Little white worms in my Axy's tank?

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Umarth

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I didn't quite know where to put this thread, so i thought this would be best, sorry if i got it wrong :p

So just a few minutes ago i noticed quite a few little white worms in my axy's tank. i looked around the site, but being bad with computers (odd for a teenager :p) i couldn't figure out how to search :eek: so i just wondered what they are, if they're harmful and how to get rid of them.

Oh yeah, i have a filter and do a water change every 2-4 days, it depends if i remember or not, but it's never any later then 4 days. I'd say i replace around 20% of the water, but i can't say for certain, thanks for your help in advance :)
 
They're harmless and as mentioned, they thrive on excess food. So, time for a little house cleaning. Vacuum your tank super well and check out this article from Caudata Cultures about Critters.
 
Oh dear, i thought i got all the uneaten bloodworm up, but they are quite messy, so i could have missed some, thanks for the link. Although according to that link, they are a symptom of uneaten food in the gravel, i do not have gravel, i have sand and the little worms are living on the sides of the tank mainly, so could it be a different thing? Altough i hope they are Planaria, so they're no harmful to my axy :) thanks for your help :D
 
Umarth said:
Oh dear, i thought i got all the uneaten bloodworm up, but they are quite messy, so i could have missed some, thanks for the link. Although according to that link, they are a symptom of uneaten food in the gravel, i do not have gravel, i have sand and the little worms are living on the sides of the tank mainly, so could it be a different thing? Altough i hope they are Planaria, so they're no harmful to my axy :) thanks for your help :D
Click to expand...


planaria are often seen on the glass but they mostly live in the substrate (either sand or gravel...they arent just limited to gravel). is your axie large enough to eat earthworms? earthworms are a bit less messy than bloodworms. :)
 
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I don't know if she is, she's 2-3 inches, i think that's big enough. I was looking for some earthworms in my garden, but in 2 hours i couldn't find any :eek: and i didn't think buying them off the internet was worth it, if she didn't like them. Are earthworms better for my Axy then Bloodworms?
 
Have you tried soaking a patch of the garden, and covering it over overnight?
If you lift the cover the next morning, their will hopefully be earthworms (axies staple diet) in all shapes and sizes.
However, this isn't recommended if your garden has been treated pesticides and the like. ;)
 
i soaked a bit of my garden and waited but i didn't cover it, i'll try it again tommorrow, it's a bit dark to do anything :p our garden isn't treated, we just have really bad soil :(
 
earthworms are very nutritious and a staple in the axies diet. :)
if you cant get any from your garden, you can certainly buy them in any bait shop. thats where i get mine.

try watering your garden pretty well and then laying cardboard down. the next morning, lift the cardboard and you should find lots of worms. just give them a rinse before offering them to your axolotl. :)
 
ok, thanks :) so earthworms are a good staple, but i've been feeding my axy Bloodworms as a staple :S she looks healthy enough, are Bloodworms ok as a staple? i'll switch to earthworms now, but i just want to know if i've made a big blunder :p
 
nah its not a big blunder. bloodworms are good too but earthworms are less messy. :) one earthworm a day makes far less mess than a bunch of bloodworms everywhere, you know? bloodworms are still good but cleaning your sand really well and switching to earthworms for a while help help clear up the planaria more quickly. :)
 
Bloodworms are OK, but they really aren't all that nutritious (or so I've read), and so are really only good as an occasional menu item. Earthworms are by far the best staple, and are almost universally accepted by the diners (axolotls that is!).

If you feel you can't find earthworms small enough for your axolotl, they can also be chopped into pieces and fed in that manner. Here's an info and how to sheet: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms.shtml
 
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Thank god for this thread, now I know what they are.
 
May favorite thing about earthworms is that it simplifies feeding since you can do it by hand and make sure everyone gets fed equally. :happy:
 
Good im glad i didn't mess up :p, i'll switch to earthworms now, i couldn't find any in the garden; quite worrying actually :S. So i'll have to buy some online. Thanks for your help :)
 
Anyone know how the planaria gets there in the first place?
 
The worms, like many other aquatic organisms, can come into your tank in a variety of ways. Most are transported into your tank in small numbers when you add animals or plants. You usually maintain a low level of these organisms all of the time and that's kind of what makes your tank healthy. When you see a sudden increase in the numbers of any one organism it's a sign that something is out of balance. Since you have been faithfully doing partial water changes and you have no substrate I would suspect that the problem lies in the slimy coating that is building up on your glass. This coating is usually protein material from the waste produced by animals you are housing and excess food particles in the tank. It is a great source of food for many smaller organisms.

Try wiping the inside glass of your tank just before you remove the water for a water change. This should reduce the amount of food available for the white worms and cause their numbers to decrease substantially.
 
you guys said planaria are harmless, so they are ok for axie right? I will get rid of it by cleaning the substrate more but I dont have to try so hard such as adding salt/quick cure and stuff right?
 
Harmless means they're going to do nothing negative in your tank. They are obvious because of an abundance of food. Once that has diminished your worm population will also - though it probably won't go away. In fact, you don't necessarily want all the little beasties that live in your aquarium to go away. They are all part of the ecosystem you've created.
 
nixx1985 said:
I dont have to try so hard such as adding salt/quick cure and stuff right?
Click to expand...
Quickcure contains ingredients (malachite green and formalin) that are likely to be toxic to an axolotl. Never use it on an amphibian tank.
 
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