Worms

Question
I have a 55 gallon tank and whenever I stir up the gravel to move something small little white worms start floating around all over the place. Do you have any Idea of what I can do about the worms? The fish show no signs that something is wrong. Are the worms something that I should worry about?

Answer
Hi Ryan;

The worms themselves are nothing to worry about at all. They are called 'planaria' and are harmless to your fish. They are however a sign of overfeeding. We all overfeed from time to time, we just have to remember to clean up after ourselves when we do.

The only way to get rid of planaria is to starve them out. Vacuum the gravel at least once a week while removing 25% of the gravel until you see very little crud coming up from the gravel. Even if you don't care that the planaria is there since they aren't harmful, the excess waste they are feeding on needs to be removed so it doesn't start making the fish sick.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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