[JosephM]

I look at my tank multiple times a day and today I noticed a complete outbreak of white worms and hydra. I have planaria zero coming in for the hydra but I don’t know if the worms are planaria or detritus worms because my eye can’t decipher those little worms. Any tips on why this happened or what worm it could be. I feel like everything that could be going wrong is going wrong. It’s cycling so only waste being produced is from decaying plant matter, and snail poop. The pics of them floating is after a 50% water change. Thank you

 

[Blue Ridge Reef]

My eyes aren't good enough to tell if they are planaria or rhabdocoela, but planaria zero should take care of either. Hang in there, the first few months are often not pretty. As for how they got there, likely came in on your plants. If you plan to keep shrimp in there, might be worthwhile to medicated dip new plants.

 

[AVN]

Patience is key in this hobby, and no chemicals can substitute for good practices.

In my experience those small white worms are harmless. They live around the roots of plants in the substrate level and don't really bother anything. Planaria are distinctly shaped, flat with a broad head, they are much bigger than those worms.

Like Blue Ridge mentioned, in the future it might be worthwhile to do medicated dips or even to quarantine new plants in another tank for a few days if you want to avoid hitchhikers. I tend to avoid dosing the entire tank with medicine unless absolutely necessary as it can upset the balance in the tank.

Also if you look carefully you can see a clutch of snail eggs hanging to one of the leaves of your wisteria.

 

[JosephM]

I won’t be adding much more plants but just for the future how do I do a medicated dip?