White worms in tank?

[Critter Mom]

My parameters are good, I finally have an aquatic C. orientalis, but now I have a question that may or may not be important. I don't know, that is why I am asking.:happy:

For a few months I have been seeing some immensely small white worm looking things on the glass and maybe in the water. They don't even measure 1mm. They seem to slowly glide along the tank walls. I thought they could be planaria, but anything I have read online suggested they should be bigger. I thought thread worms, but they should be much bigger from what I understand.

Any suggestions? Should I even worry about it?

 

[Greatwtehunter]

As long as there are just a few worms I wouldn't worry about it. As the food supply of the worms decreases, so will the number of worms you see.

 

[cichlidjedi]

I believe these worms are Planaria. Planaria are flatworms, related to flukes and tapeworms. They won't harm your newts at all, but can eat any aquatic eggs. If you use any copper medication it will kill them off fast. If you have snails in the tank remove them when treating with copper as they will die from it as well. It's safe on your newts and a few water changes and your copper level will drop. I would take out any carbon during the copper treatment. When worms are gone add fresh carbon and it will remove copper also. I hope this helps you with the anoying Planaria infestation.

Chuck

 

[Critter Mom]

So, the planaria will eat the snail eggs, if any, and any newt eggs, if any, but other than that, they are harmless?

I don't know if I can manage to get all the tiny snails out and I don't want to kill them. I know I can get the bigger ones, but I don't want to miss any of them.

If I do treat with copper, how long until I can put the snails safely back in?

Do I need to get rid of the planaria? How much of a threat to newt eggs are they if I ever get some?

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[jclee]

I'm not sure about copper treatments, specifically, but activated carbon should remove most meds fairly quickly. (This might depend on how many gallons are cycled per minute. Most filters are designed to cycle the # of gallons in the tank in a fairly short time.) I would leave the snails out for 24 hours (maybe 48 to be safe) after treatment is done and the activated carbon is back in the filter.

 

[Nathan050793]

If you use any copper medication it will kill them off fast. If you have snails in the tank remove them when treating with copper as they will die from it as well. It's safe on your newts and a few water changes and your copper level will drop.

That's interesting; on other threads I've read that copper based chemicals can be fatal to Caudates.

 

[jclee]

Darn me and my brain hiccups. Didn't even think about the toxic aspect. Frankly, I'd let the worms stay, since, if they're not harmful to your pets, it's really an aesthetic thing, and breaking the whole tank down to sterilize it would be a pain. Another option is to temporarily rehouse the pets, and find some safe, (quarantined -- not-sick) fish that would eat flatworms and survive the cold, let them do their thing, and then take them out and put your animals back, but the worms might just re-populate once their predators are gone. If white cloud minnows would eat flatworms (I'm not positive that they would), they might be compatible with your animals, provided that you made sure they were healthy before adding them. They're not known for fin-nipping, so I can't imagine they'd "attack," and they prefer the top of the tank. They're not terribly bony, either, so if one gets eaten, it shouldn't get stuck. (I'm thinking of that horrible picture somewhere under cc of an axolotl with a catfish's spikes piercing its mouth. Ugh.) They'd probably reproduce, though, in cooler water, but if they're also getting eaten, it might even out. (It would up your bioload, though). I've been thinking about getting a few white clouds for my tank, once I know it's well enough established.

 

[Critter Mom]

Well, if they are not hurting anything, I think I may leave it well enough alone. I have a 10 gallon, and I don't think my newts are going to appreciate something fast darting in and around them when only one of the three just became aquatic. I think I will pass on the white cloud idea. I do thank you though. Maybe if the tank were bigger and I had more space in it I would consider it.:happy: I don't need to stress the newts out. I think the snails are enough for now as far as species mixing goes. I want to make sure the newts can feel there is enough space to get away if they wanted to. I don't want to have another fish tank for the fish if I did not mix them. Good idea though!

Good save about the copper and toxicity to caudates.

Thanks,
Critter Mom