Parasite or Food?

Question

Well this morning when i woke up to feed my fishes i lifted my lid and I saw these worm like creatures.

I was i like how these get here!?!?

So I decided to scope them out of there, and so i did but some of them, i accidentally made them drop in my aquarium but before i can reach them my angelfishes ate them.

I feel horrified right now because i dont know if it is a parasite or not.

Please tell me what they are and where they came from please.

Answer 1

These are probably planaria. No, they are not fish parasites (and your fish will not develop a parasite infection from eating worms). They are fairly common in tanks that need a good cleaning. When was the last time you vacuumed the gravel bed and did a water change? What has happened is they have fed from left over decomposing food in the gravel bed and gotten fat and are now crawling around your tank glass. They will continue to thrive in your tank as long as the environment favors them.

You need to do weekly water changes, vacuuming the gravel bed. Since you probably haven't done any for quite some time, I'd do 30% water changes weekly until you don't get much off the gravel, then switch to 20% weekly as a regular maintenance. They won't harm anything while they are there, but if you want to get rid of them quicker, you can do 20% water changes twice a week instead.

Answer 2

It sounds as though what you were seeing was outside the water, is that correct?

I have a feeling that what these were are the larvae of a type of grain beetle. Do you ever notice small light-medium brown beetles around your fish food or tank? This is probably eggs of those that have hatched. They'll be anywhere they can find food, so you may have places around the tank where the food didn't make it into the water. Eating these won't hurt the fish - in fact, it's some nice variety for them.

You can prevent these in the future by storing your fish food in the refrigerator (cold keeps the eggs from hatching and preserves the nutrients in the food better as well) and keeping the area around the tank clear of food.

You can check the website below to see some photos of some of the common grain beetles and their larvae - my guess is it would be one with an adult that looks similar to the drugstore beetle near the bottom of the page:

Answer 3

These are most likely a detritus worm, which break down waste in aquarium substrate.
When you have an over abundance of organic waste, these can multiply and will often enter the water column.
Too many can compete with fish for oxygen, otherwise these are safe and aid in organic breakdown and also can a provide food for some fish.

Please see this URL for pictures and more about these and other worms:
http://aquarium-answers.blogspot.com/2007/03/trematodes-and-nematodes-in-fish.html

Answer 4

There are any number of flat worms common to fresh water. Most likely they aren't parasites. It is a bad sign you are seeing them. It indicates you are over feeding and under cleaning the tank.
http://www.firsttankguide.net/waterchange.php
http://www.firsttankguide.net/food.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatworms

Answer 5

Sounds like a parasite to me. Get rid of those suckers before they kill your fish

Answer 6

If they were a parasite you would have sick fish by now.

Answer 7

they were moving around right?where they sort of brown?if it is that happened to me too.don't worry, i think it won't harm your fishes