Urgent Care :: UGH! Worms/Parasites ?!?

[sweetgarbage]

Hello to all! It has been quite a while, but I need some help.

About a month ago I had seen many white worm like things in Dr. Jam's tank. I did a thorough cleaning, but I did not use a bleach solution. Today I have seen they have reappeared. I question if they are coming from inside of Dr. Jam since it has been a month since I have seen them.

I only see a few "swimming" in the water and I think some may be in some debris on the tank floor. They are small, white, but seem to have one darker end.

Should I try cleaning the tank, filter, and media with a bleach solution? Or should I just go ahead a make a vet appointment? Or both? And do you have to take a stool sample with you?

Also, does anyone know if you can buy new tubing for filstar xp3 filter. I am going to try and clean them but sometimes I think buying new tubing would be easier.

Thanks in advance everyone!
Jennifer & Dr. Jam

[sweetgarbage]

Now I see some small winged insects (some dead) floating in the water as well. They just seemed to have appeared (?) This is weird since I have the filter jet keeping the top of the water from being stagnant. Would these white things be larvae?

[steve]

If it is a parasitic, then you might be able to investigate it yourself if you have a stool sample. However, since they originally disappeared after a tank cleaning, I would think it may be fly larvae (stf, it's come up before).

If you capture some live worms in your tank, maybe you can isolate them to see if they continue to develop? If neither is able to provide conclusive evidence, then a vet visit with a stool sample would be a good idea.

[sublime1008]

Hey garbage,


I have been having the IDENTICAL problem for about a year now. Same thing, white worms with black heads, tiny winged insects, some dead, some floating in water (and I too have a canister filter)....I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING to get rid of them. EVERYTHING. I think they are drain flies, but I am unsure...if you ever figure out a way to get rid of them PLEASE TELL ME!!!

thanks

[staman]

Put a hood on your tank-- that will rule out the flies/worms getting into the tank from an external source.

Relocate you turts to a different setup. I would then empty the tank, clean it , refill it and put a 10%bleach solution in it. Ditch all the filters in your canister,clean that, etc.. Then run the tank with the canister on it for 2-3 days. There is no way any parasites/worms are gonna survive that.

[steve]

staman, 10% bleach is way too high. I'd use as little as possible if you have to, none is preferable. Do a search for it, and I think the answer will be about 2 oz. of bleach per gallon of water.

[marisa]

The 2 oz of bleach to a gallon of water is a less than 2% solution and should be fine for general disinfecting.