Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This morning I was giving my azureus their morning feeding, and I noticed these little white worms crawling around on the glass inside of the tank. They were about an inch long and very thin. So my question is what are they, and are they harmful to my frogs? If so what is the best way of getting rid of them?
Thanks in advance.
ADAM

Hey, don't trust me compleatelly, but if you don't get rid of these guys soon there is going to be an insect invation. I had the same problem. I bought a tank that had been sitting in the back of a class room for years with no lizard in it. It had silver fish and cob webs and a few cracks, but it was cheep so I bought it. I cleaned the tank, but I didn't clean this wood thing that cam with it. And all of a sudden I had an insect invation. These little whight things came out and they were IDed as larva (duh). They could be dangerous or not, but don't lisk it. Give the entire thing a super disinfecting, and do all the furnature. I may not be very reliable, but you need to get rid of them as if they were full grow insects. You never knoe, it may be some little but that will eat your arrow frog.

They're only whiteworms, they're fine in a tank. I'd be worried if you didn't have them, as they are great decomposers, are are usually always present in any dartfrog tank.

And if they are insect larvae, so much the better to add some spice to the frogs' diet. Frogs eat insects, not the other way around. There are myriads of different soil nematodes that live on decaying organic matter or fungi, so positive id would be difficult. If they aren't found around and burrowing inside the plant roots, or actively eating leaves, which would happen with a root nematode or other harmful insect larvae, they are probably harmless to plants as well.

There is a VERY, VERY remote possibility something like this could be a free-living rhabdidiform frog parasite, and I've had a recent discussion of this with someone who works in a zoo and has a bit of knowledge about frog parasites in Ranus and northern frogs, but nothing pertaining directly to darts. I've requested some literature on amphibian parasites and will share anything of interest I find in the future.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus
D. imitator
D. leukomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos (soon)