worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

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anthony

New Member
worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

i know these worms are from overfeeding, some are white others are brown.i had them before two weeks of everyday gravel vac, and cleaning my filters and starving my fish got rid of them for me a couple of years ago in a smaller tank. now the tank is larger my time and partience is shorter is there any kind of poison i can use to kill them?? i live in an apartment i cant have worms in my living room, in my kitchen sink. im guilty of over feeding trying to get my fishes size up but im looking for an easier way out , ive done 2 days of gravel vac. no food for now, ive added salt, but i dont want to clean my canister filter and risk killing all my bacteria but the worms are in there also.......will quick cure do any thing?? i read it would but it didnt look like a reliable sorce. well like i said im for an easier way if there is one thanks
 
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CrazedAce

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

What kind of worms? Picture? Are they free floating, or clinging to objects? Which objects? I just found some hydra in one of my ten gallons, so I'm in the same boat pretty much.
 
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CrazedAce

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

Awesome link. I'll be using this method as soon as I can. Any idea if its harmful to fish? White clouds and BN plecos in particular? I'll remove them anyways and cycle the water before adding fish back in.
 
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anthony

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

so is any of this stuff gonna work on my worms i dont have hydras????????????????
 
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plaamoo

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

I'm not sure what "your worms" are, planaria? I'm guessing yes, it will kill them.
Google planaria and you'll find pics and lots of info.
 
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CrazedAce

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

It will kill any parasites. I was at Petco earlier but they only had a 4pk of fenbendazole, which was too much money for me. After getting home, I put my blue gourami female in the tank to hopefully start eating them. I will stop feeding as much to encourage her to eat the little nuggets. Hopefully she can eat them all within two weeks, and by doing so, condition herself for breeding.
 
Madness

Madness

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

I dont understand why you would give your fish unnecessary toxins (meds) that not only are not good for the fish but also bad on your complete system just to get rid of some worms, worms that are there from over feeding and poor tank maintenance. (gravel vacs)

Thats like taking unknown drugs to get rid of a hang nail.

Why subject the fish to this? Feed much less for a week or so, add some salt, gravel vac every other day for a week or so, and throw in some loaches that will eat them.

Its not that difficult, and much less harmful to the fish. But its your tank, I just dont understand why people are more willing to take the lazy way and risk so much.

Good luck................
 
pbmax

pbmax

Active Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

I tend to agree - worms aren't a problem other than aesthetics, in my opinion.

Hydra, on the other hand, are known to eat baby shrimp, which is a big fail. :(
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

Worse comes to worst...
-do a deep clean in your tank (taking everything out)

-transfer fish into a temporary holding place for them (like a huge bin or something) add a filter, preferably a sponge filter of HoB filter that will go on your bin.

-clean the canister filter (there's really NOTHING you can do besides clean it) if it kills the Beneficial Bacteria, oh well.

-add everything back in the tank aside from the fish, make sure you've cleaned everything VERY WELL.

-add fish back once everything is back and filters are back in the tank.

-learn from your previous experience, don't overcrowd, and don't overfeed. Lest ye be ridden with worms again.

I too, do not like a chemical treatment for my fish, whenever possible. Even though it states that it's harmless to fish, we will never REALLY know if it does have adverse effects or not.

Good luck. Getting fish that will supposedly "eat" the worms, won't get rid of them totally, and it's not like your fish will be able to swim into your canister filter and eat the ones in there. Get rid of them worrrrrmsssssss...

Also, please try to refrain from making more than one topic... it helps keep the traffic of other topics from being lost, and overall helps with spam/clutter. :)
 
Madness

Madness

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

The worms will die if they have nothing to eat

Poke I agree with gutting the filter, but take the media and rinse thoroughly in a bucket of tank water, and completely clean the rest of the filter. As for the tank, your fish will not die if they dont eat for a few days. You should only be feeding once/day anyway. And if you do it twice it should be very minimal.
 
lloyd378

lloyd378

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

I am confused by this whole topic of worms..... maybe I should knock on wood, but I have never had any worms ever (23 years of owning tanks) in my rocks. What causes these? I can't believe that overfeeding would produce worms, unless the overfeeding is some sort of food that is raw and already infected with them. I have over the years, overfed my fish (3-4 times a day- oops), and the only thing I have had to worry about was changing the water. Worms being living things have to come from somewhere.... and I have never seen them listed in the ingredient lists of my fish foods.

I could see them coming from new fish from the LFS, as in parasites that are expelled in the fishes poop, but I find it hard to believe that there are worms present in every tank and only decide to show themselves if the tank is overfed.

Anybody have any links that talk about the science of this? maybe it's just the teacher in me(i taught 8th grade science for two years when I first started), or my degree in biology, but I am a bit skeptical about this whole topic.

BTW, I am in no way calling anyone out on this topic, I am purely looking for information as I have never had to deal with it / them
 
pbmax

pbmax

Active Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

I'm guessing most of my stuff rode in on plants I purchased from various places (limpets, ditritus worms, planaria, ostracods, snails, hydra, etc.). They could also have come with some of the substrates I've used (like eco complete which has a lot of liquid in the bag that you're instructed NOT to dump out).

It could also be that you do indeed have worms but your fish regularly consume any that reach a decent size. Fish LOVE ditritus worms; I generally only see these in my shrimp-only tanks.

It's a good question for sure - the worms have to come from somewhere. :) And given that they're living in the substrate it's unlikely they're parasitic (at least not in their current form).
 
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anthony

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

so you can get the worms from a fish store in your bag.when you net your fish out it can be on your fish or net. they are white or red/brown. they will live in your gravel. when you feed your bichirs and plecos with food that sinks to the bottom old food will get mixed in you gravel. if you fall behind on vacuming your gravel because your a single parent of a little kid that also works full time, the worms will begin to thrive. then when you do vacum and big water change you will have worms floating in your tank. then when you think that evertime you do a water change you will have woms in your kitchen sink you might get disgusted or you might not if your a dirtball. well instead of adding 2 weeks of daily gravel vacuming,and sanatizing my kitchen after. i was looking for the easy way out. so IF YOU READ THE QUESTION YOU WOULD SEE I KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF THEM THE HARD WAY,SO IF YOUR TRYING TO CUT DOWN ON OVERPOSTING DONT GIVE ME THE ANSWER THATS ALREADY LISTED IN MY QUESTION. the reaon i posted twice is there is 2 believe it or not colums labeled diseases and diseases and disasters. when i went to check my post i didnt see it so i did another one because i though i didnt hit send.. after i noticed there was 2 diseases sections in diffrent sections.SORRY OFFICER FISH BOX. pbmax and plaamoo thanks for calling out that dewormer. thats what i was looking for. every one else thanks for the "help" if you dont know me i like to joke around alot
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

What's with the negative reply and name calling? Don't take this the wrong way. In no way was I trying to force anything onto you, and I don't think that replying in such a manner of name calling will help resolve anything.

Yes, there are two Diseases sections, because one is for saltwater (Diseases and Disasters), and the other is for freshwater (Diseases).
Madness has already stated that there are no chemical treatments that are available for getting rid of worms. Go ahead and give the Fenbendazole a try, but please do remember that this is out of your own discretion, and if any fish or whatever inhabitants other than the worms die, please do not hold us responsible, as you already know how to get rid of the worms the "hard" way. By dong it the "hard" way, you're assuring your fish the most safest way of getting rid of the worms.

Again, please don't take this the wrong way, we're only trying to help.
 
lloyd378

lloyd378

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

pbmax said:
I'm guessing most of my stuff rode in on plants I purchased from various places (limpets, ditritus worms, planaria, ostracods, snails, hydra, etc.). They could also have come with some of the substrates I've used (like eco complete which has a lot of liquid in the bag that you're instructed NOT to dump out).

It could also be that you do indeed have worms but your fish regularly consume any that reach a decent size. Fish LOVE ditritus worms; I generally only see these in my shrimp-only tanks.

It's a good question for sure - the worms have to come from somewhere. :) And given that they're living in the substrate it's unlikely they're parasitic (at least not in their current form).
Click to expand...
Good information / theories.....I was also thinking that they may come with the substrate that you can buy. I am wondering if the larger rocks that I use for my substrate makes them easier for my fish to eat (if i have, in fact, had them before) because they have less places to hide and multiply. This is still a crazy concept for me to grasp!

Good luck with your fix, Anthony. And if you decide that you ever want or need a quarantine tank, I have a couple up for sale. But just the same, good luck :beer:
 
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anthony

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

My bad it was name calling, but i was only being a smart ass. since i dont know you i will not joke around with you any more. i have to remind myself that everyone does not like to joke or clown around like i do.im sorry if i offended you sir. i rarely use meds and my tanks are usualy up to parr. my life has been busy lately{plus ive been on a quest to get my bichirs to beer can thickness}. i will blame no one for any advice recieved on a free forum. now that i have the dewormer name ill do more research and decide if i want to put dog meds in my fish tank.{just sounds scary lol} i just thought there might be something made for these creatures. have a great night.
 
pbmax

pbmax

Active Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

anthony said:
then when you think that evertime you do a water change you will have woms in your kitchen sink you might get disgusted or you might not if your a dirtball.
Click to expand...
I guess that makes me a dirtball! :cheers: 8)

Seriously though, I don't eat out of my sink and these worms can't survive in a sink for very long at all. The likelihood that any of these critters would cause harm to a person even if ingested is slim to none, I think. In my opinion there are much bigger fish to fry, but the worm ick-factor does seem to be fairly pervasive.

Regardless, good luck. Just make sure you get the dosage right - no sense hurting your fish.
 
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plaamoo

New Member
Re: worms gotta go now but how???? need solid advice please fish box

Anthony,
The med you're buying at Petsmart is dogwormer, likely Safeguard. The effective ingredient is fenbendazole which is also used to treat humans. Don't get hung-up on the packaging. Fenbendazole is much more difficult to dissolve than flubendazole, they are nearly identical in effectiveness. Both are difficult to dissolve and this is their major drawback. I use fluben in the water column and I soak food in fenben and feed. In tandem they are a great treatment for camallanus. I treat all new fish with these in quarantine and I've seen NO negative side effects. I add the med to warm water in a tight closing container and shake vigorously until dissolved, then add to the tank. I do this during a water change. Add the med before refilling the tank and the added turbulence while filling further dissolves the med. I haven't had ich or any parasitic issue since I began using this regimen.

pbmax,
Being stuck in an apt. I also use the kitchen sink a lot. I always spray down with bleach after water changes. Too many possible nasties !
 
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