Aquariums are easily infested with different worms, white worms being the most common. While they may not be fatally harmful to your fish, these worms can irritate their eyes, gills, and skin, making them uncomfortable. Let’s look at more information on this issue.
What are they?
The tiny white worms you’re seeing in your aquarium can be planaria, detritus worms, and Rhabdocoela. Detritus is a type of Nematodes roundworms with hair-like features, while Rhabdocoela and Planaria are flatworms.
It is essential to understand the white-worms species in your fish tank so that you can know which methods are required to eradicate them. While Detritus and Rhabdocoela white worms can’t harm your fish, the Planaria are out to destroy them.
Due to their small sizes, it is hard to identify the type of worms you’re dealing with, and you’ll need a magnifying glass to know the exact species.
These white worms are formed differently. They also have varying effects within your fish tank, and their elimination methods differ from each other.
Causes of White Worms in Aquarium
Lack of proper cleaning, new fish transfer, the introduction of new gravel, plants, or decorations from other places, low oxygen supply, and natural water sources are among the leading causes of white worms in your aquarium.
1. Lack of Proper Cleaning Routines
Detritus worms appear in your aquarium when the water is filled with waste from the fish and decomposing materials. They are detritivores, meaning they feed on this waste without harming your fish.
2. Brought in with a New Fish
Your tank might not have tiny white worms until you bring in a new fish that has them on it. The transfer introduces the worms from that other place into your aquarium, alongside the new fish, and they continue to breed more within the new habitat.
3. Aquarium Plants, Gravel or Decorations
If you add new gravel, plants, or decorations into your aquarium without cleaning them, you may be inviting white worms into your space. This is common when the materials are swapped from a different aquarium that initially had the worms.
4. From Natural Water Sources
Natural water sources create a breeding ground for white worms that are easily transferred into your tank when you fill it with that water. The Planaria white worms are commonly found in environments with saltwater or freshwater, and they can also cling to aquarium plants acquired from such habitats.
5. Low Oxygen Supply
White worms mainly reside within gravels in spots that are hard to identify, but low oxygen supply within the tank can drive them out into other aquarium parts to look for more air.
Benefits of Little White Worms in the Aquarium
White worms are beneficial in your aquarium as they balance its ecosystem and offer nutrients to medium and small-sized fish, which feed on them as live food supplements.
1. Maintaining a Balanced Ecosystem
Some species of tiny white worms like Detritus are beneficial in your aquarium because they help maintain a balanced ecosystem. They feed on the waste left behind when foodstuff and plants decompose. This enables your fish to remain in a clean habitat without encountering problems with waste materials.
2. Source of Nutrition
Some white worms such as Enchytraeus albidus offer your fish high nutrition value when consumed. As a result, the medium or small-sized fish gain vital energy required for breeding. Their calories and nutrients make them suitable live food supplements for your fish and other aquatic pets.
Can Little White Worms in the Aquarium Hurt My Fish?
Little white worms in your aquarium can hurt your fish when they become overpopulated. They take up space and compete for oxygen with your fish, interfering with their comfort within the tank.
Planaria white worms are directly harmful to your fish because they are carnivores and scavengers. Since they are asexual organisms, these worms can quickly increase without having to mate, occupying more space in your fish tank.
If you have egg-laying fish in the process of breeding, the Planaria white worms can interfere with this process as they prey on the eggs. They also attack the eyes and gills of weaker adult fish, likely to evolve into more complicated health conditions.
How to Get Rid of Tiny White Worms in Aquarium
To remove white worms from your aquarium, you should first clean the tank and replace the water. You can also get medication and dewormers to handle the problem from the root. This section offers you a step-by-step process for eradicating Detritus and Planaria white worms without hurting your fish.
How to Eliminate Detritus Worms
Tank maintenance and cleanliness is the easiest way to tackle a Detritus white worm influx. You should also give your fish enough food to avoid excessive waste, eliminate the substrate, and keep the tank oxygenated.
1. Decrease the Amount of Food in the Fish Tank
Detritus worms breed as a result of excessive foodstuff in your fish tank. You can curb this by providing your fish with an exact amount of food that’s enough for one feeding session and preventing any excess feeds that facilitate the multiplication of detritus worms. Without the nutrients to boost this growth, the white worms start disappearing from the tank and decreasing population.
2. Remove the Substrate from Your Fish Tank
The gravels and aquarium plants are likely to build up substrate that encourages the growth and multiplication of the remaining white worms. You can get rid of this by regularly vacuuming the gravel and the rest of the aquarium decorations. It helps flush out the worms lodged underneath the surface and reduce any chances of them populating again.
3. Place an Airstone Inside Your Tank
A sudden increase in oxygen levels prevents the Detritus worms from leaving their habitats beneath the gravels or in the substrate. This keeps them away from the visible parts of the tank or getting too close to your fish. If they are not overpopulated, you can keep them in the tank for the much-needed ecosystem balance.
However, you can reverse this process by limiting the oxygen supply in the tank and allowing the white worms to swim to the surface, where you can scoop them and eliminate them.
Quarantine New Plants, Decorations, or Fish
New fish, gravels, plants, and aquarium decorations are likely to have tiny white worms clung to them from their old habitat. It’s advisable to keep them apart from the other fish in your tank until you are sure of their state. You can clean and deworm them separately before placing them with the others.
How to Eliminate Planaria White Worms From Your Aquarium
Unlike Detritus, Planaria white worms are more harmful to your fish and must be eliminated when you spot their presence. You can get rid of them using chemicals or use a worm trap to remove them when cleaning and changing your fish tank water.
Chemical Treatment
There are many brands of dewormers available to eliminate Planaria white worms. Among the most common ones include No-Planaria and Panacur C. Each pack comes with a series of instructions you must follow to maintain your fish’s safety throughout the process.
Remember first to unplug the carbon filter when beginning the treatment process. The No-Planaria dewormer brand comes in powder form, forming a cloudy precipitate over the tank water once you pour it inside. Keenly observe the unit of measurement listed on the instructions to avoid putting in too much or too little of the treatment.
Adding too many chemicals into your aquarium can harm the fish, cause distress or kill them in extreme cases. You must be precise and accurate on the ratios you use to treat the tank water. You can consult a veterinarian to get better remedies and guidance on proceeding with chemical treatment.
Some chemical treatments have negative impacts, and you may be forced to transfer your fish into a different tank before starting the process and return them to the tank after a while. The manufacturer’s guide offers the proper precautionary measures for each brand.
Natural Elimination of Planaria White Worms
Some fish types like piranhas, bottom feeders, silverfish, Metynnis fish, sharks, and lionfish cannot withstand the effects of chemical deworming. The reaction ranges from mild to fatal, and it’s essential to take precautions by using natural methods of eliminating white worms from their tank. You can use a worm trap or pluck them out using tweezers. Freshwater or saltwater dips are also an efficient way to kill planaria worms without harming your fish’s health.
Using a holed container, you can create a Planaria trap on a DIY project. Add foodstuffs to act as bait and attract the worms to your trap. After a while, remove the container from the aquarium and assess the captured worms using a magnifying glass before disposing of them. Repeat the process until the catch diminishes completely.
The trap should have a tightened cap and tiny holes at its bottom part, making it easy for the worms to get in but hard to leave. You can open the cap when disposing of the captives or adding more foid to set the trap again.
Eliminating Rhabdocoela Flatworms
You can eliminate this type of white worm from your aquarium by introducing small fish such as bettas which take them as live food supplements. The predatory instincts of your aquatic pets will lead them to the parts of the tank where these worms inhabit, eliminating them most naturally.
Like Detritus worms, Rhabdocoela flatworms feed on aquarium waste from excess food and live under the substrate. You can get rid of them by cleaning your tank regularly, changing the water while vacuuming the pebbles and gravel. Avoid overfeeding your fish to eliminate food remains that keep the white worms fed and comfortable.
Conclusion
Tiny white worms are a common part of your aquarium’s ecosystem. The main causes of white worms are excess food remains and substrate on the gravel or transfer from other sources. Different species have varying features, which you must study closely to guide you in the suitable elimination method.
After understanding the species inside your aquarium, you can seek an expert’s opinion on eliminating them or using natural remedies. If you settle for chemical treatment, be keen to make the correct measurements and use the dewormers correctly to avoid harming your fish.
While some white worms like Planaria are considered harmful for your fish’s health, others like Detritus and Rhabdocoela are less likely to hurt them unless they are overpopulated. The type and amount of white worms in your fish tank should guide you on the elimination process.
