# Mystery inverts that wrecked my tank on film!



## stevebutterworth (Aug 30, 2009)

Inverts sabotaged my tank. Remember the thead about some kind of inverts wrecing my tank? I found them one morning. They only come out for about an hour and the fish cant catch them, they are really fast. 
I made a blurry video of them. The movement is constand like you see. Paul Sachs thinks they are tube worms, a first cousin of tubifex. Anyhow, I gave up trying to poison them or introduce a good predator and dumped the tank and started over.
You dont ever want these babies in a tank with soil substrate!!!


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Ewwwwww.


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## gato (Nov 24, 2009)

Tubifex?


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## Esteroali (Oct 1, 2007)

That is gross


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

Those look just like the blackworms in my tank (except that in the movie, yours looked to be moving much faster than mine ever do.). I have a lot of them, but that's because I deliberately introduced them to my tank. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet for my cories! My blackworms eat fish food, and also things like dead shrimp (I saw a dead cherry shrimp, and 3 hours later it was an empty shell). Personally, I like them; but since it's obvious that you don't...

I know they live in the gravel and can travel on the roots of plants, so if you really want them gone, you could try moving only the tops of stem plants to a new tank, or swishing rooted plants in something to kill the worms (I haven't tried to kill them, but I suspect bleach would kill them just like it kills most aquatic things.) Or you could try sticking the plants in a completely bare tank (no gravel or soil) for a while, preferably with some worm-loving fish. That way all the worms could get picked off of the plants before you put them in a new tank.

You might have to get new substrate, but you might be able to kill the worms by drying it thoroughly--I think they have to be wet to live. Of course, if you're using dirt, you could just get new dirt; and if you're using gravel you could certainly wash it with as much bleach as you want (although you'd have quite a rinsing job to get the bleach out afterward.)

Good-luck!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Looks like Blackworms to me. These are harmless aquatic worms, good to aerate substrate and excellent live food.

I added 11 juvenile Bettas to a 10 gal tank filled with blackworms. The Bettas-- pigs who are determined and dedicated hunters-- cleaned them out within a day.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Good or bad, that's awesome video documentation of your problem. My Apistos, cories and banded pygmy sunfish would have had a field day trying to catch them little critters. It looks like you had used soil from outside with so much fine particles in suspension; if so, go with Miraclegrow organic choice. Do the mineralization cycle (just my opinion) to avoid headaches. Not that I know what I'm talking about, but I took shortcuts and regretted it.

Thanks for sharing the video.


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## DarrylR (Dec 5, 2007)

They look like very good dancers ^__^.


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## dianainOH (Mar 21, 2009)

Loaches would love those wormies! Kuhlies might even dig them out for you.


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## baos (Jul 3, 2009)

Wish I had them in my substrate


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## Tuiflies (Jan 21, 2010)

Gross! I think if my wife ever saw anything like that in my tank it'd be out the window!


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## Valley (Feb 28, 2007)

I want some! My fish would go crazy! If they come back let me know.


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## bmedeiros678 (Mar 26, 2007)

That was an awesome vid. What soil were you using? The only freebie I got with my soil was grass seed.


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## goddessjen (Dec 30, 2009)

:fear:ICK!!!! I might give up the hobby if I saw those...I have bugaphobia...Actually I really wish I hadn't watched the video now I have to go analyze my tank and make sure there just fish and snails lol...Even my shrimp scared me until the discus ate them all.:bolt:


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## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

My female betta would be in hog heaven. How do you get them?


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## Cliff Mayes (Jan 29, 2007)

If you want Blackworms in your gravel then put some in.

I really found out how intense a predator Cories were when I saw them absolutely quivering as they hunted worms in the substrate. Simply put more worms in your tank than the inhabitants can eat and some worms will find their way into the gravel and will subsequently be hunted by certain fish that recognize them as food.

I have been avidly studying the threads on maintaining colonies of worms in a tank and am about to buy some worms with the goal in mind of getting a bunch to survive as a live food source. Keeping a colony going seems to me to be a great solution to the typical mess of keeping live food sources available. Even the vegetarians among fish seem to enjoy chasing, something that is moving, down and eating it. This is distasteful to me but of you are going to keep animals some of their needs have to be lived with.


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## baos (Jul 3, 2009)

Easier said than done Cliff Mayes as there are no stores I can find in a 1000km radius that sell blackworms. Even worse I can't buy the frozen ones anymore due to import restrictions.


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

baos said:


> Easier said than done Cliff Mayes as there are no stores I can find in a 1000km radius that sell blackworms. Even worse I can't buy the frozen ones anymore due to import restrictions.


What country do you live in?

If it's really not possible to buy them, maybe you can go dig around in a pond or stream and look for underwater worms. I suspect that many natural bodies of water would have aquatic worms in the dirt at the bottom.


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## baos (Jul 3, 2009)

I'm in Canada. right now the place is frozen over but I've been thinking about digging for worms. I'm a little worried about parasites.


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## Cliff Mayes (Jan 29, 2007)

Canada is a very large country.

Where did you get your setup to begin with?


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## baos (Jul 3, 2009)

local fish stores in the area. I have about 5 to choose from and a decent fish club. However that doesn't change the fact that import animal food (cat, dog, fish) has new restrictions and the companies for the frozen fish food don't see it as a big enough market to comply. Basically the new regulations say that we need to know what percentage of what animal(and which organs) came from what country. I'm not sure exactly how it computes to worms, but it's off the shelves until they comply. I suppose someone could be nice enough to mail me some frozen eggs?


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

Maybe you could buy live blackworms from somewhere online and have them shipped to you? I see at least one auction on aquabid for black worms that says they'll ship to Canada: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?foodl&1265412616

I suspect there may be others as well. If you are able to establish your own colony of the worms, you won't have to order them a second time. (Although the quantities some places will ship are enormous, so you may want to split it with someone, or start colonies in LOTS of different tanks!)


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## Cliff Mayes (Jan 29, 2007)

You do not need frozen stuff , you need live worms which should be under the same geas as live fish so someone probably has Blackworms available.

If all else fails call the Club President, he or she should know where to get them.


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