# Help ID worms in freshwater planted tank



## luca61 (Oct 15, 2006)

Hi All,

I hope this is the right forum. We were referred by our wonderful advisors at The Freshwater Aquarium forum. We have a problem in our 125g tank. The tank was started about 6 months ago. There are 4 GF and lots of plants: hygrophila, cabomba, anubias, crypts... We have been adding plants regularly, always treating them in a PP solution for 20 minutes before planting. Some Amano shrimp were introduced very recently to help control a black brush algae problem.

About a week ago we started noticing a few tiny worms over our plants, and to a lesser degree on the gravel. They're about 1/2mm thick (maybe less), and anywhere from a few millimeters to 20-25mm (~1") long. They're mud color. Currently the situation is somewhat worse than the pictures show, there are probably thousands and it looks like their population is still expanding.

I've posted some pictures here:
Picasa Web Albums - Luca - worms?

At first we thought they were some kind of planaria, but they look different from the pics I could find. Also, they seem more interested in the plants than anything else. Pennywort and wisteria are at the top of the list, but pretty much every plant in our tank has been affected. It looks like they feed on the plants, not just sit on them.

I tried removing some by rubbing a leaf between my fingers, and these things aren't easy to remove at all as they stick to the leaf quite well. They break apart way before letting the leaf go. This may be one of the reason the GF don't seem to bother with them. Once removed, they often leave an 'impression' on the leaf, occasionally a full cut through.

Our GF aren't very good predators, at least so far. I was wondering if anyone could help ID these guys, and go from there. 

Thanks,
luca


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Do they crawl on the leaves or are they motionless? Are they just worms, or are they structures built by a worm living inside?


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## luca61 (Oct 15, 2006)

HeyPK said:


> Do they crawl on the leaves or are they motionless? Are they just worms, or are they structures built by a worm living inside?


We never seen them crowl once they're on the leaves, they're motionless. Occasionally you see one trying to go to a new leaf. The one on the subsrtate sometimes wiggle in a worm-like fashion. I'm not sure whether what I see on the leaf is a structure or the actual worm.

luca


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## joephys (May 9, 2006)

I have never seen anything like that. I have worms in my tank, that a few people told me were aquatic earth worms. They haven't caused any problem and my fish seem to enjoy eating them. They should eventually get to a point where they can't grow any more because there simply isn't enough food for them.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

luca61 said:


> We never seen them crowl once they're on the leaves, they're motionless. Occasionally you see one trying to go to a new leaf. The one on the subsrtate sometimes wiggle in a worm-like fashion. I'm not sure whether what I see on the leaf is a structure or the actual worm.
> 
> luca


I am guessing that they are Chironomid larvae, which make tube like structures that they live in. They can extend out of their tubes to gather in algae and debris upon which they feed. Sometimes they wiggle inside their tubes to ventillate for more oxygen. They are harmless to plants. They will pupate in their tubes, and just before the adult is going to emerge, the pupa develops somehow an air bubble inside itself, leaves the tube, and rises to the surface, where the adult fly---a midge---emerges. These are these little midges that gather in big swirling clouds for mating purposes. They do not feed as adults.


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## luca61 (Oct 15, 2006)

HeyPK said:


> I am guessing that they are Chironomid larvae, which make tube like structures that they live in. They can extend out of their tubes to gather in algae and debris upon which they feed. Sometimes they wiggle inside their tubes to ventillate for more oxygen. They are harmless to plants. They will pupate in their tubes, and just before the adult is going to emerge, the pupa develops somehow an air bubble inside itself, leaves the tube, and rises to the surface, where the adult fly---a midge---emerges. These are these little midges that gather in big swirling clouds for mating purposes. They do not feed as adults.


I took some leaves out this morning and 'examined' a few worms under a toy microscope. Shamefully that was our best science tool! 

I looked for some sort of 'structure' on the leaves and couldn't see any. It seems like the worms (or larvae) are just still on the leaves, or perhaps just move too slowly to notice. As soon as they are on the slide you can see them wiggling. I could not make out much detail, only that their body is segmented. Could they be some kind of plant parasite?


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## luca61 (Oct 15, 2006)

HeyPK said:


> I am guessing that they are Chironomid larvae, which make tube like structures that they live in. They can extend out of their tubes to gather in algae and debris upon which they feed. [...]


Today we aquired a better microscope... still a toy, but at least you can sort of see what you're looking at.  
I placed a few of these things in a droplet of water on the slide.

At 100x I could clearly see that what I though to be a worm, was actually only a soft tubular structure. The real critter was inside, and kept moving in and out all the time, to grab some floating particles. In other words, looks like HeyPK was right. :hail:

I even took a short video of the little beast moving, I apologize in advance for the bad quality.  It didn't look quite as bad in 720x480, but clearly Google downsampled it.

Any guesses as per how these got into the tank in the first place? How long does it take for the larvae to mature (pupate?), and will they do that all the same time?

luca


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## bigtroutz (Nov 17, 2006)

Those are defintely Chironomids - they have the characteristic tan head capsule and feeding behavior.

The midges = chironomids could have come in attached to plants as eggs/ small larvae or could be a local species that came into your house and found a nice new home. Given the large numbers you are seeing, I vote for eggs on the plants.

Most temperate zone species of Chironomids have a one year life cycle but spend the majority of that time in 'egg or pupal aestivation'. At temperatures like we have in our tanks, growth from egg to pupa may take only a few weeks or perhaps a month or two. "Bloodworms" are also Chironomids; there are well over 2,000 species worldwide.

Emergence of the pupae into the mosquito-like flies can occur over a several weeks or months period and depends on the species as well as the growing conditions. Adults don't feed to speak of and don't live very long (a few days)

They really shouldn't bother the plants at all, unlike some species of aquatic Lepidoptera (moths) which chomp plants like Lobelia down to the roots. 

Maybe you can culture them for good algae control on plants :bounce:


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## southpark (Oct 9, 2006)

if they all hatched at approximately the same time, they'll all pupate around the similar time, your goldfish may snack on them as they attempt to swim to the surface to hatch.. but besides that.. you'll be the proud parents of a lot of midges soon.. heh.. u might want to invest in one of those bug zapping lights (half-joking) or keep a lid on your tank so most of the flies have nowhere to go and will drop back into your fish tank and get eaten..

these are apparantly very popular trout food..


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