General Care Discussion :: white worms

[blaydes]

Due to various things happening lately, I haven't really had a chance to clean out dobby's tank. A few days ago I saw these things in the brown algae on the side that looked like white dog hair. But once i looked closer I could see them moving. They are indeed worms of some kind, but i do not know what kind. I just saw the topic in urgent care of the white jumping bugs, but these dont jump. I even did a search and I cant find anything. I just cleaned the tank out a little while ago rinsing the rocks out with really warm water hoping to kill them. they are still floating in there, but so far they aren't moving.

[jenaero]

Sounds like planaria to me. Do a google search for 'planaria' to find out how to get rid of them. They're harmless but not very nice to look at. I had them in my fish tank and even after cleaning, drying for over a week and filling up again, they re-appeared. I have since given up on fish keeping so I don't know how to get rid of them. I think I read somewhere that they appear when there is excess food and crud in the bottom but I could be wrong.

[blaydes]

Ok, I will definitely look that up.Thanks!

[marisa]

Just do a good cleaning of the tank and the things inside it. They are caused by excess nutrients and debris in the water. If the water and tank isn't kept clean, they'll eventually just come back.

[blaydes]

yeah, im gonna keep it clean, im hoping the new algae fish will help.

[blaydes]

I took some of the worms to school in a container to show to my biology teacher, and she seems to thing that they are just regular worms. like the kind that your dogs and cats get. usually you can get medecine to give the turtle so they will leave, but ive never had the worms until i got the new algae fish. I've had my turtle for over a year.

[marisa]

Possible, I suppose. Given that you did say the tank hadn't been cleaned for a while, though, and from your description, it did sound like it could have been planaria. Did you have them in the tank prior to getting the algae fish (a pleco?) or after, I can't tell from your posts--two posts up, you said you hoped the new algae fish would help with the worms, but in your last post you said you never had the worms until you got the new algae fish. I don't understand which it is...

Turtles can have parasites/worms, especially if they're fed live food, and even more so if they're fed food like live goldfish. And depending on what the worm is, it is possible to treat them with an over the counter medication. Such medication will not work on all kinds of worms, though (and you'd have to determine the correct dosage). If the worms return even though you're keeping the tank and water clean, the best thing to do would be to take a stool sample to a herp vet and find out exactly what they are, and what the proper medication would be for them (it may be what your teacher thinks).

[blaydes]

Oh, I'm sorry for the confusion. We had another algae fish before the new one. It died because I fed it too much I think. Then it was attacked by a vicious turtle;)