Worm ID please

[ronj]

i have tons of small worms that have appeared lately.they aren't bristle worms.they are tiny and move very fast. at night, they are visible swimming in the water . actually, they just swirl or squirm around in the water. are these bad worms. i noticed they have been eating my plant leaves. they are on them during the day

 

[returnofsid]

Any way of posting a picture of these "worms?" Maybe a bit more description would help as well. Are they long, short...what color? It actually sounds like it might be Mysid Shrimp. If so, they GREAT!!

 

[ronj]

the smaller ones are about 1/4 inch. some of the largest ones are maybe 3/4 to an inch. they are very tiny, maybe about the diameter of fishing line . they look white when you look from far away. if you look up close, they are dark with white rings . i can't see them in the pics, they are too small.

 

[returnofsid]

Hmmm 3/4" is pretty big for Mysis shrimp...atleast I think..lol. So they're not crawling around on the rock or sand but swimming freely in the water huh? Let me find the "hitchhiker ID" pages I've used in the past and I'll post a link to them for you in a bit.

 

[sharks]

The only worms I have seen swimming in the water column are peanut worms.
Here is a quick link...
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=sipunculid
Try a Google search. I had them in my tank for years. At night they would slink out of a hole in the LR and take a mouthful of sand. Interesting to watch when they slink out. The can reach pretty far from their hole to feed.
If they are peanut worms they are safe to have in there.
HIH
~S

 

[ronj]

they do crawl on the rocks, but at night some of them are floating around in the tank. i don't know if they are being blown around or if they are swimming on purpose

 

[gloo]

Ronj, did you ever figure out what these worms are? I just happen to notice these fast swimming guys in my tank after the lights went out.

 

[Damsel13]

I had a TON of just what you are describing when my tank was off kilter ( stirred up the deep sand bed after 10 years {there were no fish at the time}they died after awhile and I sucked out most of the sand along with them. I mean a couple of hours after the lights went out there were thousands swimming around...aand then there were the bristle worms... oh thats another story. Sorry. Good luck.