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What are these creatures?

CeeJay

Member
Joined
3 May 2009
Messages
945
Location
Surrey UK
Hi all.
I'm a newbie to this planted tank lark (I got the bug after a visit to TGM about two months ago, so that's Graeme's fault! :D ). I have gained a vast amount of knowledge lurking round this site from all you knowledgeable people, but I have finally got a question of my own I'm wondering if anyone can help me with.
This setup has been running for about 5 weeks now and tonight I have noticed these little creatures crawling all over the glass. They seem to take on the appearance of 'mini maggots' if that makes sense. They are about 1mm long and no more than 0.2 mm diameter. I am wondering if they will be harmless or harmful to any fish I introduce, (no fish in the tank yet) or do I have to go on an extermination mission? Or is it a free lunch for the fish?
They have obviously come in as eggs of some sort on my plants or redmoor root wood.
Hope you people can help as I have kept fish for years but never seen these creatures before.
Thanks.

Chris

PS. All plants and redmoor wood bought from TGM.
 
are they snails?? or do they have legs and look like lice... whatever it is you can kill then with something called WORMER PLUS. you buy it as a powder and then mix it with water, its completely safe for shrimp, fish and plants, just not for snails and pests
 
Think of them as live fish food :)

I've got a good few wiggly things in my tank and some teeny little things that live in the substrate too. If the fish see them they eat them up instantly!
 
Harmless wormy munchies for your fish :D They're called planaria, and are nonparasitic flatworms.
 
Hi all

Thanks for the replies

AdAndrews said:
are they snails?? or do they have legs and look like lice...
They are definitely not snails and they are so small it's difficult to tell if they have legs.
nelson said:
hi,
maybe planaria :?:
After checking out these critters on the web it looks like these are the most likely suspects although they are so small, I'm assuming they've just hatched so difficult to be 100% sure right now.

I suppose I could find out if the fish like them by putting a few in the tank.
All my fish from my previous setup ended up in the spare tank that's supposed to be my wife's guppy tank which is now a tad overcrowded. :oops:

nry said:
Think of them as live fish food :)

Now that would be nice, at last, I've found something in this hobby that's free! :lol:

How weird, I've kept fish for more than 15 years and never seen anything like this. I keep plants for 5 weeks and I see these creatures. Maybe my previous fish gobbled them up before I ever got a chance to see them in my previous setups. Still we (I) live and learn.

Thanks guys
 
Hello, it's my first post on this quite interesting forum.

I'm sure I know what you are talking about. Although I don't know their name in english I can definitely tell you that you don't have to worry about. I am allways expecting these worms after about a month from starting a tank. They are harmless and after some time ( a week probably ) they are gone. They may sometimes come back for a while ( especially if you give them some nutrients like banana ). I also think that they generally live always in the substrat, making their trips on the glass only if there is something interesting to eat.

P.S.: I don't give banana to my shrimps as the tank gets messy.
 
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