I have little worms in my newts water.

[john]

I bought a plant from the store like a month ago. That same day i noticed little itty bitty worms that are clear in color. They dont seem to be attaching to the newts. Thats good. But I've tried alot of things to get rid of them. I got rid of the live plant right away. Then cleaned the tank and fake plants thouroly or so i thought. They came back. I think they just stay of some of the things I cant wash really well like a little bridge I have that has holes in the bottom of it that they could be in. What should I do to get rid of them. My friend suggested putting the newts in a separate tank and emptying out the other tank and letting everything dry up in the sun. Would that kill them. I also heard that you can get water treatment stuff for that but I also heard that fire belly newts are to sensative for that. Please help.

(Message edited by nuggular on August 17, 2004)

(Message edited by nuggular on August 17, 2004)

(Message edited by nuggular on August 17, 2004)

 

[jennifer]

I think you are probably worried about something that doesn't matter at all. All sorts of "life" comes into your tank from live plants and also from dust in the air and dirt on our hands and live food items. These microscopic living things almost never harm newts. After the tank has been running for a few months, all these forms of life create a balanced (hopefully) ecosystem, some of it visible (like newts, snails, etc.) and most of it microscopic.

It's never good to have a dirty tank, but it's also not good to have a perfectly clean tank (unless you are trying to get rid of a genuine disease or parasite).

I would bet that if you ignore those worms, they will become reduced in numbers over the next few weeks, to the point that you will rarely ever see them again. Just be sure that there is never any uneaten food left in the tank for them, and do your regular partial water changes.

See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Tank_critters.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

 

[john]

Thank you very much Jennifer. That put my mind at ease. I've been picking the worms out one by one as I see them. I will try what you said and just ignore them and see if they reduce.

Thx again,
John

(Message edited by nuggular on August 17, 2004)

 

[john]

By the way, I'm the guy that had the emaciated newt, Stash, and you were one of the people that helped me out. Stash is doing real good and has a new friend named Cavern. They love the company.

 

[jennifer]

I'm glad to hear that Stash made it! There are so many sad stories with sick petshop CFB, it's nice to hear a happy story for a change.

 

[joseph]

Though the question is done, the "worms" could be freeliving netamodes. I have seen them in tanks with fish fry(who stalked and ate them when they could)Possibly another food item for young newts...if anyone has tried vinegar eels(netamode that lives in vinegar-sometimes cultured for fish fry)

 

[john]

Whats a netamode? Whats fish fry? My one newt Cavern just stalked one down the other day and ate it up. lol. I thought it was funny cause he really seemed to enjoy hunting it.

(Message edited by nuggular on August 19, 2004)

 

[joseph]

netamode-basically a term for these small worms-I believe it refers to unsegmented worms that are round(or...roundworms...go figure). Fish fry-baby fish.

 

[john]

thx man.

(Message edited by nuggular on August 19, 2004)

 

[john]

I pulled one of those worms off my newts butt this morning. Could it have been harming him in any way. Is it like a leach or something. Should i be worried.

 

[TJ]

I have just combined the two threads on this same topic. Once this thread plays out, I'll be moving it to the general discussion section where it belongs, so look for it there if it suddenly disappears here

*mod*

(Message edited by TJ on August 21, 2004)

 

[jennifer]

Well, in that case I think it's worth getting rid of them. Do you use live blackworms as food? There are flatworms like leeches that come with them, and I had something like this happen with them.

Drying everything in the sun should work. Gravel takes a long time to dry completely, so if you have gravel it might be best to either bake it, or just replace it.

 

[TJ]

<font color="ff0000">** this thread has been relocated here from the Fire-bellied Newts discussion area **</font>

 

[john]

ok will do thx again.