Help! Worms...again!

[Catfish Billy]

Hey guys,

A few months ago I had to take down my 9 gal due to an INFESTATION of small, white worms. I then put EVERYTHING that came in contact with the tank through HOT, TAP WATER. I dried EVERYTHING out for several days, even the plants (except I did it for 1/2 hour). I then put the plants in a tiny tank filled with cold tap water and frequently checked for worms. I washed out the tank and cleaned the gravel. There was no sign of worms so I set it up again. (I didn't have any fish in there)

Now, I've added my betta, Suzuki, and the worms are back!

The worms are a few millimeters in length, are white, float around but sometimes "wiggle" and they create worm-shaped cocoons on plant leaves, in/on the gravel, on equipment/ornaments and in the filter. However, when you brush off these cocoons, there is no worm inside them!? I don't think they are Planaria as they don't stick to the glass.

My tank is a 9 gal, filtered, heated, planted (java moss, water wisteria, cryptocoryne, unknown plant) and has a homemade cave. I do water changes once a week (33% may be increasing to 50%) and also do a gravel vacuum at that time. I feed my betta Hikari Betta Gold pellets and I have tried giving him bloodworms. I NEVER overfeed. I know this because I watch him eat all of the food I give him.

How can I get rid of the worms!? Any tips?

Thanks!

[LittleBettaFish]

They are perfectly normal and if you have live plants you will generally get some micro-fauna happening. I get the same white worms and I believe they are called detritus worms. They are harmless.

You will probably never get rid of them. I don't bother doing anything with mine and my bettas like picking at them in between meals.

[Catfish Billy]

Thanks. As long as they're harmless that's the main thing. They don't look very nice though....

Do you know whether they would effect shrimp eggs, as I've heard some worms do? I was thinking of adding a few cherry shrimp.

[Shadyr]

I had nematodes in one of my small tanks and finally after trying to starve them out, I dosed the tank with Coppersafe. Haven't seen any in the week since. My plants still seem fine, and I am keeping an eye on the tank very closely. Did a 50% water change several days after dosing the tank and then put my betta back in and resumed normally scheduled water maintenance.

YMMV of course. Mine were not the little flat ones, they were tiny white worms about a hair thickness and maybe 1 mm long.

[Catfish Billy]

Thanks for the info however I'm not sure if Coppersafe would work as these aren't parasites.

I'm going away for 5 days on Sunday but my mum has offered to do water changes/gravel vacuums every day while I'm gone! I even know she knows how to do it as she keeps fish herself! I'm hoping this will get rid of their food supply and kill them off.

[Catfish Billy]

Does anyone have any other tips that I should know? I swear they're multiplying by the hour....

[kfryman]

If you have them there is too much uneaten food. If there is food they will start to breed and grow and thrive. Cut back on your feeding or take uneaten food out as that is what they will be feeding on. I had that problem a long time ago, but I just cut back on food and they weren't there any more.

[Catfish Billy]

Originally Posted by kfryman

If you have them there is too much uneaten food. If there is food they will start to breed and grow and thrive. Cut back on your feeding or take uneaten food out as that is what they will be feeding on. I had that problem a long time ago, but I just cut back on food and they weren't there any more.

The thing is, my betta always eats all of his food and I never overfeed him. I'm thinking they are feeding on plant debris as I have been a bit lazy about removing that sort of stuff.

Would doing a gravel vacuum every day for 5 days darastically kill them off and/or would it get rid of my beneficial bacteria?