fish diseases and treatment

Question
i have this 10 gal tank that i thought i had disinfected with clorox and I started a community in this tank again. This is week three and I have the same parasites that I had before I disassembled the tank an tried to disinfect it. The parasites are these little white worms that are near or on the gravel, on the glass and on the surface. I also noted these small things that look like insect floating around my plants . How do i remove all these parasites without killing my fish in the process. I had two German blue ram cichlids with four rummy nose tetras. I believe that the ram cichlid that died was due to the parasites.

Answer
Hi Brian;

They are actually planarians, pond bugs and/or nematodes that are not harmful to your fish. They don't feed on or bite live fish, just decaying organic material. Overfeeding causing excess waste and decaying food is the reason they are infesting your tank. I've had them too and I know how disturbing they are but they aren't hurting your fish. The overfeeding that has led to decay is what has harmed the fish. The critters don't go away until we starve them out. Cut back on how much food you feed the fish by 50%. Vacuum the gravel while making a water change of 25% every week. These little critters are nearly indestructible by medicines, even bleach doesn't kill them. I tried that too many years ago before I knew what they were. They may never really go away completely, but that's okay. Many tanks have them and their reappearance is a warning sign that we are getting heavy-handed with the food again. We just don't usually see them because they are in very small numbers and hide. Once they multiply into large colonies from the abundant food supply we give them, we sure do see them...everywhere! Starving them out and weekly gravel cleaning is the only effective way to gain control.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins