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Worm Identification Help?

Started by Guest_EricaWieser_* , Dec 24 2010 01:07 PM

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17 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 24 December 2010 - 01:07 PM

hi everyone,

Does anyone know what this worm is? Here is a video of the worms:

So the story is, I was taking some Brazilian pennywort plants to my mom for her betta when I noticed that there were worms in the tank. We don't know what they are or where they came from (she says me, I say her) so I captured them on video and am trying now to use the internet to help identify them. They have a very distinctive spiral movement, so maybe someone on here will know what they are.

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#2 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 24 December 2010 - 01:49 PM

If it helps, you can go to the youtube page for the video and view it at 480p (the NANFA-posted one is only 360p).

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#3 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 24 December 2010 - 01:51 PM

Definitely an Oligochaete worm, and most likely one of the Naididae family.

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#4 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 24 December 2010 - 01:55 PM

Definitely an Oligochaete worm, and most likely one of the Naididae family.

Thank you!
I looked those up and it seems like those are earthworms and blackworms and whatnot. They don't appear to be parasitic. Do you think we should leave them in the tank?

And a second question, could those be baby blackworms? It might be possible that I captured some of the young blackworms from my water and took them over to her house. Because otherwise I have no idea how they got in her betta bowl.

Edited by EricaWieser, 24 December 2010 - 02:01 PM.

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#5 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 24 December 2010 - 05:54 PM

I'm surprised they are doing so well with the betta on patrol.

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#6 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 24 December 2010 - 06:36 PM

Maybe it's not so surprising. I think domestic bettas are like irish setters, so inbred that they've lost much of their original intelligence.

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#7 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 25 December 2010 - 12:36 AM

I'm surprised they are doing so well with the betta on patrol.

They seem to sink between the rocks when not stirred up. Today Mom was like, "I don't see them. I think he ate them all." and I was like, "Stir the tank" and she did and there were lots of them left. He can't get to them when they're between the rocks (betta's mouths face upwards).

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#8 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 25 December 2010 - 01:20 AM

Oh my goodness - I had an infestation of those things once, and they killed everything! i recommend total sterilization immediately. With full-strength Clorox. That means fish, bowl, gravel...all of it. Immediately. Are you still reading this? Bring out the Clorox!! This very minute!!! Google it - you will see! There is truth in my every remark. Google "worms of death".

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#9 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 25 December 2010 - 01:38 AM

Oh my goodness - I had an infestation of those things once, and they killed everything! i recommend total sterilization immediately. With full-strength Clorox. That means fish, bowl, gravel...all of it. Immediately. Are you still reading this? Bring out the Clorox!! This very minute!!! Google it - you will see! There is truth in my every remark. Google "worms of death".

lol

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#10 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 26 December 2010 - 08:46 AM

He can't get to them when they're between the rocks (betta's mouths face upwards).

Therefore the solution is.... Notorus (you pick the species but I like tadpole madtoms)...and now we can get your mom into native fish!

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#11 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 27 December 2010 - 12:44 AM

Clorox, I says.

Edited by Irate Mormon, 27 December 2010 - 12:44 AM.

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#12 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 27 December 2010 - 02:38 PM

Naidid worms are probably in all tanks in small numbers, but most folks with small fish dont notice them until they're cleaning gravel, thinning plants, or if there'e excess food and you get a bloom of them. If you keep big messy fish you'll see Naidids more often. I thought about baby blackworms too, but I think they are red-brown even when tiny, and aren't these worms white?

Thank you!
I looked those up and it seems like those are earthworms and blackworms and whatnot. They don't appear to be parasitic. Do you think we should leave them in the tank?

And a second question, could those be baby blackworms? It might be possible that I captured some of the young blackworms from my water and took them over to her house. Because otherwise I have no idea how they got in her betta bowl.

Clorox: Nah - that just makes em tougher and bleach-resistant. You need to put the tank and all accessories in a kiln and fire it at 1200 degrees for three hours.

Edited by gerald, 27 December 2010 - 02:41 PM.

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#13 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 27 December 2010 - 05:37 PM

...aren't these worms white?

No, these worms are reddish brown. They move in a very strange spiral path, curling counterclockwise into a tight circle. It's easier to see in 480p.

Edited by EricaWieser, 27 December 2010 - 05:37 PM.

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#14 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 27 December 2010 - 09:43 PM

You need to put the tank and all accessories in a kiln and fire it at 1200 degrees for three hours.

Do they also become immune to Noturus predation?

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#15 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 28 December 2010 - 11:13 AM

OK then they could also be some sort of tubificid, dero, or blackworm relative. But my gut feeling is still Naidids. Under magnification (with backlight), most of the Naidids should have fairly long, visible bristles. The bristles on tubificids and lumbriculids (blackworm family) are very short, nearly invisible until you go to high mag.

Does CWU offer an Invertebrate Zoology class? Every engineer should know her bugs and worms!

No, these worms are reddish brown. They move in a very strange spiral path, curling counterclockwise into a tight circle. It's easier to see in 480p.

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#16 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 28 December 2010 - 03:22 PM

Does CWU offer an Invertebrate Zoology class? Every engineer should know her bugs and worms!

*shudders*

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#17 Guest_nativeplanter_*

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Posted 28 December 2010 - 08:40 PM

*shudders*

You shudder now, Erica, but I have a funny feeling that stream bugs are right up your alley. If you make it to the Virginia convention, we'll be sure to show you different kinds. I'll bring the dissecting scope!