Intruding worms?

I know I've read about several organisms/creatures that can intrude tanks but I can't seem to find any of the links now

A few weeks ago I noticed a little (I mean tiny) worm thing that seemed to wriggle like crazy when it swam a few cm's and then drop to the sand. It was white with what looked like a black dot where it's head was. I remember somebody having things like these in their tank and somebody else said that it's normal and if there's a few, it just means you have a healthy tank so I thought nothing of it. Well now they seem to be everywhere if I focus closely and even my axolotl seems to try and eat them, mind you with their apparently bad eye sight I don't know how he can see them! I know they're most likely harmless but I'm just curious as to what causes them to pop up out of nowhere and if there's a way to prevent a large population..

I get this 'problem' (It's not really a problem as most intruders are harmless) quite often. My first thought is that they were coming from my live food until someone told me otherwise so I'm now at a loss there! I know for a fact that they populate when they have something to eat. In axolotls tanks, I've found it's food waste but no matter how clean I keep the tanks, the little buggers always come back! So the only way I see getting rid of them is up-heaving the whole tank contents - not an option when you've got a perfect cycle and axies to keep happy!

I thought it must have something to do with waste in the tank. I don't know what mosquito larvae look like so I didn't know if that's what they could be seeing as though we have a lot more mosquito's hanging around as a result of the warm weather. Any way, the tank is due for a good weekly clean tomorrow so hopefully I can suck some of the little suckers up for good!!

I think that's your best bet! I've noticed their numbers decreased rapidly when I clean them out so hopefully it should (eventually) do the trick! What I also find odd is I only get them in one of my tanks?!

Critters like this seem to run in a cycle. The population explodes and then they all dissapear.

Well thanks for the input guys and hopefully they eventually disappear like you say Jess Also, do either of you know what the website is that has the list of critters? I tried looking on axolotl.org but that wasn't the right website.

jessicaanne said:

Well thanks for the input guys and hopefully they eventually disappear like you say Jess Also, do either of you know what the website is that has the list of critters? I tried looking on axolotl.org but that wasn't the right website.

Click to expand...

Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Invaders: Algae, Snails, Worms and Other Critters :happy: