Chinese Fire Belly parasite?

[scotgirl7870]

Help, I've got two Chinese Fire Belly newts that seem healthy ( the female was laying eggs in january ) but have noticed quite a lot of tiny white worms moving on the side of the glass in their tank. I've also noticed both newts have got a lot fatter recently and wondering if the worms could be a parasite? They get fed frozen blood worm and dried newt pellets so don't think the worms come from diet. Plenty of plants in the tank and an undergravel filter as well as weekly water changes. Are these parasites and if so how do I treat them?

 

[Azhael]

No, they aren´t parasites, don´t fret!
A variety of "worms" is common in stablished tanks. They can explode in number if there´s uneaten food and debris around. Bloodworms are particularly good for these scavengers as they decompose very fast.
If you keep a good cleaning regime and the numbers of worms round are not huge, i wouldn´t worry at all.

By the way, you should really offer other foods to your newts, bloodworms and pellets alone are are not a good staple and could cause dietary deficiencies in the long run. Try earthworms, your newts will thank you greatly!

 

[scotgirl7870]

Ahh, thank you, can breathe a sigh of relief now Was going to start trying to feed them earthworms but not sure how much too feed them at a time? Also tried them on tubifex but they don't seem to like it at all. Assume that fresh brine shrimp would be a good treat for them too?

 

[Azhael]

They can tackle rather large earthworms. A medium sized one per feeding is ok (about 6cm of worms).
Brine shrimp is ok, but Daphnia would be a superior choice as it can surive in fresh water and nutritionally they are similar. Tubifex is alright if it is alive, but you have to be careful of the source.

 

[scotgirl7870]

Thanks for the info, will have a look for earthworms when the temperature up here rises enough for them to be around Never thought of Daphnia even though I used to give it to my tropical fish! Yes, always been a bit wary of Tubifex because of possible disease.