General Care Discussion :: small white worms in tank.....

[turtledudee]

liek the title says, they are attached to the glass about 1/4 of a centimeter above the water line, what are they! what do they do! they seem to live in groups of 3- 4.....

[marisa]

They could be something called planaria, which are harmless to your turtles even though they don't look nice. They are often due to leftover food and debris in the water. Hot water will kill them. Was the water level higher before?

[turtledudee]

whew.....yea, we got new carpet, and the guys were shrimpy, so they wanted me to lower the water level, i emptied about .... 20 gallons. then filled it up, then i guess my UVB light has evaporated some, good to know they arent harmful!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Is there any way you can post a picture? Some people have reported that they have had planaria (small white worms) in the tank from veggies. How long have you had your turtles? If you just got them, the turts might have had parasites from the pet store (may have lived in dirty water at the store). If you have had the turtles for a while, it might mean you need to do more water changes. Is the water cloudy for longer periods of time or always clear/clean? How big are the turtles?

Regardless of the situation, it sounds like the tank needs a good scrubbing. I know some people on the forum have mentioned scrubbing tanks (and filter) with bleach to kill any kind of a parasite/worm infection in the tank (make sure you rinse well too before the turts go back in).

Report back!

[marisa]

I asked because they're usually under water. Keeping the water cleaner would discourage them from appearing.

[turtledudee]

no pics (sorry) i've had them for about 4 months and i quarentined for 60 days... i do feed veggies heavily and do my water changes about once every 1 1/2 months since i now have storng filtration.