Water changes and detritus worms

[Lin]

Hi.  I watched the Aquarium Co-op video on determining how frequently an aquarium needs water changes and it makes sense.  I am concerned however that by doing fewer water changes it will cause detritus worms in the aquarium.   Are there always detritus worms in an aquarium or are they transported in from plants or snails?

[Katherine]

When I was given my 10 gallon by a friend who had bought it for her kids and didn't want to take care of it anymore it had a ton of detritus worms. No plants, no snails. Maybe they originally came in with the fish?

[ScottieB]

Developing an ecosystem complete with microfauna and “worms” is sorta the goal. It will give your fish something else to eat! 
I have tanks that I change regularly and some I leave alone. The ones I do less with may look a little messier but the fish seem happier. 

[Anon]

My understanding is that detritus worms live in most aquariums, but you don't really see them unless their population booms from overfeeding or they're trying to escape your unclean water. So fewer water changes may result in you seeing worms if your tank isn't established enough to keep the water clean. 

Be careful with water changing trends and trust your observations. There's a lot of pseudoscience out there. 

[Biotope Biologist]

Your microfauna are unseen heroes. Living their life out in the substrate and mulm. Cleaning up uneaten food and breaking down waste for the bacteria to put back in the nitrogen cycle.
 

I would not be afraid of these critters, and alas there isn’t much you can do to keep them away anyway.

[Dwayne Brown]

The detritus worms are in almost every aquarium so theres nothing to you can do to stop them. I see as an actual benefit to the aquarium they eat bits of stuff that I would normally need to gravel vac, and keep the aquarium healthy. They also serve as a good barometer of waste in the tank when they show up for a few days that usually means your overfeeding, have a large amount of organic waste, and need do a water change and cleaning. 

[Streetwise]

I have earthworms living in some of my tanks with organic soil. I only occasionally see them during siestas.

[Wrencher_Scott]

On 3/17/2022 at 3:01 PM, Streetwise said:

I have earthworms living in some of my tanks with organic soil. I only occasionally see them during siestas.

In aquatic aquariums?

I always thought they can drown because when it rains hard around here they come up out of the lawn. 

Siestas? do they wear tiny little sombreros? 

[Streetwise]

 

[Lin]

Thank you all for your input. 😀

 

[sumplkrum]

I don't know that water changes will have much effect on worms. If you get a big bloom of them, the problem is probably overfeeded more than anything. They usually just exist in the substrate naturally.

I have planted tanks and only do maybe a 20% change each month. I would change more if I had an algae bloom or some other issue, but otherwise I try to avoid it because I'd be pulling out water, adding new water, then adding fertilizer to make up for the water that was removed.