Uhm…….whats this? Worm?

[Rachel0825]

Hi.  Ok.  I am stumped and scared and I have a new betta arriving tomorrow.   
 

I just did a water change and I just happened to look up and see those little tiny white things floating. Swimming in the tank.  
 

now in the water change, I did scrub on my wood to clean it of algae and I noticed these white. What I thought was sand particles, on the wood.  
 

what is this?  Will it hurt the new fish?   And how do I make them go away? 
 

unfortunately the video won’t post from my phone.  But they’re white little hair like small swimming worms.  

[clownbaby]

No this is not a problem! In fact, your betta will love the snack!!!
Chances are, these are most likely detritus worms. They are an awesome clean-up crew member, albeit a very itsy bitsy one. They eat detritus, as their name suggests. They most often cling to the glass, but sometimes they'll wiggle around in the water or substrate too. They also make a great live-food for your betta. My pygmy cories love when these guys are on the glass. They will dart up to the glass and bite it, then run off with it like they're soooo sneaky! A very fun behavior to watch. 

I am pretty confident this is indeed a detritus worm, but there is a chance I could be wrong. If I am wrong, then this is likely a nematode. Some are parasitic, most are free-living and eat bacteria and microorganisms. It is very rare for a parasitic nematode to be in freshwater, especially being that small. It is more-than-likely a free-living (helpful) nematode. Nematodes also make a great live food for your fish. 

If it is not a detritus worm or a nematode, it is likely a flatworm, or planarian. These are not harmful, and are, once again, a helpful live food. 

If it is not a detritus worm or a nematode or a flatworm, congrats, you have stumped me!

Once again, though, I am incredibly confident these are detritus worms. They are helpful clean-up crews, good live food, and not harmful at all. Remove them if you want, but I would recommend keeping them at least for a few days. Having a live food at access will  make your betta much more comfortable! 

Hope this helps!

OH- If you want them to go away (as I get it, not everyone is a fan of worms), I would allow your betta to eat them. If they are still hanging around even after being eaten, purchase a zoo-plankton net (a net with mesh of 180m.) This will catch even the smallest worms. Then, I would say freeze them in little silicone molds and use them as a frozen food. 

If they still keep showing up after the netting, I would then say... let them hang around. They help break-down waste and bacteria, and they can even help breakdown disease-causing bacteria. They indicate a healthy ecosystem. They break down detritus, which includes fish poop and tiny fish food particles, and therefore aid the nitrogen cycle. They are not harmful... maybe harmful to aesthetics, but in terms of safety and maintenance, they are great friends! Eventually the population of the worms will stabilize, as that is how ecosystems work. You have no need to be scared, friend! 

Best of luck to you!

[T. Payne]

They do appear to be detritus worms, nothing to worry about.

[nabokovfan87]

Difficult to tell. Does it appear round or flat? Try to get some photos up close if you can.

Edited May 21 by nabokovfan87

[johnnyxxl]

Fishfood in most circumstances. 

[new_friends]

They look like detritus worms to my naked eye on a non-microscope picture. Do you ever see them swim? Detritus worms move kind of like snakes - probably other critters do as well but these always entertain me. My rocket killi tank has the most, somehow, and they prefer to eat those over anything I offer (microworms, vinegar eels, baby brine shrimp, "fry crack" - dislike the name but most fish love it, repashy...) except live daphnia, frozen bloodworms, or crumbled Xtreme flakes. It is hilarious to watch them slurp them up like spaghetti - sometimes there's a bit of a fight involved. They're happy, I'm happy, the detritus worms are probably not as happy, but it works for us.

[clownbaby]

On 5/21/2024 at 5:32 PM, new_friends said:

They look like detritus worms to my naked eye on a non-microscope picture. Do you ever see them swim? Detritus worms move kind of like snakes - probably other critters do as well but these always entertain me. My rocket killi tank has the most, somehow, and they prefer to eat those over anything I offer (microworms, vinegar eels, baby brine shrimp, "fry crack" - dislike the name but most fish love it, repashy...) except live daphnia, frozen bloodworms, or crumbled Xtreme flakes. It is hilarious to watch them slurp them up like spaghetti - sometimes there's a bit of a fight involved. They're happy, I'm happy, the detritus worms are probably not as happy, but it works for us.

Yes indeed!! My cories never fight over detritus worms but again these tiny little "predator" fish will hover-swim for a minute, cutely stalking the worm and acting sooooo scary, then suddenly like a kitten they will rush forward, grab the worm, and swim away like they were super sneaky and powerful. The other cories just hover all confused, and then they start stalking the worms too. 

Despite me finding it super cute, it is also fun to see their natural hunting behaviors. I can only imagine what larger fish look like when they're doing this!!!

[Rachel0825]

Oh wow.  Ok.   That puts my mind at ease.   Thanks.  I’ve never noticed them nor had them and when I did that water change I was like what’s this?   Lol.   
 

@new_friends yes they move in little s slither like inch worm type movements.     They’re tiny and appear white or gray.  
 

Do we know where they come from or how they get into tanks?  
 

well as long as it seems they’re good to have and won’t harm my little dude and in fact give him a nice welcome treat I’m happy.  Haha. 
 

Thanks all!!!   I do feel better.  🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👍🏻

[jwcarlson]

You stir them up when you refill and suddenly they're everywhere.  Small fish do eat them as noted above.

[clownbaby]

On 5/21/2024 at 6:41 PM, Rachel0825 said:

Oh wow.  Ok.   That puts my mind at ease.   Thanks.  I’ve never noticed them nor had them and when I did that water change I was like what’s this?   Lol.   
 

@new_friends yes they move in little s slither like inch worm type movements.     They’re tiny and appear white or gray.  
 

Do we know where they come from or how they get into tanks?  
 

well as long as it seems they’re good to have and won’t harm my little dude and in fact give him a nice welcome treat I’m happy.  Haha. 
 

Thanks all!!!   I do feel better.  🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👍🏻

Well. They can come from a lot of sources! The most common sources is anything from outside (so, if you're like me [cough cough cheap cough] and find sticks and rocks outside to use in your tanks, they could be on there) or live plants. Like most hitch-hikers. Otherwise, they are menacing wizards whose main goal is to scare fishkeepings into thinking their tank is infested with tapeworms. They use their magic spells to teleport themselves into a fish tank, most often during a water change, as this way the fishkeeper will miss the ominous sparkly smoke. Don't feel bad about not seeing them appear -- I didn't for the first few water changes either. After they teleport, they wiggle around and start breeding to increase their numbers and laugh evilly as they watch the humans freak out in terror. 

What can I say? They're evil little animals. 

(In short, they appear like most hitchhikers, whether we can see them or not.)

Edited May 22 by clownbaby
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