Jump to content

Ugly worms in my substrate...


Eshrimp

Recommended Posts

Hi gang, any ideas on how to get rid of these dang little bastards... Did a big reaquascape on my display tank and found these things all over my substrate, they don't seem to have an impact on the shrimp or shrimplets since the population has been growing in the tank big time but they look awful....

5A2349F9-ADC0-445E-B453-9761B45AC4FE-8283-000004B76CE794FF.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got same problem b4, but I use the Vacuum pump to take it out and it's look better :D

[TABLE=class: li rsittlref]

[TD=class: pic lt ipic img][/TD]

[TD=class: dtl][/TD]

[/TABLE]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HOF Member

Hi Eshrimp are they planaria? The picture doesn't show them very well but look them up .there is a good write up by Dean about the safe removal of them and it costs about $26 for the product. Apparently not too hard to get rid of. Bummer though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deaf not planaria...never seen this type of nematode a before. What would be better and safer for shrimplets a couple of baby Bristle nose or baby pleco or some type of corydora? I reckon they would eat those worms no?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HOF Member

Ottos are safe apparently and plenty of people say they keep bristle nose with them but I'm not too sure how safe they are. Cory's are not safe I had to take mine out after I saw them hunting down new shrimplets -I watched them follow the mother and eat the babies as she released them. It wasn't because they were hungry I'm a chronic over feeder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I due have an Otto in there but he only goes for algue doesn't seem to go for these worm thingies ....I was thinking maybe some pigmy Cory's

Link to comment
Share on other sites

when i had them i found the best course of action was to gravel vac as the others said and also stop feeding for a couple of days.

I also minimised them reoccuring by using a feeder dish :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sort of worried about doing a gravel clean up, way too many shrimplets on substrate I can't see how I would be able to vacuum the substrate without loosing a bunch of babys

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi Eshrimp,

dont stress at all mate. they are only Tubifex (tubificid annelids) and completely harmless.

They are actually a sign of a well ,matured and well balanced tank. They are an asset to the tank for 2 reasons.

1. they eat all leftover food and waist

2. they keep the substrate from spoiling and keep it aerated.

i actually put them in all my grow-out tanks for baby shrimp as they keep it clean and substrate healthy so the baby shrimp have a better survival rate.

If you want to try an interesting experiment? Start feeding the shrimp at exactly the same time every day in exactly the same part of the tank for

a few weeks :)

you will see just how cool these little fellas are because they will all move to that area in the tank and at exactly the same time every day pop there heads up 10 minutes or so before feeding time to get a feed and the shrimp just climb all over them. Very cool to watch.

http://www.shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/showthread.php/1479-Aquarium-Tank-creatures-101

http://youtu.be/RbTANqLq_FQ

005-1_zps1a23c77c.jpg

006_zpsf22d49e8.jpg

008_zps72aaf824.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AH Dean you beat me to it, only I would have said Black Worms and they are a BONUS, they keep the substrate aerated and if you get to many Corys will fix them, yes you will loose shrimplets for a while. The other thing you can do is back right off on the food and there numbers will fall, OH and you could feed in a glass dish and remove it after the shrimp have had it for about 1 hour, that will stop them getting food to

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I've got the exact same worms & they are completely harmless, I've watched them retract back into the soil when a shrimplet landed on one. Thanks Dean for the ID, I thought they were blackworms leftover from previous inhabitants :encouragement:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok now I sort of like them then lol.... I'll have to start using my feeding dishes more often then....Thanks guys :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi Eshrimp' date='

dont stress at all mate. they are only Tubifex (tubificid annelids) and completely harmless.

They are actually a sign of a well ,matured and well balanced tank. They are an asset to the tank for 2 reasons.

1. they eat all leftover food and waist

2. they keep the substrate from spoiling and keep it aerated.

i actually put them in all my grow-out tanks for baby shrimp as they keep it clean and substrate healthy so the baby shrimp have a better survival rate.

If you want to try an interesting experiment? Start feeding the shrimp at exactly the same time every day in exactly the same part of the tank for

a few weeks :)

you will see just how cool these little fellas are because they will all move to that area in the tank and at exactly the same time every day pop there heads up 10 minutes or so before feeding time to get a feed and the shrimp just climb all over them. Very cool to watch.

[url']http://www.shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/showthread.php/1479-Aquarium-Tank-creatures-101

http://youtu.be/RbTANqLq_FQ

005-1_zps1a23c77c.jpg

006_zpsf22d49e8.jpg

008_zps72aaf824.jpg

that nearly makes me want some lol. how do you get them anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feed live Black worms and allow some to get into the substrate, they are good if you are not growing plants with roots (they eat them), you have to over feed a LITTLE bit to keep them going.

I nearly always have them in tanks that have gravel in them

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might be hard for you to get some live blackworms out your way, you might have to get someone to send them to you, I would offer but the quality of live blackworms up here leaves a lot to be desired, 90% of the live blackworms in Australia come from Australian Blackworms in Victoria & they have to be kept in very cold water, which is why they aren't very good quality by the time they get up here, but I'm sure someone will help you out with a small bag :victorious:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

  • Posts

    • beanbag
      Update to say that after a few gravel vacs, front wall scrub, moss / floating plant trim, that the condition seems to have improved.  My current theory is that it is due to waste / debris management, where "stuff" like that brown mulm accumulates in the substrate and behind the HMF filters.  Maybe some tanks can somehow deal with it, but mine can't.  Also another experienced shrimper suggested that maybe those "shell bugs" don't just live on the shrimps but also in this debris.  Maybe this is the reason some tanks fail due to "old tank syndrome" where all they need is a good gravel vac? Also, I am guessing that plant trim helps too because now more of the nutrients and light go into growing algae instead of more plants? Well anyway for this tank I will try weekly water change and monthly gravel vac / plant trim.  For my next tank, I'm thinking of something like an under-gravel system where this mulm can fall down and I vac it out.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Good to have an update and good to hear you are getting shrimplets, so hopefully your colony will continue and you may not get to the point where you have to cull some to stop over population. These type of shrimp only live 12 - 18 months so the adult deaths may be natural? If you have the time I would do weekly 25% water changes, adding the new water via a drip system and do some vacuuming clean of the substrate each week, even if only a different bit each week! See if that helps in a few months and if it does then stick with that regime? It should help reduce any build-ups that may be occuring!
    • beanbag
      Hello again, much belated update: The tank still has "cycles" of 1-2 month "good streaks" where everybody seems to be doing well, and then a bad streak where the short antenna problem shows up again, and a shrimp dies once every few days.  I am not sure what causes things to go bad, but usually over the course of a few days I will start to see more shrimp quietly standing on the HMF filter, and so I know something is wrong.  Since I am not "doing anything" besides the regular 1-2 week water changes, I just assume that something bad is building up.  Here's a list of things that I've tried that are supposed to be "can't hurt" but didn't prevent the problem either: Dose every other day with Shrimp Fit (very small dose, and the shrimp seem to like it) Sotching Oxydator Seachem Purigen to keep the nitrates lower Keeping the pH below 5.5 with peat Things that I don't do often, so could possibly "reset" the tank back to a good streak, are gravel vac and plant trim, so maybe time to try those again. One other problem I used to have was that sometimes a shrimp would suddenly stop eating with a full or partially full digestive tract that doesn't clear out, and then the shrimp will die within a few days.  I suspected it was one of the foods in my rotation - Shrimp Nature Infection, which contains a bunch of herbal plant things.  I've had this in my food rotation for a few years now and generally didn't seem to cause problems, but I removed it from the rotation anyway.  I don't have a lot of adult Golden Bees at this point so I can't really tell if it worked or not. Overall the tank is not too bad - during the good streaks occasionally a shrimp will get berried and hatch babies with a 33-50% survival rate.  So while there are fewer adults now, there are also a bunch of babies roaming around.  I guess this tank will stagger on, but I really do need to take the time to start up a new tank.  (or figure out the problem)
    • jayc
      If that is the offspring, then the parents are unlikely to be PRL. I tend to agree with you. There are very few PRLs in Australia. And any that claim to be needs to show proof. PRL genes have to start as PRL. CRS that breed true after x generations doesn't turn it into a PRL. Neither can a Taiwan bee shrimp turn into a PRL despite how ever many generations. I've never seen a PRL with that sort of red colour. I have on Red Wines and Red Shadows - Taiwan bee shrimps. So somewhere down the line one of your shrimp might have been mixed with Taiwan bees and is no longer PRL. It just tanks one shrimp to mess up the genes of a whole colony. 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Sorry, missed this one somehow! The PRL look fantastic and the odd ones look part PRL and part Red wine/Red shadow in the colour. They are still very beautiful but ideally should be seperated to help keep the PRL clean if you can do that.  Nice clear photos!
×
×
  • Create New...