# Earthworm in my substrate?



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

I'm pretty sure earthworms would drown... But that thing looks like a root


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## BJRuttenberg (Apr 27, 2006)

I've had worms in my substrate. They look like mini-earthworms. It means your tank is healthy!


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## junko (Sep 9, 2011)

I pulled a leech out of my daughter's substrate! It was about 2 inches long when stretched out- I thought it was an earthworm too, at first.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Earthworms can live underwater as long as there is enough O2 in the water. They conduct respiration through their skin not their mouths. They do eventually have to "dry out" but can stay under for weeks. If you see him again I would pull him out if he is in fact an earthworm.


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## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

Probably is an earthworm that was in the dirt.


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## AesopRocks247 (Jan 15, 2010)

Saw him poking around in there. I'm gonna post a video for y'all to see.


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

While it is possible that an earth worm was somehow introduced to your tank, it is much more likely to be an aquatic flatworm which hitchhikes on plants. They range in color from white, brown, to reddish brown. There is also planaria, nemotodes, (sp?) and other types of aquatic worm like creatures.



> I pulled a leech out of my daughter's substrate!


Again, most likely an aquatic flatworm, not a leech.


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

This is an aquatic flatworm. Stretched out they look more flat, but when recoiled, they look more round, and younger ones are more round. They have a mouth that makes them look more scary, but they are completly harmless and make great fish food


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## fermentedhiker (Oct 28, 2011)

I had two earthworms pop up out of my dirt a week after setting the tank up. As was mentioned earlier they can survive underwater for weeks. I just plucked them out and threw them in the flower bed


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## AesopRocks247 (Jan 15, 2010)

Finally posted a video. I'm pretty sure it's an earth worm. The potting soil was sitting for a few months and there was a rip in the bag.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFze8lU6FUk&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

I found some earthworms in my tank a long time ago. Everyone told me that they were harmless. Here's the thread: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp-other-invertebrates/140637-aquatic-earthworms.html


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## SlammedDC2 (Jun 4, 2011)

I know when I put trout worms or night crawlers in my turtle tank they get real still after about 15 min and never move again. For some reason the turtle wont eat them till they die.


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## zackdmb (Nov 3, 2010)

That is not an earthworm. Its a leech.


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## AesopRocks247 (Jan 15, 2010)

How the hell would a leech get into my tank?


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## AesopRocks247 (Jan 15, 2010)

Better quality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRBzDv2Je_c&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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## zackdmb (Nov 3, 2010)

sorry i didnt realize you did not post the second photo...but after watching the video i see an earthworm and a leech or flatworm. As to how it got there...egg or baby on a plant, in the soil, who knows?


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

> That is not an earthworm. Its a leech.


Oh really? and you can identify it as a leech how?

The video doesn't help me any, its not much different than the photo. Pull it out of the gravel and see what happens. Earthworms can't really swim very well. They just fall to the bottom of the water. Flatworms can swim all over the place. Leeches just sit there.


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## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I had an earthworm in my tank for months. I just left it in there. When I broke my tank down to trade it, I found it and cut it up then fed it to my cray, which really enjoyed it.


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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

Earthworm poop r good for plants.
Good food plants.


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## zackdmb (Nov 3, 2010)

> That is not an earthworm. Its a leech. Oh really? and you can identify it as a leech how?


because flatworms are unsegmented worms, unlike leeches, which are annelids and have segmented bodies. that thing moving in the video clearly has a segmented body. Flatworms also move via cilia on the undersides of their body, leeches move like earthworms. Sorry you dont know everything.​


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