Unidentified Silver Wormy thingie

[Ishkabod]

I found a small silver wriggly worm like thing in my tank floating around. it's about four millimeters long and i t's the only one i have seen so far. I haven't come across any description of anything like it yet so I need some help to determine what i could be and if i should be worried.

Thanks

Lisa

[bigfishal]

I had something like that many times in the past and came to a conclusion that they were coming from the frozen brine shrimp. Because every time I just finished feeding i would usually see one and when I never use the stuff for a long time they would never be around! I'm not to sure if that is what it could be but it very well seems that way.... Do you use frozen brine shrimp? It may be from bloodworms as well because I can not really remember if it was around for them or the shrimp.

[Ishkabod]

I had something like that many times in the past and came to a conclusion that they were coming from the frozen brine shrimp. Because every time I just finished feeding i would usually see one and when I never use the stuff for a long time they would never be around! I'm not to sure if that is what it could be but it very well seems that way.... Do you use frozen brine shrimp? It may be from bloodworms as well because I can not really remember if it was around for them or the shrimp.

The weird thing is i don't use either of those things. Could it live in the substrate and come out when there is food it likes?

:boxed:

[Vallisneria]

I had a similar problem a few months ago. I found a few 5mm long, thin as a hair white worms swimming(like a sperm with just their tails) in my 90g african tank. It was only a couple and I hardly ever saw them unless the fish were swimming around the surface during feeding, then they would get mixed into the water colum.

I finally figured out that they were coming from a rubbermaid I use to grow duckweed as a food for the africans. Everytime I scooped out a bunch of duckweed the worms appeared in the tank. I have since stopped feeding the duckweed and the worms haven't come back.

If its just a couple worms I wouldnt' worry about it. Weird bugs can come from lots of places(foods, plants, fish store water, anything that could be contaminated being put into the tank etc). They are usually harmless, even if it is a bit gross.

Are the fish eating them?

[jvision]

Smaller fish will eat them. They are likely bug larvae, and spend most of their time in either floating plants or the substrate.

[Ishkabod]

I had a similar problem a few months ago. I found a few 5mm long, thin as a hair white worms swimming(like a sperm with just their tails) in my 90g african tank. It was only a couple and I hardly ever saw them unless the fish were swimming around the surface during feeding, then they would get mixed into the water colum.

I finally figured out that they were coming from a rubbermaid I use to grow duckweed as a food for the africans. Everytime I scooped out a bunch of duckweed the worms appeared in the tank. I have since stopped feeding the duckweed and the worms haven't come back.

If its just a couple worms I wouldnt' worry about it. Weird bugs can come from lots of places(foods, plants, fish store water, anything that could be contaminated being put into the tank etc). They are usually harmless, even if it is a bit gross.

Are the fish eating them?

Thanks for the info. I don't think Kuchi ate any of them because i only ever saw the one but i can't be sure. I hope it is harmless. I wish there was a way to positively identify it. It was basicly a metallic silver worm 4mm long and 1mm wide with a small brown head. I guess i won't worry about it right now but in future i'll be sure to keep an eye out for more.

Thanks so much everyone.

Lisa

[Vallisneria]

I wouldn't worry unless they start taking over your tank and you find lots of them.