# worm like creatures on glass



## Guest (May 31, 2005)

I just fed my auratus, and like always I was watching them eat when all of a sudden I noticed these small what appears to be worms on the glass. They are white, about the same thickness as hair, and stretchy. I will try to take a picture. Any info would be greatly appreciated.


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## Guest (May 31, 2005)

are they grindal worms? I done a search like I should have done in the first place. I just freaked out and I thought I would get a faster reply posting first.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

I think everyone has seen odd worm like creatures in their vivs from time to time. If you can post a pic that can help verify the identification.

Bill


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## markc019 (Apr 12, 2005)

I was going to post about the worms too. I saw them last week. what are they?


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## DaFrogMan (Oct 8, 2004)

I have had something similar to what you are describing. As far as I know, they are harmless. Their eggs come in the dried coco fiber that many people use in vivs. I think they are decomposers.


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## Anthony Jackson (Jul 16, 2004)

*worms*

Could be Nematodes hard to say without a picture,Someone with more knowledge might be able to identify these for you just my .02


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## Guest (Jun 2, 2005)

Nematodes are extremely common in soil. A vast majority are microscopic, but several obtain a visable size. It is quite possible your worms are actually from the Phylum Nematoda, but they are next to impossible to take down to a species level. They live everywhere from the artic, hot springs, and in rotting material, such as your substrate. They play an important role in the microscopic ecosystem.


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## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

I used to have those in my old vent's tank, the four of them would eat them whenever they good. They definately don't do any harm.

Jordan


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## Guest (Jun 3, 2005)

Thanks for the replies everyone


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## OneSmallFrog (Apr 27, 2005)

*Nemerteans?*

I don't know anything about nemerteans, but this interesting article was posted on Frognet:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alan.cann/articles/nemerteans.html

Bev


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## vet_boy77 (Feb 10, 2005)

I have seen a variety of nermatremes in my tank, most commonly the red variety. Interestingly, I'll spot them eating stray fruit flies.


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

I find the same sort of small critters on the sides of all of my newer set-ups, and whatever they are, they seem to go away in time, and don't appear to be harmful. Superficially, they do resemble nematodes of some sort, but I've never examined them closely under a microscope or attempted to identify them. I always look a bit carefully to make sure they aren't small slugs, however. These can be pests, but not fatal ones.


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## OneTwentySix (Nov 11, 2004)

I've been making some progress by manually cleaning them from my infected tank at night. I wipe the glass, the plants, and manually remove any I can see elsewhere. I know this won't get rid of all of them, but it does limit the number of large adults, which hopefully reduce their ability to reproduce.

I just wish the frogs would eat them.


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## AJ_Cann (Oct 6, 2004)

I did once see one of my D.imitator eat one. This surprised me, since they obviously don't do it very often - not often enough to affect the population.


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

I too have and still do have these white worms without any problems. I was curious about them, so I took them into my zoology lab at my university and had my professor look at them. The ones that I have are a member of the ogliochaeta class, placing them closer to earthworms then nematodes or nemerteans. I have also had these larger pinkish worms which my professor and I deemed as nemerteans, and are very similar to planarians. IF you look at the small white ones under a good microscope, you can find these tiny little hairs on their bodies, which are called setae. These are a defining characteristic of ogliochaeta. For the pink ones, under a microscope you can see an eye spot, very similar to that of a planarian. I had the exact classification of the pink worms, but I would have to look it up. Neither of these two are parasitic, and the only problems I have heard of having them is that they may eat egg clutches. I haven't witnessed this in my own collection yet, so I can't say it is definitely what they do. 

Just what I have learned, they may not be the same worms as mine, but all the vivs I have seen other than mine have had the same ones.


Ed Parker


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