What are these worm/parasite things in my fish tank?

[MeddyDuo]

No pics right now, I might be able to get some later...

So here's the background on my tank:
I bought some plants around Christmas, they also had snails I guess, so I now have plants and lots of little snails.
I let my tank get a lot of algae on it, because I'm lazy and my fish doesn't seem to mind. I moved to an apartment about 2 weeks ago, and two days later my one and only fish (goldfish) died. I found it when I got off work at night, and I waited until morning until I took it out.

Now here we are today and I still haven't emptied the tank yet. I was going to try to catch most of the snails and take them to the river, so I was looking at them in the tank. Then I noticed a little worm thing bobbing halfway out of the gravel. I looked closer and there are quite a few of them. I can only see about an inch of their bodies, and the rest is in the gravel. They just wiggle/bob their top halves.

So any ideas what they are, and am I safe handling the water?

 

[fralexandr]

don't try to move the snails to the river, it might cause an ecological imbalance. The snails may end up out competing native species by eating all the vegetation (although maybe they won't). its never good to randomly introduce new species into an environment. I'm not so sure about the worms though. maybe you should google it or something.

 

[johnjbruin]

just flush everything down the toilet

 

[50cent1228]

need to clean tank...at least iv never seen that unless the tank is dirty

 

[Pepsi90919]

could be loaches

 

[mercanucaribe]

DON'T TAKE YOUR SNAILS TO THE RIVER. That is how invasive species get loose. People should know this by now. They should tell you that right when you buy the tank.

 

[mooglemania85]

2 kg of medium sized snails;
2 tablespoons of olive oil;
A handful of oregano ;
1 leaf of laurel;
2 cloves of garlic;
1 onion ;
salt ;
pepper;
1 very red hot chilli pepper;

After washing the snails several times (until their "glue" is washed away), put them inside a pot filled with water. Add all the other ingredients. The heat should be increased gradually so that they stick their heads out before they die; this way you can easily suck them out of their shells without using a toothpick.

 

[MeddyDuo]

Well is there a way to kill everything in the tank before I start putting my hands in the water to empty it?

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: MeddyDuo
Well is there a way to kill everything in the tank before I start putting my hands in the water to empty it?

uhh.. I can think of a number of chemicals that would do the trick. Bleach?

What not just dump it into your toilet?

 

[wahoyaho]

ya you should definately keep your tank clean :s

 

[StevenYoo]

Originally posted by: MeddyDuo
Well is there a way to kill everything in the tank before I start putting my hands in the water to empty it?

bleach, definitely

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp/40061-whats-bug-how-recognize-them.html

If you can give a good description of them, I can probably give you more information.

 

[MeddyDuo]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp/40061-whats-bug-how-recognize-them.html

If you can give a good description of them, I can probably give you more information.

They look like the tubifex worms, but more pinkish/grayish instead of red.


I can't just dump the tank because it's 20 gallons, so that's way too heavy.

I also would like to give it/sell it to someone after I empty and clean it, so I don't know if bleach is such a good idea.

 

[Rubycon]

Household bleach is fine. Dump 1/2 cup (max) in there and let the aerator run over night. What free chlorine that's left will be reduced by tap water conditioner that the new tank's owner would use.

 

[Captante]

Be advised that its never a good idea to stick your hands in an aquarium without gloves because some parasites can cause skin infections in people too, plus there can be any number of potentially harmful bacteria in there as well ... nothing really life-threatening but certainly disgusting!

As for the worms its impossible to ID them without close-up & clear pictures, but most likely if they are living in the gravel they arn't parasitic ... they may be flat-worms but again its hard to tell. If you don't want to kill the plants & snails plus damage the natural filter bacteria balance in your tank, I suggest you avoid any kind of bleach solution .... instead get a new mechanical filter with fresh media, do a 50% water-change & then add an anti-parasite treatment like Clout & leave the tank empty for a couple weeks, doing a couple water & filter changes plus thorough cleaning of the gravel. (Stay away from products consisting mainly of copper because they'll kill your snails)

After a few weeks of little or no food plus the anti-parasite treatments, most likely everything harmful in your tank will be killed off & hopefully the snails & plants that you want will still be around.

 

[Alone]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp/40061-whats-bug-how-recognize-them.html

If you can give a good description of them, I can probably give you more information.

I HATE HATE HATE all insects; especially ones that come from the water. Hell, I hate almost everything that comes from the water (except seals, dolphins, whales (the free kind) and sharks, of course).

 

[Paperdoc]

Some advise do NOT take the snails to the river - you'd risk putting a new species there - and they're right. But then others say, "dump down the toilet". Where do you think that goes? I know there is sewage treatment (I hope so, at least), but it's not really designed to sterilize everything! Dumping down the toilet is another version of the "out of sight, out of mind" escape from responsibility for waste handling.

Given the badly degraded condition of your tank and its lack of fish, I'd be more inclined to kill off everything and completely clean and sterilize, then start over from scratch. Bleach in the water as recommended is a good start (might even take two treatments), until you are satisfied you have killed off the snails, worms, algae, etc. After the visible stuff is dead, siphon (NOT but sucking on a tube with your mouth!) water out into a pail and discard. Remove all the old gravel and clean the tank interior thoroughly, probably with bleach again. Then rinse VERY well many times to remove that. You'll have to decide whether you can wash and sterilize the gravel for re-use, or just discard in garbage and buy new.

Then set up you tank again with fresh water, gravel (new or re-used), clean fresh filter and aeration media, etc. Run it empty for several days to remove any chlorine residual from the water and aerate it, then add a few plants and maybe a few starter fish. Don't make too many changes at once - let the tank re-stabilize between new additions.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

pour gas in it and set it on fire?

 

[CallMeJoe]

Dump a bunch of Alka Seltzer tablets in the tank. You will spike the Carbon Dioxide level in the water and kill all the residents more humanely than a chlorine bleach overdose, without the worry of toxic residue. If you must sterilize the tank afterward, just salt the heck out of it and let it sit for a while. Rinse repeatedly to get rid of the excess salt and reuse the tank and accessories.

 

[flyfish]

I suggest you take the snails to the river.