Tank glass

Question
I have a 29 gal. freshwater tank.....i have notice lint like moving creatures on my tank glass...it looks like i took a paper towel and wiped the glass and left lint on it but the lint moves.....could you tell me what kind of parasite this is and how to deal with it....my fish are all doing fine.....i have fancy tail guppies.

thank you
dee

Answer
Hi Dee
Sounds to me like it's probably either planaria or nematodes.  If they're on the glass mostly, I'd go with planaria.  It's basically a little snail type of worm, usually white in color.  Generally, they're not harmful, but there is a "version" of I think the nematodes that will eat fish eggs, they're more parasitic.

They're usually caused by overfeeding, and undercleaning the tank.  Not sure what your cleaning schedule it, but if you're not, start doing weekly water changes of about 25%, and be sure to clean the gravel/substrae thoroughly with the gravel vac/siphon.  That's where they tend to live, and when there's too many nutrients in the water(overfeeding), they come out.  Also, clean the filters good in a bucket of tank water when you do the water changes.  It'll take some time, but you can get them under control.  

Only feed the fish once a day, and as always stated, what they can eat in 5 minutes.  Any leftover food, be sure to net out immediately.  They'll be fine on that kind of schedule, I feed my fish once every other day.  

You could also add some aquarium salt to the tank, 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons.  Be sure to mix/dissolve in a bucket of water first.  

I found a few links, my favorite link, unfortunately the pictures for those 2 I mentioned haven't been working for awhile.  Still some good info on them.

http://www.oscarfish.com/cms_view_article.php?aid=15

http://www.aquariumfish.net/information/having_trouble_p2.htm

Good luck with your critters lol.  Like I said, takes a bit of time, but it'll be fine, and they're for the most part harmless.  I think it just grosses people out more so then anything lol.  So don't worry.

Christy