematode Round-worms or Planaria (Flatworms). There
> are many species of roundworms, the one's I've seen are typically 1/2"
> up to 1" long. They won't hurt the fish and are caused by overfeeding.
> Uneaten food in the substrate is a buffet for the little wigglers
>
> Kuli loaches and Gourami's are supposed to eat them up, but my Dwarf
> Gouramis ignore them and my roommate's Kuli's didn't seem to make a
> dent in them. My red-tailed Black shark love's them, but won't dig
> them out of the gravel, he'll only go for them when I stir up the
> gravel.
>
> Best way to control them is to cut back on the food and do frequent
> gravel vacs for a while and the numbers will decrease.
>
> HTH
>
> Jerry

[un Edge]

Justin Boucher > wrote:
< I've had a spell of the mini white worms previously mentioned. They're
< extremely small and 1/2" max length for the ones I had. They weren't
< harmful to the fish, but they were a perfect indication of a dirty tank.
< Vacuuming, water changes and reduced feedings solved the problem.
<
< Justin

The tank gets cleaned about every 10 days or so with 25% water change
and gravel vacuuming. It was purchased basically already setup with fish
included and was probably at least a year old. Algae was everywhere when
I originally got it and I try to keep it isolated to one pane of the hex
tank for the suckermouth to feed on (is that a common thing people do?).

I notice that when I feed the fish, they eat but many flakes sink or get
flushed by water flow to the bottom of the tank before it is eaten. Some
appear to get eaten by the cory in the tank but quite of it remain.
Should a little at a time be fed to the fish so that it gets eaten
before the flakes sink?


--
Jose Ng - un@gehennom | IRBIA
I'd Rather Be In Ambridge. You've seen people with that 'IRBIA' look
on their face, when the real world is getting to be too much. When
they'd rather be somewhere else, far away from the pressures of a
particularly tedious meeting or training course.

[NetMax]

"un Edge" > wrote in message
...
> Justin Boucher > wrote:
> < I've had a spell of the mini white worms previously mentioned.
They're
> < extremely small and 1/2" max length for the ones I had. They weren't
> < harmful to the fish, but they were a perfect indication of a dirty
tank.
> < Vacuuming, water changes and reduced feedings solved the problem.
> <
> < Justin
>
> The tank gets cleaned about every 10 days or so with 25% water change
> and gravel vacuuming. It was purchased basically already setup with
fish
> included and was probably at least a year old. Algae was everywhere
when
> I originally got it and I try to keep it isolated to one pane of the
hex
> tank for the suckermouth to feed on (is that a common thing people
do?).

Usually a single pane is inadequate, but it varies by situation. I try
to leave them 2 or 3 panes.

> I notice that when I feed the fish, they eat but many flakes sink or
get
> flushed by water flow to the bottom of the tank before it is eaten.
Some
> appear to get eaten by the cory in the tank but quite of it remain.
> Should a little at a time be fed to the fish so that it gets eaten
> before the flakes sink?

You don't want to have uneaten food lying around. It fouls your water
(unless you have lots of planaria eating it, but then you have lots of
planaria ;~). Feed less at a time. Corys can get bottom feeder tablets.
--
www.NetMax.tk.

> --
> Jose Ng - un@gehennom