Worm in tank

[Dylanthib]

So I am new to the hobby. I have a ten gallon tank that was cycled for two months. I bought 6 red cherries and one died the first day. This was about a month ago. Today I noticed a smaller orangeish worm crawling in my substrate. I wasn't able to get a good picture of it but it's about half the length of an adult shrimp. If anyone could help identify it I would be grateful. 

[jayc]

Have a read of this post...

its either a bristle worm or freshwater aquatic worm (like an earthworm).

Edited April 12, 2018 by jayc

[Dylanthib]

Are either of those harmful to my shrimp because I found alot more than I originally thought. 

[jayc]

No I don't believe so. No known confirmation of them being harmful to shrimps. They live in the substrate and feed on the detritus that collect there.

By burrowing in the substrate, they turn it over and promote circulation of water and oxygen under the substrate.

The negative is that they are a disgusting sight. 

[Dylanthib]

Update... I can't really get a picture of them but they are almost a brown body and a smaller green section before it's head. I know you don't have much to go on but I do appreciate the help

[jayc]

Hmmm, those worms can exhibit various shades of red/orange/brown. 

Yeah a picture would help, but I think that is still what we are dealing with - Bristle worm, if it looks like it has little legs. Or Aquatic worm.

Edited April 13, 2018 by jayc

[Baccus]

By any chance could you be seeing a young bloodworm? If the tank only has shrimp with no fish and plenty of organic matter like timber but especially leaves there is a chance you could have a colony of bloodworms. As far as I know bloodworms wont be a problem for shrimp (the shrimp may even eat them, they certainly love eating defrosted bloodworms), and I suspect the same would be true for aquatic worms. But if they are fresh water bristle worms I would be very wary of them, since I am pretty sure bristleworms are considered a major pest in marine tanks and pretty painful to boot if you are unfortunate enough to touch one.

[KaridinaGal]

There's a freshwater version of these marine pests [emoji33] I hope i never encounter these in my shrimp tanks. Can u tell me whee they'd come in from?

Sent from my Elephone P8000 using Shrimp Keepers Forum mobile app

[jayc]

4 hours ago, KaridinaGal said:

Can u tell me whee they'd come in from?

Still a mystery. I don't think anyone has confirmed for sure where they come into the the tank from.

[Dylanthib]

How do I add pictures on here

 

 

Edited April 22, 2018 by Dylanthib

[jayc]

To add a picture, you can drag a picture file into the area next to the paperclip icon in the editing window. Then press the "+" button of the uploaded picture to insert it into the post. Or click the link to choose a file on your hard drive.