# "worm" ID request



## Chlorophile (Jun 29, 2017)

My turn for a wriggler needing ID...saw this and was wondering, "what fresh hell is this, now?" Tank has never had animals outside of whatever springtails hitched a ride in, plus the odd damn bush snail or three. No plant material or substrate from outdoors. The four or so I saw today came up to the surface when I did a deeper-than-normal watering of parts of the substrate that were getting a bit dry. They were either exclusively or predominantly in the long-fiber sphagnum component of the substrate, or living moss on top of essentially ABG. They self-shrink down into a _much _stubbier "worm" when disturbed, and are hard to pick up with tweezers.

Not a fungus gnat larva from what I can tell - I've seen those, and had a few elsewhere (hell, in this tank too, likely) - though perhaps it's another type of fly larva. Then again, maybe not, because there's no discernable head...the head end of this critter just tapers down into a fine point in the direction it's moving and waving about. Hoping not nematodes (just 'cuz they creep me out, though I have little excuse as an Entm major) though if parasitic on the snails, I'll give them a pass. Not sure how to tell if they're a plant-parasitic nematode, though. I pricked them out with tweezers and put them onto a paper towel dampened with isopropyl alcohol to stun/kill them so I could stick 'em in a vial to preserve them for viewing under a microscope at some point. Turns out...they disintegrated as soon as I went to pick them up again for putting into the vial. Huh. Also - gross.

I tried to get a couple of still images but they weren't completely in focus. I have a 20-sec. video which is more useful, but can't figure out how to share it here just yet.


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## Chlorophile (Jun 29, 2017)

Uploaded video to Google Drive as a work-around, since I don't have a YouTube channel. Will share link once it's done processing.


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## bulbophyllum (Feb 6, 2012)

Do they nose around with one end? It may be a nemertean. A small predatory worm that is common and not harmful to frogs.


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## Leite02 (Jan 19, 2020)

Does the head move like a cobra?
If so, it is a Rynchodemus sylvaticus.
It is a very effective predator and almost impossible to eradicate. Eat the same as frogs.
Springtails don't usually thrive where these creeps are. However, apparently isopods can survive.

Sorry to put you off, but if they are Rynchodemus sylvaticus, you only have three options:
1. Disassemble the entire terrarium, disinfect and do not use a single leaf from the "infected" terrarium.
2. Learn to live with them and eliminate the ones you see manually (although it would not affect their population).
3. Buy a flamethrower (and I don't think you would even eliminate them)

To encourage you, i must say that they do not affect (directly) frogs, tadpoles or eggs. I have had terrariums with these "friends" where the frogs have raised and the little ones have grown well.


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## Chlorophile (Jun 29, 2017)

Thank you @bulbophyllum and @Leite02 . I posted on a FB group too (since it was the only place I could get the video to upload), which suggested something in the Geoplanarian family. Guess it hitched on a potted plant's substrate, even though I bare-root what I can. Not excited about the prospect of complete redo, so may avoid that for now. This tank has no frogs or other animals in it, and is not destined to, so that's peace of mind regardless, I suppose. So long as they aren't plant parasites, that is.

Found a way to provide link to my video of one moving around. Hopefully this works -








Miri T has shared 1 video with you!







www.flickr.com





A CO2 bomb was suggested on FB, though I've never done that before and wouldn't want sensitive plants to succumb. I see on a discussion thread here from a couple of years ago that it's unlikely to work anyway.
I can learn to live with them if they don't undergo a population explosion and just gross me out. Seeing the odd one or two every few months (or longer) is tolerable, especially given the alternatives. Besides, I see damn bush snails more often than that. And after doing cursory research on the name @Leite02 gave me, it seems they might actually be helping me control the snails, in which case - win. Maybe if I see one again I'll try to find a snail to drop in front of it and see what happens.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I've had these worms in one viv that I had put unprocessed plants into. They went through a population arc, and got quite numerous for a while, but after a year or so the population dwindled. Likely in an enclosure that doesn't have live food added they won't get too numerous.


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

Do those co2 bomb procedures really work? It seems like there would be pockets galore where the unwanted invert would be protected from getting dead.


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## Chlorophile (Jun 29, 2017)

@Socratic Monologue Indeed, good point about the eventual population decline due to lack of enough food. Or so I hope, if the daggone snails don't get ideas.

@Kmc I agree, seems like, despite being a gas, it might not settle into enough nooks and crannies in the substrate or drainage layer to get all of 'em. I've never done one, so I have no experience there to draw on.


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## connorology (Oct 6, 2018)

Chlorophile said:


> And after doing cursory research on the name @Leite02 gave me, it seems they might actually be helping me control the snails, in which case - win. Maybe if I see one again I'll try to find a snail to drop in front of it and see what happens.


I am always interested in novel ways to kill bush snails. What did you find about them?


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## Chlorophile (Jun 29, 2017)

connorology said:


> I am always interested in novel ways to kill bush snails. What did you find about them?


Only a remark about diet that mentioned snails and slugs, in addition to a range of other invertebrates. Didn't mean to imply it mentioned them consuming bush snails in particular, though that was my inference - that any snail might do.

I'm not coming across much when I search the name _Rynchodemus sylvaticus_, outside of the generalized statements above, but I did find this when switching to looking for "what do terrestrial planarians eat" - definitely mentions slugs, though not snails. (Different genus in this data sheet, though.)


Beneficials in the landscape: #57 Land Planarian (good & bad traits)


.

Wikipedia thickens the plot with this entry, which includes a mention of snails for _Geoplanidae_, which was the group suggested to me on my FB post.
"As part of the soil ecosystem, land planarians feed mainly on other invertebrates, such as earthworms, snails, slugs, nemerteans, velvet worms, woodlice, millipedes, insects and arachnids....Some may even feed on other land planarians."








Geoplanidae - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org





So, I guess...I have hope. And am still grossed-out (leech-like wormy things always give me the heebie-jeebies), but it's a little more palatable now that they might be killing my fungus gnat larvae and snails. We'll see who wins. I'll probably perpetually have both.

If you had some snails and found some flatworms outside, maybe you can do an experiment with the two in a separate closed container with a bit of scrap sphagnum for moisture. Share results!


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