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So recently, my turtle tank has experienced a boom of work like objects on the bottom and sIdes the the tank. So far I've rule out fly larva, and confirmed the presence of little 'cyclops' , I've searched everywhere for a helpful source on what these are.



I looked up Detritus and Planaria, but these things look like 'sleeves' that the works come out of and then go back in. The 'sleeves' being brown and flat, while the worm looks pinkish.

I've been doing frequent water changes, around 30% changes every week.

Note that this happened right after I took out my second filter for cleaning, which is a submersible .

Help appreciated, this has me a nervous wreck, they appeared suddenly without much warning.

Hard to tell, how big are those sleeves?

The picture shows them on a broken piece of cuttlebone, they vary in length.

And you haven't been using any live prey or plants? Those 'sleeves' could be the worms molting. Are the bodies segmented, because I'm thinking detritus worms?

Did you see the informational sticky on hitchhikers under general care ?

Yep , me to on detritus worms !

Any advice for the removal of midges ? They swarm my light and I see the stupid little larvae swimming around. I may bring in some guppies. Or would ghost shrimp also eat the larva?

The simplest way is to give more time and attention in doing regular scheduled maintenance , tank , filter , media , all. That's if you think it needs it or not. Lots of these issues start out microscopic , long before you can even see them . Also quarantine anything that you add to the tank ! A scrupulously clean habitat can prevent 80% of problems that can effect a turtle !
So you have detritus worms and now fly's (? midge's ) too ! Yes more time and attention to maintenance !

Clean everything, toss out the old filter media and let the empty tank and filter dry out for a couple of days. But finding out the source of these should be a priority.

Thanks for the advice, I did a huge cleanup, soaked the rocks and plants in a diluted bleach water solution, rinsed down the ceramic media, and took apart both filters, doing a thorough cleaning. No sign of the detritus worms ever since, I introduced nine ghost shrimps, two of which are pregnant, and shockingly enough, the turtle shows no interest in attacking them.