Help! There are worms in my tank! Hundreds of them!

[Soapamine]

A few minutes ago I was feeding my two juvinile axies when I noticed a super small worm wriggling its way thtough the water. I sucked it up really quickly with an eye dropper and put it in a bowl to look at. It looks like a pin worm, but it's only about half a centimeter long and light brown.
After doing a quick search and seeing other people mention worms in the sand I looked closer in my tank and there are hundreds of these things popping out of the sand! They're literally everywhere, and the same color as the sand so I have no idea how long they've been there.

I took a video, which I will try to attach or link in some way.
It also might be worth noting that one of my axies has been refusing food for a couple of days now, I thought he just didnt like they new brand of blood worms (I'll be seitching back to the old brand soon).

Are they parasites??? I'm so worried right now they've invaded the whole tank!


Here is the link to the video
https://youtu.be/yWqY3dE_FBA

 

[auntiejude]

Looks like detritus worms - they feed on poop and uneaten food. They are completely harmless, and you'll probably find them in most axie tanks in small numbers.

But in large number it could mean that you need to clean more thoroughly or more frequently - essentially starve them out.

 

[Otterwoman]

It looks like a little black worm or something. It looks like something a salamander could eat.

 

[Soapamine]

Auntiejude, I looked those up and I think you are very right. I've been leaving worms out in hopes of encouraging my stuborn baby to eat a bit more. Wob't be doing that any more because these things give me the creeps, I also did a nice thorough cleaning yesterday and there are much fewer left now.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease, I was totally worried they would latch on to my babies