I have a tank question

Question
Hello Alex,

I have a 30 gal. tank with three Lemon Drop Cichlids (Labidochromis Caeruleus)in it. Two of the three are pregnant. I just cleaned the tank about a week ago and other then that there have been no changes. Today I found some worm like things on the glass of the tank. They are white and about 1/32" long. I can not find any of the white things on the fish. I went to the local pet store and they thought that they might be a parasite of some kind but they were not sure. Do you know what they might be and what I should do to get rid of them?

Thank you for your time,
Audrey

Answer
Hi Audrey
You're question was in our question pool for answering.

If the worm like thing was on the glass, and looks kind of like a slug/snail with no shell, and has an arrow shaped head, that would be planaria.  Generally harmless to fish and humans, but there is a variety that will eat fish eggs and young fry.  If it looks more like a thin "worm", that swims in an S shape, that would be a nematode-again these are harmless to fish/humans.

Usually both those worms will show up in tanks where there's a lot of uneaten food leftover in the gravel/substrate.  So, decrease the amount of food you're feeding, I recommend only feeding once a day what the fish will eat in 5 minutes.  Net out any uneaten food.  Be sure to change about 25% of the water once a week, being sure to vacuum the gravel/substrate really good.  Be sure to dig the gravel vac down deep into the gravel.  Cutting off the food supply for the parasites will eventually get rid of them.

Hope that helps!

Christy