joeysgreen Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I have two planted tanks that have been going for 2-3 months now. One, with a simple gravel bottom has these worms growing in the substrate. Do you think they came in with the gravel (meant for growing plants), or the plants themselves? It looks like only the one tank has them; the other, has a mixture of different gravel and some sort of little brown balls meant for plants. So one might think they came in with the gravel, but perhaps the substrate just doesn't support them in the other cage. Nonetheless, I'm not worried in the least about them. They probably cycle a lot of waste, and if the newts can catch them, would make a nice snack. On that matter, the worms are up to about 4cm long x 1mm wide and sit with their tails sticking out of the substrate 1-2cm. Upon touching they dissappear in a flash. Any idea as to what these are? The second oddball has me a little more concerned but I don't want to jump to a conclusion that it's a predator. It's slightly over 1cm long (guestimate) and has only been seen once sitting on some wood that's very old and slowly degrading. It almost looks like a 3wk old aquatic cricket! Have you seen anything like this before? Thanks for any help and insight, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJanzen Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Don't know about the worms but the second one looks like a dragonfly larvae. They can hitchhike into tanks on new plants put in, I had one in my planted tank that I removed as they have been known to eat small fry and shrimp. Don't think it can hurt larger fish but wouldn't promise anything. If you do decide to get rid of it, good luck as they can be pretty damn fast and as you can see blend in quite well with their surroundings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeysgreen Posted March 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I didn't think it would be a dragonfly larvae with a short, flat and round abdomen like that. If I see it again I'll try to siphon it out into a seperate cage to see if it grows into something. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) The worms kinda make me squirm. I bet their nothing, but I donno.... If they find you missing an arm one day, cuz you stuck ur hand in the tank for too long, I won't be surprised. :boxed: Edited March 18, 2012 by Iceturf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekbottom Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Just wondering if you figured out what that thing was in your tank? The creepy crawler thing, I think I got one in my shrimp tank!!! Freaked me out when I saw it... I don't like creepy crawly things... yuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quetzalcoatl Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 The worms will go away if you avoid excess feeding your fish. The other one is a dragon fly larva. It will eat any small fish and other critters in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekbottom Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 What can I do to get rid of it? It is a heavily planted tank with Ember tetras and cherry shrimp, I am unlikely going to be able to catch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekbottom Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 I got the little bugger!!!!! And I am officially CREEPED OUT!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quetzalcoatl Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 During my childhood I enjoyed capturing these little monsters and growing them up. You can feed them mosquito larvae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 What can I do to get rid of it? It is a heavily planted tank with Ember tetras and cherry shrimp, I am unlikely going to be able to catch it. if you have not had success to remove them perhaps something like prazi or something with fenbendazole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekbottom Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 He was sitting in a plant really close to the top of the tank, in full light. Looked like it was getting ready for an ambush. I picked him out with a pair of tweezers, it was like Mr. Myagi and the chopstick fly catching! Needless to say I'm not feeding him anything cause I mangled it pretty bad. Still makes me shiver, that thing was seriously UGLY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 if anything left take a pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeysgreen Posted July 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 The bug was eating my newt larvae when small, it's gone now! The worms are blackworms and when harvested out of the gravel they make awesome feeders! My newts absolutely loved them! Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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