# Worms in my shrimp tank!!



## overgrown (Dec 30, 2015)

Hey all. Worms freak me out, although I feed lives ones to my betta since that's just about all the spoiled guy will eat. 

I've just found what looks like tubifex type worms in my shrimp tank. Thing is, I never put them in that tank. I've also found a ton of what looks like baby worms. I also have the clear twitchy wiggly tiny clear worms floating in the water. 

I want to get rid of them if possible, but obviously don't have any predators in the tank. It's just shrimp and otos. 

Any assistance would be great. 

BIG ol worm. I've spotted at least 3-4.









these line the front of the subtrate. They are wiggling slowly. 









Floaters in between rotala


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## ryanoceros (Jul 7, 2014)

My guess for the big one would be california black worms. The smaller ones on the glass should be detritus worms. If you have a betta in there the problem should take care of itself. Black worms poke their head out of the substrate to get oxygen, making them an easy target for fish.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Detritus worms are a sign of overfeeding. If you feed the shrimp less, the worms will disappear.


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## overgrown (Dec 30, 2015)

ryanoceros said:


> My guess for the big one would be california black worms. The smaller ones on the glass should be detritus worms. If you have a betta in there the problem should take care of itself. Black worms poke their head out of the substrate to get oxygen, making them an easy target for fish.


Hey nice to hear from you again. Unfortunately I have no real predators in the tank for fear of them wiping out my shrimp. I've got shrimp and otos, and some galaxy rasboras I just added. I've just been waiting for them to pop out, then I try to cut them with my scissors. I think I've taken some chunks out of them, not sure if they can regenerate.


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## jarvitron (Aug 6, 2012)

Those CPD's should eat some of them. I feed my shrimp in a petri dish so they get first dibs and the worms don't get crazy, but I definitely have them in my shrimp tank too. If you can harvest them your other fish will love them (siphon the substrate, let the water run through a fine net)


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Yeah those little ones are detritus worms. They are harmless. Why not add the betta to that tank to eat them up? Although a good amount will stay beneath the substrate, only coming up if oxygen levels are low. But as mentioned, overfeeding and dirty tanks are usually the cause.

Those big worms though I am not so sure. And I think it's wise to be cautious around worms you aren't sure of.

Anyone know what that big segmented worm (annelid) in the first pic is? That's no detritus worm. OP says they've seen at least 3 of them.


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## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

WaterLife said:


> Yeah those little ones are detritus worms. They are harmless. Why not add the betta to that tank to eat them up? Although a good amount will stay beneath the substrate, only coming up if oxygen levels are low. But as mentioned, overfeeding and dirty tanks are usually the cause.
> 
> Those big worms though I am not so sure. And I think it's wise to be cautious around worms you aren't sure of.
> 
> Anyone know what that big segmented worm (annelid) in the first pic is? That's no detritus worm. OP says they've seen at least 3 of them.


If that's a shrimp tank I wouldn't add a betta, they are notorious shrimp eaters. Those Celestichthys margaritatus will take a chunk out of the population of worms though.

Is this a dirt tank? They may have come in with the substrate and the population slowly grew over time with the help of uneaten food.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Oh, completely spaced out on this thread. Forgot about the shrimp being there and him having Celestial Pearl Danios (no longer considered Galaxy Rasboras, just call em' CPD's for short).

Yeah, the CPD's should eat the detritus worms. But as mentioned, detritus worms would probably hide in the substrate so they will not fully be gotten rid of. The detritus are no harm to anything though so they are a appreciated source of live food.

Over feeding and rather dirty tanks are the main cause of detritus worms. Usually most say, cutting back on feeding the worms will die off (not sure about the big ones though).

And as mentioned, if the substrate was collected yourself, the big worms might have come from that (I've never heard of those big worms naturally growing out of no where in aquariums).

But for what it's worth, many people have kept Bettas with shrimp with no issues (they might still eat the tiny babies), and it's true many others have had Bettas hunt down every shrimp. It all depends on the individual betta's personality. But yeah, disregard my recommendation for this case, since you already have CPD's that should gobble up the detritus worms.


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## overgrown (Dec 30, 2015)

WaterLife said:


> Oh, completely spaced out on this thread. Forgot about the shrimp being there and him having Celestial Pearl Danios (no longer considered Galaxy Rasboras, just call em' CPD's for short).
> 
> Yeah, the CPD's should eat the detritus worms. But as mentioned, detritus worms would probably hide in the substrate so they will not fully be gotten rid of. The detritus are no harm to anything though so they are a appreciated source of live food.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the replies. I've got a second tank for my betta, I'll probably throw in some more RCS in with him. I've already got 3 and he ignores them. I've seen him look straight at them, swim up to them, and then swim off. 

As far as the detritus worms, I'm not worried about them whatsoever now that I know what they are. Don't really know how the big worms happened as I use eco-complete. I think they must have hitched a ride in the rock wool on some new plants that I picked up from the LFS. He keeps tubifex worms. He also keeps angels in the huge tank that he keeps the plants in. I'm guessing he feeds the tubifex, and some get away and dig into the rock wool. 


Everyone has quelled my fears. Thanks for all the info folks. :smile2:


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## Chlorophile (Aug 2, 2011)

Just cut back on feedings - you've got a lot of food going uneaten and they are just cleaning up.. 
Dont ask me how they get in there but my guess is the eggs are freaking tiny and on everything, plants, in fish stomachs, etc.


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