Urgent Care :: worms?!? what the hell

[Newbieish]

so i was doing the usual cleaning for my 2 RES.
got them in 2 separate tanks.
I go to clean out the filter in one of them and i see these thin, red things in the sponge of the filter

when i start to wash it out it looks something like worms?!?!

what r they and how did they get there ???

i threw away the sponge and carbon and replaced them immediately

[marisa]

Do you have any live plants in the tank? If so, it's possible they came in with them. Having excess/leftover food in the tank can also encourage them. Or, they could be from your turtles.

In addition to replacing the media, it would have been good to clean the tank and filter well and change the water. Then see if they come back.

How big is the tank, how much water is in it and how often is it cleaned and the water changed?

[Newbieish]

i replaced everything in the filter. The tank and filter were cleaned as well

The tank is about a 30 gallon tank and is filled bout one-third of the way.
The tank is cleaned bout once a month. The same for the water change.

I read somewhere that u shouldnt change all the water at once when u're cleaning it.
usually i jus siphon the dirt and other loose particles out after adding clean water.
Do that bout 3 times to clean it out as best as possible

[theartbook35]

You need to start cleaning your tank bi weekly then, since you only fill a third of the tank with water.

I personally like changing all the water at once because I want to prevent bacterial growth as much as possible, and fresh clean water isn't going to hurt the turtle.

Also, it's not unheard of for reptiles to have parasites. If you see the "worms" again after several cleanings, I would visit the local vet and see if there is something you can do to get rid of the "worms".

If you have a picture of the worms that could also help us identify what they are and what they may be coming from.

[Newbieish]

thanks for the response

i removed the river rock in one of the turtle's tanks since i noticed that a good bit of the turtle's waste was settling under and around the back of the rock that was against the glass.
I also realised that these red worms, or whatever they are, were going after the fecal matter or whatever debris from food that was in the tank

so i am trying to clean it more regularly and also got a new filter for one of the tanks.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

By anychance did these red worms look like this?

http://images.whatsthatbug.com/images/bloodworms.jpg

[ILUV_Rocky]

I found thin (very thin) and long white worms. Are those like the ones you got? Does anyone know what this is. Im thinking of getting rid of all the stuff in the tank, like his baskcing platforms, and the media inside the filter.

[marisa]

This would be better as a separate thread...the worms above were red.