Planaria? Or Something Else?

[LittleWatty]

Didn't know where else to put this, but I figured it might work here since its in Leomhann's tank, and it might have come from the plants. Anywho.

Today, right before I decided I would start getting ready for bed, I went to shut off Leo's light. That's when I noticed this white stringy thing flailing around in the water - just in time to see Leo eat it. Then I noticed more, with a bunch of them above the water's surface stuck to the glass. Some of them are "free swimming" (more like struggling), others kind'a crawl on the glass, but a majority are stranded, and hopefully dead, above the water.

Are these planaria, or something else? Are these things harmless eyesores? Could they harm my King or my baby pleco (Leo has 2 scales on his head coming off - I think he bumped it)? Is there any way to get rid of these things short of restarting the whole tank?

The tank is 10 gallons (before you yell at me about the Pleco, I plan on getting a 20g sorority for it). All live plants, some tubed, some bulbs, others purchased as free floaters/potted. Gravel substrate, mixed sizes. It finished cycling a little less than a week ago, so its rather new.

Any other questions, just ask.

[ngrubich]

From a quick glance, it looks like planaria to me. With that being said, it's going to be near impossible to tell from these pictures if the heads look like planaria for sure, though.

[LebronTheBetta]

That is NOT Planaria/some type of flat worm. It's so much smaller. Can you take it out? Sorry if you're squemish.

[Sprinkles55]

I got some of those too immediately after I put some duckweed in my tank...squished a couple and took them out. I have no idea what they are. If it's something bad I hope my sprinkles is okay..

[GreyHounD]

Might be microworms.

[Perseusmom]

Yikes I hate worms thingies ...If I ever see one in Perseus`s tank I will freak !
That being said I bet they came from your plants, remember to always QT them for a week or two before adding them to your tank and keep watch for what might be hiding in them. I would keep and eye on Leo just to make sure he doesnt get bloated. I think he will be okay though.

[SpookyTooth]

I would say they are detritus worms (or another species of nematode), commonly confused with planaria. They live in the substrate of a tank and feed off decaying plant fodder and old fish food/waste. They are always present in an established aquarium but they stay to the confines of the substrate unless something triggers a population explosion in which case they flee looking for oxygen.

Population explosions can occur when new plants are introduced, when the tank is cycling (or has just finished cycling) or when more cleaning is required (usually gravel vaccuming).

Here's a site about them and other microfauna:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/drosera1/fish/worms.htm

They're generally harmless and can be removed through water changes and more frequent gravel vaccuming.

[LittleWatty]

I always QT my plants for a couple weeks, and I never saw any issues in the tank. Only time I had some problems were these tiny snails on some hornwort, but that ended up dying, so I tossed it all anyway XD Never seen these in any of my QT tanks.

Hoping they're nothing harmful, as I know nematodes can sometimes cause problems... Leo seems ok so far though. Swimming around happily and snatching up the little worms whenever he sees one floating by. My real worry is my little pleco, especially since I haven't seen him eat anything that I've given him. Is it possible that its eating the little worms?

[MSG]

Spookie is right. It's definitely NOT planaria. I'm not sure why they would be gathering on the surface though...

It's possible the pleco is eating wormies, but it's more likely the other fish in the tank are eating them.

Still not sure what's the deal with your the pleco starving himself.

[LittleWatty]

Leo and the pleco are the only two in the tank (don't want to overdo the bioload, since the pleco is pushing it anyway). I know Leo's been eating some of the "free swimming" ones. Pleco is just kind'a doing whatever he wants, but considering I can't find him 90% of the time, I don't know what he's eating. I know he hasn't touched the lettuce or algae wafers.