possum_chop Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 We've had troubles with fish health lately and going off a hunch, decided to take all the gravel out of the tank. WE FOUND THIS!! It's at least 10cm long and flat. What is it?? could this be the reason for our mysterious fish deaths???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 Looks like a polychaete, commonly called bristleworms. Theres only a few freshwater species but they are very common in marine. I wouldnt touch it as they have hairs that can irritate skin, but they are usually ok. If you want to avoid them coming into tanks, you can tip soda water over anubias on logs to flush them out. Thats where many of them hitchhike into tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saffa Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 That's interesting ..... do they hurt the fish at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum_chop Posted July 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 Thanks Donny, is it possible it would cause infection or be why my fish are dying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum_chop Posted July 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 A better image Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 I would say theres a 1% possibility it is the cause of injury or deaths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie-S/A-C Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 A better image [ATTACH=CONFIG]35225[/ATTACH] to me that looks like a common sand worm, is this a Salt water tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneself Posted July 1, 2013 Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 (edited) Harmless to fish. Unless really, really small and really, really slow. Actually really good clean up crew, shame they are on the menu in most tanks. Cant help with where it came from though, I'd guess rain or tank water. Edited July 1, 2013 by goneself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum_chop Posted July 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 It is a freshwater tank, we did purchase it second hand and it was setup as saltwater. In saying that, we did a full clean of both the tank and sump before putting any freshwater fish in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum_chop Posted July 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2013 We've had anubais in the tank.... we use tank water for each clean..... it could have come from anywhere. I'm bummed it's not nasty. Really hoped we'd found our mystery killer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
