Tank invaders? (Small worms)

Hello! First time posting here.

I received two little axolotls earlier this week. I wanted to put them in my aquarium that I have been cycling for about a month, but I'm waiting for my water testing kit to come in the mail. I have test strips currently... but apparently they're not very accurate so I am not relying on those. No worries, the axolotls are in they're own separate, roomy containers and receiving water changes daily... so they should be fine, right?

Anyway, to the main point of this thread. Another thing keeping me from putting my axolotls in their new home is the little invaders I have noticed. They are little, clear, hair-like worms which I am guessing hitched a ride on one of the live plants I put in the tank a while ago. They make little tunnels in the brown algae on the plants and also like to cling onto the glass. I took some pictures of them hoping someone could identify them and tell me if they are harmless or something that needs to be taken care of. They are pretty unsightly, so I would like to get rid of them anyway.

This is my current plan of action:
1. Keep aquarium light off to reduce the brown algae (not sure if it is related to the worms)
2. Daily 20% or more water changes rather than weekly.
3. Angrily stare at the worms and hope that takes care of them.

Congrats, you are now the proud owner of a colony of planaria

They are a harmless little aquarium flatworm, that while unsightly, won't directly harm your axolotls or newts, or anything else... unless it is in egg form. They LOVE to eat eggs.

They are probably making an appearance because the brown algae is providing a lovely diet for them as well as having no predators in the system. Believe it or not, this is actually a pretty good sign your aquarium is cycling on schedule. Brown algae and supporting a colony of organisms .

That said, it could be a sign that there is excess nutrients in your system and that it isn't quite balanced yet. Changing 20% of the water and doing a good gravel vacuum each time will help reduce their numbers. If you are feeding the tank to keep the cycle going then you might want to cut down on that as well.

Without knowing how you are cycling the tank that is pretty much all I can say to help right now.

I've got them too. I've got no intention breeding my axies, so I don't have a problem with the planaria. You can read much about these little buggers. They're also snailkikkers.

I've had them too a year ago. I removed uneaten (hidden) pellets and other 'goo' that was left there to be forgotten. After a while they were suddenly gone.

Well I started cycling by just setting everything up and putting the plants in there. I let that run for a week or two, doing water changes about every other day. Then I put a clown pleco and an apple snail in there (don't worry, they will be getting a new home when the axolotls move in). I did make a newbie mistake by not realizing putting an apple snail in your tank is a quick way to make sure all of your plants get eaten. I have to poke him several times a day so he falls off his plant victim... My solution is to occupy him by giving him a zucchini. He's probably doubled in size since I got him... They grow fast!

I've been doing spot cleaning several times a day to pick up all the droppings that blasted snail leaves everywhere. I also remove the zucchini after it has been in there for a couple hours (there isn't that much left of it, but I still clean it up). The pleco doesn't do much. The snail doesn't seem to care about the worms. It just runs them over on the glass.

I'm wondering if I have two kinds of worms. The ones I mentioned previously and I also noticed ones a little bit thicker that are reddish-brownish. They move around like a mosquito larvae would, but I don't think they are mosquito larvae. From what I have seen on the internet, they look like midge larvae. I would post pictures, but they aren't as common as the other ones.

I will say that reducing the light has reduced the algae. So hopefully that will help get rid of the worms. As for cleaning, is there any critter that will do a good job cleaning and not get eaten by/cause any problems for the axolotls? Mine are only about 3 inches, so maybe even a shrimp might do a good job for a while before it ends up in an axolotl's tummy.

The tunnel makers aren't planaria; they're midge larvae. The adults likely laid eggs in your water, and now the larvae are happy as clams in your tank. You can see a list of invaders (with pictures!) here.

But never fear, most tank invaders are harmless, and will make a good snack for your axies.

Some apple snails will eat plants, but most will not, it depends what species od apple snail you purchased. But they do then to be a bit messy as snails go either way.

Really, there is nothing you can add to the tank that will clean it better than some elbow grease. Most "clean-up" animals are just not suited.

Snails: can carry intermediate parasites for amphibians and make good snacks.
Shrimp: Amano, ghost, or cherries would be the best bet, but they are an expensive snack to replace.
Fish: Most bottom cleanign fish and algae eithing fish are in the wrong temperature range and have poor personalities for cohabitation.

Reducing the light would have done a nice job on the brown algae, but it won't stop the planaria. The only thing you can do for them is to cut out nutrients.

I used to have a problem with little white worms in my tank. Luckily, my white cloud mountain minnows have eaten them to extinction. Otherwise I might have had some issues with my eggs.

I have planiera in my tank. I've been stayin at the hospital with my daughter fpor 5 days and my mum didn't keep up my tank tidying so I have lots of them now. But I have no algea at all. I think they like it. I've done a clean up this evening but there are still a few in there. I think Albie and Aristotle need to grow gigantic tounges and learn to lick them off of the glass when there are too many!

RAH! I have them too! Suddenly they were there. LOTS of them! I first thought my tank was dusty but the 'dust' was on the inside... Planaria. Again.

Well, I bought some white cloud mountain minnows or whatever they are called. Now I hardly have any planaria anymore. <-- My face while watching the minnows devour the worm population. I see one float around every now and then, but now I am excited when I see them. That just means I get to watch one of the minnows zoom by and get it!

I will be keeping a close eye on the minnows for a while to ensure they don't bother my axolotls. I haven't introduced them in the tank yet, so we will see how that goes.

Is there a risk the mountain minnows will get eaten and upset the axolotls? I've had a small white planaria worm problem and cutting down on feeding has helped cut their numbers. Whilst I don't want to breed them I want them gone there is something about them lol

Buy I don't want to use anything that'll risk the axies so I'm wondering if maybe 1 or 2 cloud Minos would do the trick? I've a 3 ft tank


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