General Care Discussion :: Short White Worms

[csmiley]

Just wondering if anyone has seen this. On the bottom of my tank there are quite a few small white worms. I saw a couple on the side of the tank and they were moving (that is how i know they are worms). They are maybe 1/16th" or 2/16" long. I did a full water change and they came back within 4 days. Now there are quite a few (at least enough for me to be concerned). I looked thruough the forum posts and found 1 post with next to no information. That post mentioned planaria but what is in my tank is too tiny to make any identifications. Also my turtle eats his own poop and it usually only takes him about 5 - 6 seconds to do so. That makes it difficult to determine if that could be the source.

My main quetions are 1) has anyone seen this 2) what is it 3) is it harmful 4) and what is the best way to get rid of it?

I take care of my little guy according to the directions on this site - water quality, temps, diet, etc... So care of the turtle is a non-issue.

Thanks

[turtleman123]

do you have a filter

[csmiley]

Yeah - filter, heater, thermometer, heat lamp, uv light, basking area , plastic plants, river rocks. The set up follows guidelines set forth on this site.

[megcornell]

Worms are never really a good thing to have in your tank. If your turtle has a parasite that can really affect his health and growth. I'm not too familiar with worms, I've never dealt with them myself, but I think the ideal thing to do is to get a sample of the worms, and of your turtles stool if possible and get it tested and then get the correct dewormer.
Have you bought any live fish or plants lately for the tank? A lot of times parasites latch on to plants or come in fish... if you have, I'd not buy anymore from that source for a while.
After you collect a few worms to get tested, I'd clean the tank out using dilute bleach to kill any larvae or worms in the filter etc. But chances are they might be coming from your turtles stool, so it may be a losing battle.

[csmiley]

I do agree that any worm is a bad worm. I am in the process of setting up the vet appt and looking for stool samples . I would rather play it safe and nip this issue in the bud than risk problems in the future. But...I am interested if anyone else has dealt with this.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Recently I had a small planaria outbreak in all my tanks (I have a frog tank & Sheba's turtle tank). Planaria are very tiny thin white "worms" that look like small "lines" on the bottom of the tank. They appear when there is uneaten food in the tank. They aren't particularly harmful for turtles or frogs but can aggravate fish by getting in the gills, making the fish itch.

It's the first time I have ever experienced this, but I immediately changed the water & bleached everything in sight. They haven't reappeared since. One thing that helps is keeping a few guppies in the tank to help eat any leftover food. My frog benefits wonderfully from this tactic since he doesn't eat the fish.

In your case, it is a great idea to have a stool sample tested, just to make sure the worms aren't coming from your turtle.

The other thing I do for Sheba is feed her in a separate container of water rather than in her tank. It works great at keeping her aquarium more clean. I can't do it for the frog (he's got slimy skin that is hard to grip so I don't touch him unless I need to), but that's where the guppies & a few extra water changes come in.

[Bumby's Mom]

Just take a fecal (or some of the worms if you can get them out) and have them tested and get the proper meds. I personally would clean the tank with bleach. My vet told me to do a 1:9 ratio (bleach is one part water is 9) and just to make sure you rinse it out very well after you have cleaned it.

[csmiley]

Thanks Industrial Girl...That sounds exactly like my situation. And thanks for all the others who posted.

Since planaria are a non parasitic flatworm and there is no sign of them coming from my turtle (yet) that does make me feel a little better.
I'll bleach everything down tonight. Keep an eye on it. Then when the time comes for the vet visit in a couple days, if the worm problem goes away, I can just have a chekup done.

Of course, if any one else has additional information / experience with these little rascals, I'd like to hear about it.

[SpotsMama]

You might get a stool sample checked anyway as long as you are at it. It isn't expensive.

There were worms in Spot's tank once. They were very tiny and bright red. I think they were fly larvae from eggs that had come inside with Spot when I brought him inside to his aquarium for the winter. I understand these kind of worms are the same as the bloodworms that are sold as turtle treats. I think Spot ate them. I never treated for them and after about two months they were all gone and never came back. I think all the eggs had hatched and none of the larvae made it to the fly stage so no more eggs ever got laid.

I did get a stool sample checked just to be sure there was nothing lurking and it came back clean.

[RESCHIU]

this might be a stupid question, but if there's no worm inside the tank, does it mean my turtle doesn't have worm also? My turtle never have worm before so I'm not qute sure if seeing worm inside the tank has anything to do with the health...

[SpotsMama]

I think a turtle can have worms even if you haven't seen any in the tank. It may be that they just haven't come out yet (like a tapeworm) or they may be too small for you to see or there may not be very many of them (yet).

And, on the other hand, just because you see worms in the tank it doesn't mean the turtle has parasites. Some worms (like planaria) have nothing to do with turtles.

[csmiley]

Yep...stool sample with the check up. Maybe even a full physical (*cough cough*). That will give me a reason to get away from work for a few hours. Now...if I could just find some stool.

[csmiley]

Update: Just in case anyone else has to deal with this...

Bleached the tank and everything in it. Almost 2 days later and...planaria seems to be gone!!!
I do have to deal with new tank syndrome but that is a minor inconvenience (compared to worms anyway).

[DavidY]

Thanks for the update. Hope you don't have to deal with all that hassle again!

[Bumby's Mom]

Thanks for the update, I am now having an outbreak as well and plan on bleaching today.