Help me identify this aquarium parasite. Pics included!?

Question

Here's the pics of em.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/radiofemme/100_4923.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/radiofemme/100_4922.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/radiofemme/100_4920.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/radiofemme/100_4919.jpg

A.) At first glance I figured they were microworms. However, someone told me that microworms stay relatively 'straight" while other parasites commonly mistaken for them 'squiggle'. These are definitely squigglers. Any idea what they are?

B.) What is the best way to get rid of them without changing/stopping my filter (which contains carbon)? I can't change it or stop it cause I have 4 RES turtles and they are very messy and the filter always has to be running!

Copperhead - they are red, not white, and they do have to breathe, so they are not fly larvae.

Copperhead: Well, they are reddish, and are very long, slender, and without much serration. I know they are not bloodworms or blackworms....I don't know what they are but on a turtle forum, several people have told me that these naturally live in the turtle's gut. I dunno.

Answer 1

Nematode worms, like microworms (which are the earth form of these worms), are harmless. They live on detritus in the tank and leftover fish food. I actually try to cultivate them because they are good food for baby fish and I don't have to do much of anything since they just live in the plants. If you keep your tank terrifically clean all the time, there won't be anything for these worms to live off of. You can also probably do some sort of medicating the tank (anything that kills inverts) but you'd also kill off the good bacteria. My Amano shrimp and baby fish eat these things. Mine sometimes wiggle out of the water and "climb" up the sides of the tank just above the waterline--not sure why, maybe the water gets too hot for them or something (usually this happens on sunny days, plant tanks only (fish tanks don't sit in the windows). Someone on Aquabid sometimes sells these as dero worms--if you collect them, you too might be able to make money off of them.

Answer 2

Pics Of Parasites

Answer 3

White wormy things are usually the larvae of a terrestrial fly - a type of midge. They swim in something of a thrashing "S" shape, usually stay near the bottom of the tank? If you look at them under a microscope, you'll usually make out a hard, sclerotized "head" - material something like your fingernails are made of, but clear, tan, or brown.

See if what you have is anything like these photos (remember, these are usually 1/4-1/2 inch or less, but can be up to an inch!):
http://www.waterbugkey.vcsu.edu/image_uploads/chironomidae-body_order_7.jpg
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/imagsmall/midgepolar.jpg
http://www.zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de/institute/zi/abtlgn/feinstruktur/images/favorite_animals/chaobo.jpg

Adult flies lay their eggs on the water's surface (or on your filter media) in the turtle tank and the young hatch out into the water where they live until they metamorphose into adults. You may have even noticed small (< 1/4 inch) flies like mosquitos drowned in your tank. They don't really harm your turtle, but they sometimes attach and maybe be annoying.

Because they stay so low in the water and can "swim" they aren't likely to be removed by your filter. If you want them out, you almost have to use a fine-mesh net and remove them by hand. These won't come up to breathe like mosquito larve - these are true aquatics. The only way you can keep these out (since the adult is a small flying insect) is to keep a glass or fine mesh cover on the tank and over your filter.

Be sure to clean your tank well and frequently, because the worms need food (turtle poo and uneaten food) to survive

ADDITION: Sorry, they look a little washed out in your photos. Still a good possibility of a midge (Chironomid) larvae - same family as the first photo above, but one of the species that has an iron pigment in the blood - see this photo: http://www.bettatude.com/Misc/live-blood-worms.jpg
If so, these are bloodworms. Your turtle may also eat some them.

They could also be tubifex worms : http://fins.actwin.com/fish/killietalk/month.200411/jpg00000.jpg or small blackworms: http://www.jeff-productions.com/Bettas_Dojo/BettasDojo_pics/blackworms.jpg Have you ever used any of these as a food source?

What's the size?

Answer 4

That's no fish parasite I've ever encountered. I just gave it a through review through several professional textbooks on the subject and it doesn't appear to be any type of parasite.

Copperhead has given you a very, very plausable answer, it's the only answer that fits at all.

MM

Answer 5

I had the same problem from the looks of it and some aquarium salt got rid of all but one or two of them.