Catherine Whale Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 I was wondering if anyone had any idea what this worm is? There is no pointy head so I don't think it's planaria. Data the Betta has eaten these before but most of the time they squirm their way out of his mouth. The bigger ones are about an inch long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsLinda Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 Hi. Do you know how the worm came to be in your tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Whale Posted November 25, 2021 Author Share Posted November 25, 2021 I noticed one over a year ago...I'm pretty sure it came with some plants I ordered. I have them in my shrimp tank also. Another possibility is that they may have come in in with live daphnia cultures I ordered on ebay . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 To me that looks like a regular earthworm but I'm not certain. Normally earthworms get lighter colorations when they drown. May I ask, was it moving around when you found that one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 (edited) Look into Camallanus worms or if you feed blood worms they look close to each other Edited November 25, 2021 by Brandon p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 5:39 PM, Brandon p said: Look into Camallanus worms or if you feed blood worms they look close to each other It's definitely not either of those worms. Here's a picture of blood worms. Here are Camallanus worms. Neither of them look like the worm above. In your shrimp tank are they always at the top? This makes me not think they are earthworms. On 11/25/2021 at 4:55 PM, Catherine Whale said: I noticed one over a year ago...I'm pretty sure it came with some plants I ordered. I have them in my shrimp tank also. Another possibility is that they may have come in in with live daphnia cultures I ordered on ebay . Earthworms can survive a bit in a body of water but eventually they will die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indlers Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 4:39 PM, Catherine Whale said: I was wondering if anyone had any idea what this worm is? There is no pointy head so I don't think it's planaria. Data the Betta has eaten these before but most of the time they squirm their way out of his mouth. The bigger ones are about an inch long. Kinda looks like a tubifex worm. I say kinda cause it looks a little chunkier than the ones I've seen in person. There are different kinds though, so maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/188099 I'm just starting to image search this is the first that looked close were you could see the segments. i just started maybe after i find on that matches see what people think. you pic is great so we can see all the segments and the look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrEzNwGHKBhexYApFiJzbkF;_ylu=c2VjA3NlYXJjaARzbGsDYnV0dG9u;_ylc=X1MDOTYwNjI4NTcEX3IDMgRhY3RuA2NsawRjc3JjcHZpZANnbW1sV1RFd0xqSU1JbHAwWHhNRS5RSURNak11TVFBQUFBQlRwYnp3BGZyA21jYWZlZQRmcjIDc2EtZ3AEZ3ByaWQDNlhod0hnMTlRNXFtMUJFRDNiM1BzQQRuX3N1Z2cDMARvcmlnaW4DaW1hZ2VzLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDNDcEcXVlcnkDc2VnbWVudGVkJTIwd29ybXMlMjBpbiUyMGZyZXNod2F0ZXIlMjBhcXVhcml1bXMEdF9zdG1wAzE2Mzc4ODI5MDY-?p=segmented+worms+in+freshwater+aquariums&fr=mcafee&fr2=sb-top-images.search&ei=UTF-8&x=wrt&type=E211US105G0#id=24&iurl=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-0cNyUL-43ic%2FUUDUaCXE88I%2FAAAAAAAAA0s%2FUkWhPwShbM8%2Fs1600%2Fworm%2Bclassif.jpg&action=click http://tdouma.blogspot.com/2011/10/segment-worms.html http://bearnithi.blogspot.com/2013/08/phylum-annelida-general-characters.html The only that looks close are these with all being annelids which earthworms are a part of the annelida family. earth worms can live in water to a certain point and in aquariums is often found near the top or on plants that reach up to the surface. Earth worms breathe through their skin and is not uncommon to find in a aquarium once in a while. If it is a earthworm it should not be and issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Whale Posted November 26, 2021 Author Share Posted November 26, 2021 The worm sort of inches along with a sucking mouth part. They mostly hang out in the substrate. I've seen them poke half their body out of the substrate and undulate their upper part in the water. They are also very fast swimmers and can scrunch their bodies up very small. I think there is a little suction thing on one end so they can inch along the glass too. I've seen them eat dead snails and they eat the shrimp pellets also. Thanks for helping in the search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indlers Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 7:18 PM, Catherine Whale said: The worm sort of inches along with a sucking mouth part. They mostly hang out in the substrate. I've seen them poke half their body out of the substrate and undulate their upper part in the water. They are also very fast swimmers and can scrunch their bodies up very small. I think there is a little suction thing on one end so they can inch along the glass too. I've seen them eat dead snails and they eat the shrimp pellets also. Thanks for helping in the search. like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Whale Posted November 26, 2021 Author Share Posted November 26, 2021 It doesn't seem like an earthworm. They must be breeding because I notice various sizes from really small up to the one inch ones. not quite as long but similar more of a salmon pink color Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Whale Posted November 26, 2021 Author Share Posted November 26, 2021 They move almost like leeches. The thing that makes me question earthworm is the fact that they don't avoid the light at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indlers Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 7:40 PM, Catherine Whale said: They move almost like leeches. Hmm what do you think of this one? This is Barbonia weberi, the asian freshwater leech. They have that sort of locomotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indlers Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 Another pic of the same Quote Another denizen commonly seen is the common freshwater Asian leech Barbronia weberi. This looks like an earthworm with a slightly slimmer head. Only one half of the body remains motionless while the other half of the body, the head, waves about. Similar to an inchworm, the leech makes steps as it progresses with the help of the suction cups at its front and rear end. This is a picture on such a leech. https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/10-13-4-aquarium-leeches/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Whale Posted November 26, 2021 Author Share Posted November 26, 2021 I think that might be it! https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/10-13-4-aquarium-leeches/ No wonder I could never find the answer I was always searching for worms and never considered leeches until coming here. Thanks for the help Indlers and everyone that contributed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indlers Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 7:58 PM, Catherine Whale said: I think that might be it! https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/10-13-4-aquarium-leeches/ No wonder I could never find the answer I was always searching for worms and never considered leeches until coming here. Thanks for the help Indlers and everyone that contributed! Not a problem. If it is an asian freshwater leech you might want to keep an eye on those guys though, sounds like they could be a bit troublesome in the shrimp tank you mentioned, or in a tank with snails for that matter. If they are only going after dead stuff then they might be more helpful than harmful, could be you have a nice balance going on and they can get by without causing trouble, or I could always be wrong. Either way, if they've been around for a year and you havent noticed a massacre, sounds like everything's fine, whatever the case. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 On 11/26/2021 at 12:11 AM, Indlers said: Not a problem. If it is an asian freshwater leech you might want to keep an eye on those guys though, sounds like they could be a bit troublesome in the shrimp tank you mentioned, or in a tank with snails for that matter. If they are only going after dead stuff then they might be more helpful than harmful, could be you have a nice balance going on and they can get by without causing trouble, or I could always be wrong. Either way, if they've been around for a year and you havent noticed a massacre, sounds like everything's fine, whatever the case. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thank you I never looked for leaches Then things all start to look the same 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 Leeches all characteristically have a posterior disc. Look for this to distinguish them from other segmented annelids (worms). There are something like ~380 species of freshwater earthworms in the united states alone so I hesitate to ID to species but I think y'all were correct in your first assessment that it is indeed a freshwater earthworm. As from the picture I don't see the disc foot. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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