Filter Worms

[CatBrat]

Hi Everyone,

I was just cleaning out my canister filter (fluval 404) and I found a whole lot of worms living around the sponge section. These worms are all around 1 inch long and they look just like baby earthworms.
I was wondering if anybody else has had worms in their filters? If they can do any damage to my fish? And where they may have come from?

Cheers, CatBrat.

[Silurus]

If they are segmented like earthworms, they are oligochaete annelids and would make great fish food. If they're not, they're probably either free-living nematodes or planaria, outbreaks of which are usually associated with too heavy feedings.
In all cases, they should be harmless to your fish.

[sidguppy]

You might think about hatching many more and sell them as "filterworms", the new and lively filtersubstrate that feeds your fish as a bonus


anybody needs a "wormfilter"?

Nah, they're harmless. Usually a well-inbred filter has a lot of life in it.
I would be seriously concerned if it hadn't any.

[Barbie]

I'd have to disagree on this one. The presence of planaria are a good sign that your tank has a high level of dissolved organics, which are definitely detrimental to water quality. I'd cut the feedings in half and double your normal frequency of water changes for a couple weeks and see if that cuts back on their numbers.

Barbie

[coelacanth]

I was wondering if anybody else has had worms in their filters? If they can do any damage to my fish? And where they may have come from?

Have you ever fed aquatic livefoods to your fish? It's amazing how plump healthy tubifex can look when you find some that escaped being eaten and settled in somewhere protected. When I used to feed with tubifex I was always finding them living in filter sponges.

[CatBrat]

Thanks for all the great info/help.

When I bought my filter I was told that I should only clean it out once a month or so. They said that doing it more than this would kill all the bacteria in the filter and would be detrimental to the haelth of my tank/fish. Does this sound right to you or should I be doing it more regularly?

Once again thanks for the help.

Cheers, CatBrat.

[magnum4]

When I bought my filter I was told that I should only clean it out once a month or so. They said that doing it more than this would kill all the bacteria in the filter and would be detrimental to the haelth of my tank/fish.

Given that it's a fluval 404 external and is the right size for the tank it really shouldn't need touching for at least a month. moreover if it's very dirty after a month then you are way over feeding. My 404 lasts 3months before any loss of flow.

And obviously the more you was out the filter the more bacteria you will loose each time(even washing in water from the tank you lose some). But with the fluval it's more the 4 sponge pre filters that need cleaning the most. If you are only wasing that section and leave the rest untouched then you can wash those out as often as you like.