very small worms

Question
Dear nathan,i have very, very small worm like creatures in my aqurium and i see them more when i do a water change.Are they harmful to my goldfish?And what are they?


Answer
Hi Chris,

The 'worms' are probably Planaria, which are often present in aquariums with dirty water/gravel. Planaria are natural organisms, and cannot harm any fish in any way. They are caused by poor water quality/lack of maintenance.

How often do you do a water change and gravel vacuuming? Gravel vacuuming (cleaning of gravel with a siphon) should be done every two weeks.

To get rid of the worms, you only need to perform a series of water changes and gravel vacuumings to improve water quality.

Change 20% of the water every two days, vacuuming the gravel each time. Do this for two weeks, and they should be gone. After they are no longer present, you can switch back to a normal maintenance routine.

Do not get chemicals to kill them; there are no commercially available chemicals, and putting chemicals in will hurt your fish.

Good Luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!