black worms

Question
i've got these tiny black worms in my filter cartridge. they've got barb lookin' things on one end and like to "hide" in the filter gauze when i touch them with a tweezer. do you know what these things are? are they a good sign or bad? and how do i get rid of them?

Answer
Hi Jeremiah;

I can't seem to find anything and can't think of anything that looks like what you have described. I have found pretty weird stuff in my filters over the years too. As long as they don't seem to be on your fish and/or your fish aren't sick I wouldn't worry too much about it. These kinds of critters are usually attached where waste is because that's what they are feeding on. In my experience it usually means they aren't interested in our fish, just waste. There are so many little critters that can come in with plants, snails, etc. We usually never see them and the fish even like to eat them. Just rinse the filter out and keep your tank clean by doing a partial water change every week with a gravel vaccuming and they will probably go away. I don't like to see people use chemicals or medicines to get rid of such things because it can stress the fish out and it isn't necessary anyway. Many can't be killed that way either so it's a waste of money to even try that route.

Let me know if you have more questions...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins