tank parasites

Question
I have one blood parrot chiclid "Frank" in a 30 gallon tank, lately I am seeing small thread like "worms" swimming in the water.  I don't see any on him (but they are light colored almost clear and he is bright orange) and he is not acting sick or any different than ususal. My fiance bought some feeder goldfish for Frank and I believe this is where these thing come from. Can you tell me what they are and how to treat them. We really love Frank and want to keep him healthy.  

Answer
Hi Jeanne;

They are planaria and are totally harmless to your fish. However, they are a warning sign that you have been overfeeding and not doing enough gravel vacuuming. All of us overfeed sometimes, so you aren't alone. Not every overfed tank gets planaria, but the good thing is that they serve as a good warning sign. You just have to get things cleaned up and the planaria will fade away. They may never go away completely, but if you see them over populating again you will know what to do. There is no medicine that can kill them without harming Frank anyway. They are tough little devils.  

Do some gravel vacuuming to get rid of waste and starve the critters out. For the next two weeks, vacuum the gravel twice a week while changing 25% of his water. (Yes, I did say twice a week!) Just do it very gently so you can get the crud out without messing up the bacteria balance in the tank and without shocking Frank. Vacuum half of the bottom one day and the other half next time. Push the aquarium vacuum all the way to the bottom of the tank to get all the crud out you can. You may start seeing the planaria crawling around more up on the sides of the glass, but it is normal. The waste in the gravel that feeds them will be running low so they will be crawling around looking for more. They will start to die off and go away. Once the tank seems clean, do a regular 25% water change every week and you only have to vacuum every 2 to 3 weeks.

Cut back on how much food Frank gets too. Also be sure that the food he does get is a good quality food. A cheap food with lots of filler, or live foods like goldfish and guppies will produce a lot of extra junk to pollute the tank. I really like Hikari and OSI brand foods. They both make good ones for cichlids with natural color enhancers. There are others out there too, so check out what your local store has. Live food is not at all necessary, and as you feared, can introduce disease to your fish. By the time these poor goldfish are shipped for days, starving and crammed into overcrowded plastic bags and tanks, they are often sick because of the stress they have been under. Opportunistic organisms such as parasites, fungus and bacteria cannot normally cause healthy fish to be ill. But, they will go crazy multiplying on stressed out and weaker fish. There are now large numbers of them on the poor feeders and guess where they will go next? On Frank! These poor feeders also have very little nutritional value in them from lack of food during the week or so they have been in transit from the fish farm, to the wholesaler, and finally to the fish store. So, avoid live food and get him a good quality prepared one. The price is often higher per ounce for premium foods, but your fish needs less of it than the cheaper ones. He can even have veggies. Green peas, romaine lettuce, chunks of cooked green beans and squash are good too. It helps avoid constipation and helps his color. Give him a little chunk every day with his other food, or dry in the morning and vegies at night. Whatever works for you.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins