# ID this invert?



## Guest (Jun 4, 2006)

Every once in a while I find one of these crawlingon the glass (must have come in on some of the collected moss). They are small, probably around 3/4 cm long. I have removed them from the viv every time, and this time decided to take some pics to see if anyone could provide any sort of identification. The darker end seems to be the 'head'...but almost looks more like a snout. At various times the worm stopped, and lifted about half of it's body length up into the air, so it is fairly mobile.




























Thanks!


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## Darren Meyer (May 22, 2004)

Some call them snoot worms or Nematrines sp? I have them in a few vivs and hate em :twisted: Though they seem harmless to the frogs eggs ect they sure can foul the look of a viv in a hurry . And they can quicky overpopulate next thing you know they are everywhere on the glass .(gives me the kreeps) On the plus side they are relished by tads :lol: I sometimes chop em up and feed them to tads all gone in moments . 
So other than how they make the tank look , they are harmless to the frogs as far I know . They are just good decomposers of dead ff's , debris , ect. 
Happy frogging , 
Darren Meyer


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2006)

Thanks for the info, Darren. You're right about the creepy factor--just watching how they move around disturbs me a bit. Hopefully they don't get too populated in the viv. 

My biggest worry was that they were predatory and might devour eggs or even tads...but it sounds like the opposite in your experience! Do you know if they are aquatic or terrestrial (or both)? I haven't been able to tell where they are coming from.


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## *slddave* (Jun 2, 2006)

I beleive I have heard them referred to as "a sign of a healthy viv"


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

If they are proboscis worms, I’ve heard that they make short work of any springtails in the viv.


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2006)

I hope not, Chris...but I couldn't find any decent pictures on the Net that were really comparable to what I've found in my viv. Guess we'll have to see.


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## OneTwentySix (Nov 11, 2004)

That looks like a Nemertean to me. I've seen three ways to get rid of them, aside from using the Marty Gas Chamber. You can lower the humidity, and they'll more or less disappear until it goes up again (though this is hardly a good choice with frogs.) Otherwise, remove them manually. If you get them early enough, you can almost completely eliminate them, and you can prevent a population explosion. I'm at the end cycle of my second infestation in my Man Creek tank right now. You can't typically get them all, but I suppose it's theoretically possible. I did manage to completely eliminate an infestation over a ear ago in my auratus tank by completely washing down the plants and changing the soil, but this probably isn't an option for most people.

They are predatory, and will go after springtails and fruitflies, which is the main problem they pose. I've never had them go anywhere near eggs though, so I doubt they're harmful rather than just a nuisance.


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2006)

Yup...that's what they are. Darren had it right...just mispelled the name so I wasn't getting much luck. I guess I'll see how populous they become. For now I just catch one every few days or so, and remove it as soon as I do. Hopefully there isn't an explosion in numbers.


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## Filip (Jan 12, 2006)

*nemerteans*

Here's a link with a little more info: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alan.cann/articles/nemerteans.html.
Grtz from Belgium!
Filip


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## phyllomedusa (May 17, 2004)

Larger species of nemertans have been known to eat dendrobatid eggs.


Sean


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