# Help With First Aquarium! Worm Identification, New Plant Advice



## Deathwish238 (Dec 5, 2014)

Tank: 10 gal, Betta, 4 Cory Catfish, Play Sand Substrate, 1 Anubias Nana, Water Sprites, 42W 6500K CFL, Fluval C3 Filter w/ Sponge/Batting, 81 Degrees

Original Setup: 









Current Status:









*Does the betta, Ra, look healthy to you?* More pictures of him in link at bottom.









I've had this tank for over a year, it's my first aquarium. I do 10% water changes every 5-7 days. I let algae grow on the back wall only. I'm in the process of adding two more Anubias, Dwarven Hairgrass, and Myrio, my hope is that they will help give the Corys more cover, I am adding some driftwood for them too. The Corys are named Infinity, Ellipsis, Tweedledee, and Tweedledum. 

Found multiple worms while adding the new plants to my tank, no idea what it is! *Hoping it's a tubifex worm that is harmless? *










* Is it okay to plant an Anubias directly into the sand?
What Anubias species is the bigger one on the left? *
The longest branch is nearly 1' long!




























My water sprite withered away pretty badly into this thin hair like mass as can be seen in the pictures above. Ra seems to enjoy it nonetheless, but I miss when the water sprite looked more awesome and had serious roots. I did not use fertilizer, I'm hoping they will help. I picked up some Seachem Potassium and Phosphate for general ferts, I am picking up Seachem root tabs and Excel for the Hairgrass. 

*Do I need any other fertilizers for the water sprites or other plants? Any advice on a dosing schedule I should utilize? What caused my water sprite to wither?*

*Does growing hairgrass well need more light?*

More Pictures

Thanks for reading 

Edit: Status of tank after adding all plants:


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## n25philly (Dec 12, 2013)

A 10 gallon is too small for the type of corys you have. Only the dwarf varieties should be kept in a 10. It's really too small for the ones you have and they are a shoaling fish and are best in a school of a minimum of 6. If you are going to keep them in there more plants/hiding places will definitely be a big help. One of the oddities of fish, the more hiding places you give them, the less they will actually hide.

The tank looks like it's off to a nice start though


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## Deathwish238 (Dec 5, 2014)

n25philly said:


> A 10 gallon is too small for the type of corys you have. Only the dwarf varieties should be kept in a 10. It's really too small for the ones you have and they are a shoaling fish and are best in a school of a minimum of 6. If you are going to keep them in there more plants/hiding places will definitely be a big help. One of the oddities of fish, the more hiding places you give them, the less they will actually hide.


The False Juliis are the dwarf variety I believe, they haven't grown since I got them and are 1-1.5". I did want to get 6, but I don't think I can do more than 4 in this small of a tank without needing to do water changes twice a week minimum.

I plan to upgrade to a 30g tank late next year and will make the school of corys as large as possible.

A large part of why I'm turning the tank into a heavily planted tank is to help the corys. I know they need more hiding places as they are often in the corners.



n25philly said:


> The tank looks like it's off to a nice start though


Thanks


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## FewestKitten896 (Dec 13, 2013)

Corydoras pygmaeus, corydoras hastatus, and corydoras habrosus are the dwarf varieties. They max out at 1" or less.


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## Deathwish238 (Dec 5, 2014)

FewestKitten896 said:


> Corydoras pygmaeus, corydoras hastatus, and corydoras habrosus are the dwarf varieties. They max out at 1" or less.


From looking up pictures of those species, I don't think these Corys are any of those. I call these False Jullis because I'm pretty sure they're not real Jullis, but I'm not sure what they actually are species wise. I've uploaded some (from June, August, and October) pictures of them since there appears to be interest in them.

Maybe someone can help identify their species? I think I have two different types, and at least one, the larger one, Infinity, is female.

Album


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## FewestKitten896 (Dec 13, 2013)

Yeah those are false julii. The false julii are smaller than some cories but not considered a dwarf variety. I was just giving you a heads up on the species n25philly was saying would be a more suitable species for the size of tank. Nothing wrong with what you are doing though. Just plant heavy and regular maintenance.


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## Deathwish238 (Dec 5, 2014)

FewestKitten896 said:


> Yeah those are false julii. The false julii are smaller than some cories but not considered a dwarf variety. I was just giving you a heads up on the species n25philly was saying would be a more suitable species for the size of tank. Nothing wrong with what you are doing though. Just plant heavy and regular maintenance.


Cool, that is good to know. I appreciate the heads up.

Any thoughts about the worm I found?


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## FewestKitten896 (Dec 13, 2013)

Sorry, not very familiar with the worms of the freshwater aquarium.


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## Midnighttide102 (Oct 2, 2014)

Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri worm

There is a post under Substrate called What is digging up my substrate you should take a look at last page


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## Deathwish238 (Dec 5, 2014)

Midnighttide102 said:


> Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri worm
> 
> There is a post under Substrate called What is digging up my substrate you should take a look at last page


Oh cool, that is what they look like. So then, they're not harmful, and the fish eating them is probably fine too.

Should I bother trying to get rid of all of them? Seems like they may actually be good for the substrate?


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## Midnighttide102 (Oct 2, 2014)

They seem to disturb the substrate if your keeping plants I'd try to get rid of the worms not sure how good they are for the roots seems like they get pretty big to non of the fish your keeping is likely to eat a worm that size


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## Raith (Jun 27, 2014)

Very cute tank, good start.


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## javajive1981 (Feb 20, 2013)

I had s problem with those worms because they dug up the soil and caused water quality issues. If you don't have dirt then they might not be a problem for you.


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## Deathwish238 (Dec 5, 2014)

Raith said:


> Very cute tank, good start.


Thanks 



javajive1981 said:


> I had s problem with those worms because they dug up the soil and caused water quality issues. If you don't have dirt then they might not be a problem for you.


I see more of them now that I look out for them. They seem to mostly chill in the sand. I don't have any dirt and don't plant to get any either.



Midnighttide102 said:


> They seem to disturb the substrate if your keeping plants I'd try to get rid of the worms not sure how good they are for the roots seems like they get pretty big to non of the fish your keeping is likely to eat a worm that size


Can the betta be harmed by eating a 2-3" long worm?


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## javajive1981 (Feb 20, 2013)

I wouldn't have thought so. I imagine its the sort of thing they would eat naturally.


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## ropate (Jan 19, 2013)

I've had these worms before and no issues at all. My beta at the time slowly munched on em. 

Back to an earlier question about Anubias rooms going into the soil, this is a no. It won't fare very well. 

As for ferts, good call on your purchases, you may need seachem flourish for trace elements to complement the P and K you are adding. 
Looks like a good start.


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## Deathwish238 (Dec 5, 2014)

*Is a 42W CFL considered to be a high level of lighting for a 10 gallon tank?*

*Can the heater damage Myrio?*

*Ra appears to have a giant piece of poop stuck to him for the last day, it's rather worm like too lol but it's brown and not white so I think it's okay and not much to be worried about. Should I let it be and it'll come off as it does?*

The Flourish Tabs, Flourish Excel, and Flourish came in. I put in 3 tabs into the sand in a V like pattern. I gave doses of Excel and Flourish, just following the bottle's instructions.

Added more sand to the tank so now there's about 3"-4" of sand throughout. Uncovered a few more worms while going through the sand too.

Planted 4 of the pots of hairgrass, I have 2 more...but I don't think I really need them lol. Planted the Myrio also as individual stems, lost a few stems I think to being damaged from being too close to the filter and it getting sucked in. For my first time seriously planting, I'm quite happy with the result so far. Excited to see how it grows! The Corys are already much more active.


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