Tiny Black Worms in Filter

[Iwuvmybettas]

Hi:

While doing my monthly filter change, I found some tiny black worms on the outside of the filter bag. I haven't seen any swimming around, but.....YUCK! What are these things & why do I have them?

I feed our betta one tiny pellet, twice a day, and I watch Gilligan eat it each time, so I know that I don't have extra food floating around in there. I change the water & vac the gravel every week. (It's a 10 gallon tank.) I only have silk plants & nothing new has been introduced to the tank recently. I have a Whisper filter & an airstone. The heater is set to 80 degrees.

I don't change the filter bag every month, I only change out the charcoal that is inside it. I use the same bag for 2-3 months. Is that the problem?

The water paramaters are: Ammonia=0, Nitrites=0, Nitrates=5, and PH = 7.8.

Do I need to worry that these will hurt Gillie?

[dramaqueen]

I have no idea what they could be but I'll bump this to see if we can get some answers for you.

[Iwuvmybettas]

Thanks!

[Myates]

Ick! But I don't think it's harmful. It sounds like a larvae of types, but without seeing a pic, hard to tell. It could be anything from Planaria, drain fly larvae, etc.

Here is a link to look through of the most common worms to see if you can identify it. A lot of them are indicative of over feeding, may I ask what you are feeding, and how much a day?

The worms!

[Iwuvmybettas]

I feed our betta one tiny pellet, twice a day, and I watch Gilligan eat it each time, so I know that I don't have extra food floating around in there.

Thanks for the link. Based on the description, they may be drain fly. Whatever they are...they sure do gross me out! lol