Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have an exoterra self contained waterfall in one of my vivariums.the pump got clogged this week so i figured id do a partial water change in order to try and clear some of the debree out and maybe help it flow a little better.upon inspecting some of the water i drew out,i noticed these very tiny,white worms squirming around in the water.any idea what the hell these things are??im worried about my animals drinking this water and becoming infected with some type of worm.please someone give me an idea what these things are,where they came from,how to get rid of them and if they can harm my animals.they are very small and almost invisible to the naked eye,almost.thanks.

They aren't parasites, probably harmless, and at the worst, a bit annoying. Is this your snake tank with live plants, or one you are setting up for darts? Not that this makes a lot of difference. There are so many little critters that show up in a planted vivarium, one has to learn just to ignore all but those that might be doing some obvious physical damage--like slugs and snails. I even ignore slugs and snails except to pick them off the glass and plants when I see them. The little worms could be about anything from tiny beetle or insect larvae to springtails. Do they flip around at all? Springtails swim around and then leap like bits of popcorn. They aren't really at all worm-like, however. They are not only harmless, but good soil organizers and great dart food. You will get all sorts of "stuff" in a planted vivarium. Nature takes its course, and they are a part of the balance you want to achieve. Soil and water critters will come and go, as do molds and fungi. You don't have to take down your entire tank, sterilize (or sanitize, is a better term,) and start over every time an unknown "worm" crops up, or you would be doing it on a weekly basis. That would totally destroy the concept of a natural tank planted with living plants.

It's impossible to identify every critter we see unless we are entomologists and have the physical faculties to do so. If the animal you have in the tank is initially healthy, it will remain so as long as the conditions of humidity, temperatures, food and vitamins are right for it.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

i did some searching and i am pretty sure these are some sort of roundworm or nematode.i forget the type,but the description of a sort of nematode that lives in slow moving water and wet soil,kinda matches what i have pretty good.they swim in an "S" pattern and kinda with spastic movements.they are only really swimming when i disrupt the water while sucking some out,and when i watch the collection jar,they all seem to be floating to the bottom and not really doing much swimming.it says that they can live in water,but are more at home in mud and very wet soil.i have read that some of these nematodes eat springtail eggs,fungus gnat eggs and other small soil dwelling creatures as well as decomposing material.just when these guys popped up,my fungus gnat infestation seemed to go away and i havnt seen one in a couple days.still plenty of springtails but just not as many.im thinking that these had something to do with it and if thats correct about eating fungus gnats,well,then they are a welcome addition.so patty,im assuming that you have never seen these??have you ever looked??if not then i would really love for you,when you have a chance,suck up a bit of water from one of your waterfalls ,in a clear bottled water bottle,and hold the bottle up to the light.can you see any???like i said i dont get them when i just collect the water,i have to stir up the bottom first.i would love to hear from someone else who has these.it would settle my mind a little.thanks again patty,

I had tiny worm similar to what youre describing in the water of my dart frog vivarium about 2 months after i set it up. When i asked an aquarium guy at Preuss pets about it he said it was a common problem that can result from over feeding. I have a netherlands-style vivarium with about 6 inches of water in the bottom. I have been careful to skim drowned flies out of the water and i dont really see the worms anymore.

Another thing it might be is Planaria, from the class Turbellaria. These are free living flat worms that come in a variety of colors. I know when I worked at a fish store many people had this problem with their tanks (they were over feeding). They also do occur in nutrient rich environments. They are not harmful but in a fish tank the over feeding was harmful. They could also be nematodes liveing in the nutrient rich environment. I have noticed nematodes in my Dart tanks but have never seen them as a problem. Can you describe them a little better? And as far as I remember paracitic nematodes are in adult form mainly inside a host, and they exit as eggs --> becomeing larva on reinjestion. Do know that free living Nematodes are decomposers and releasers of nutrients, so they'll probaibly do more good then harm.

yea i originally thought they mey be planaria,but the description and photos i saw,have these guys shaped more flat than what i have.mine are more rounder like very tiny earthworm shaped.now keep in mind they are super tiny.you really have to strain your eyes to see them.they are white.i really have no other way to describe them other than the fact that they swim in an s pattern but dont really swim.they just kinda make that s pattern while they are slowly drifting down to the bottom and only surface when i disrupt the water.

the thing that bothers me is that everything i read about worms in water,say that its a problem with too much nutrients in the water and thats how you get rid of them(cleaning the water).its my waterfall and nothing is in the waterfall but water that i change very often.the problem is that its an exoterra waterfall and if anyone if familiar with them,youll know that it goes together in two pieces and there is a gap.packed around this gap is moss and soil,so they can be crawling into the waterfall through this gap.dont really know how to fix this problem and all the nuitrients they can ever need are in this soil/moss.none really in the water but they dont seem to mind.maybe they are living in the soil and breeding in the water.

These are also found in damp/wet soil. It is possible that they are coming from the soil and colonizing the waterfall.

Ed