Strange worm thingy in the water...

[sharon]

I saw a fiber thin "thing" jigging through the water. A closer look, it looked like some kind of worm, "swimming" sort of vertically through the water.

I know it came from some live pond plants.

I fished the first one I saw out. I saw a second one and was trying to fish it out of the water, when it just happened to swim in front of a waiting axos' mouth. SNAP, no more worm thingy. The axo snapped its mouth open and shut a couple of times before settling back to the bottom of the tank.

I did salt soak and rinse these plants before adding them to the tanks, so what was that thing? Since the axo ate it and seems fine, I'm thinking its harmless, but what you guys think?

Sharon

 

[clarence]

...so what was that thing?

lunch, apparently

 

[sharon]

Smart <font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font>! LMBO! You are funny!

 

[kaysie]

Was it a flatworm?

 

[colin]

Planarian worm? They are harmless in a tank... especiall when axos eat them

 

[caleb]

It sounds like a nematode to me, they have that distinctive 'thrashing' movement.

Some nematodes are predatory, and a few are parasitic on amphibians. The vast majority are unlikely to be a problem.

I often find them in my tanks, I haven't noticed any ill effects from them.

The best way to avoid introducing parasites to captive amphibians is not to use water/ plants/ livefood from ponds where amphibians live.

 

[mik]

Newish tanks sometimes get a sudden appearance of these things. They seem to disappear just as quickly.

Don't know where they come from don't care where they go just as long as they do.

Mikki