Cichlids and Parasites?

Question

I have a 30 gallon tank, with 2 african cichlids. One is a sunshine peakock, and another is a yellow lab. Each of them are about 4-5 inches long, and they seem to be acting normal as always. But i've noticed on the sides of the tank, on the glass, there are very small little, white, beetle-like parasites. They are just big enough to see and there are many of them. Also, there are white worms, about half an inch long. Please help me identify these parasites, how to get rid of them, and if they are harrmless or whatever. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

If you aren't seeing anything on the fish, they are not parasites. What you are seeing could be any one of several species of copepods that would not be harmful tot he fish. The worm looking creatures could be several different things as well, but most likely small planeria or small white worms.

While none of this is directly harmful to your fish, they are all indicators of declining water quality. I would suggest you get into the habit of a regular 25-35% water change each week and use a gravel siphon to clean the grvel well as you remove the waste water. Also, once a month replace the cartridge in your filter. This regular schedule will keep the tank clean and free of such animals.

MM

Answer 2

The white things sticking to the glass are little critters called planaria and are totally harmless to your fish. They are however a sign that some overfeeding has been going on. Planaria thrive on waste. We all overfeed from time to time. We just have to clean up after ourselves once we realize. Sometimes it isn't that we put too much food in, it's the quality of the food itself.
You will want to do some vacuuming of the gravel to get rid of the waste that is in there now. Do the vacuuming twice a week for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Replace 25% of the water and vacuum at the same time. You may start to see more planaria at first as they become more brave in trying to find food. They will eventually starve out and most will go away. If you ever start to see them again, cut back on food again. In my experience, a tank that once had planaria is never totally clear of them. But, they don't hurt your fish and are a good warning sign that we are getting too generous with the food can.

And the white worms are harmless planaria(basicaly the same, Just a diffrent looking). They won't bother your fish at all. They are thriving on excess waste in the tank. Don't waste your time or money on chemicals to kill them. The little devils even survive bleach treatments. (yikes!) All you are going to do is stress the fish.

So, just cut back on food and vacuum the gravel twice a week for a couple of weeks. You may have to change foods too. Some have more undigestible junk in them than others. I like Hikari and OSI brands. They are more expensive, but it is because they are more nutritious. I had a massive planaria problem in a tank of oscars that I fed some very cheap food to many years ago. I tried cleaning and chemicals and everything. I finally changed foods to some free samples of premium pellets I was given and the planaria disappeared in a couple of weeks. It was a lesson well learned. I only feed high quality foods now, and sparingly. Feed them once a day or every other day and only what they can finish in 2 or 3 minutes.

Answer 3

These are harmless critters that sometimes appear in your aquarium. The little bugs are a kind of copepod and the worms are a kind of nematode. While there are examples of both of these kinds of bugs that infect fishes, the specific ones you're looking at will not. You might want to try doing some extra water changes and gravel vacuuming to get rid of them if they bother you. Copper sulfate treatment will kill the copepods but the nematodes are almost impossible to kill without hurting the fish in the tank.

Answer 4

I agree with the first 3 posts. You can prevent all this by cleaning your tank more. The "bugs" are harmless but the waste they are living off of is not.