How To Get Rid Of Worms In Fish Tank Aquarium | Detritus & Planaria 

"It's disgusting, it's upsetting, and it's depressing, but we are going to kill them." I don't know why, but I burst out laughing at the line.

Lori’s Hartland: Girl, you spoke 500000 words for 18 minutes... Amazing...

Woke up this morning to these and im pissed. NEVER had these before i guess here we go with this now......

"Your Welcome to keep your worms if you love them " - Lori 🤣🤣🤣

She says "disgusting" while her fish are thinking, "Free Food!!".

Detritus worms are in my husband's cichlid tank. I have actually heard it is common and they tend to hide in the gravel. They actually eat waste and only multiply if there is too much waste. I had them in my snail tank before I transferred them to a bigger tank. Fish can actually eat the detritus worms. More frequent cleaning and not overfeeding the tank helps eliminate detritus worms. I freaked out when I first saw the worms, but hearing from people, I relaxed. I haven't seen any since I did a full water change and cut back on feeding....

As a kid/teenager I had freshwater fish. Since becoming an adult, I've only kept saltwater. So it's been a while for me. I recently set up a 3 gal planted Betta tank. Not long after I added the newest plant I started seeing detritus worms. I had the exact same reaction as you. I was like Oh NO NO NO. Not in this house... I removed fish and plants, drained tank into large pot and boiled the water. I dumped that then boiled a fresh pot of salt water to pour over gravel. They hate salt water. Pretty sure they don't like it boiling either.. I did this 5 times before rinsing thoroughly and replacing everything. I may have gone overboard. 😂

my betta love the detritus worms...stir up substrate and he has a nice treat

🐛FACTS 🐛 This Video took 5 days to film & edit. 🐛 I have been doing the best I can with my “test” tank & I can’t believe how hard it’s been lol. 🐛I’m sorry this video is so long but I feel this is an important thing to educated on. 🐛 so far I haven’t seen a single worm since🤞🏼 🐛 I have more videos coming very soon, I PROMISE. I just wanna say. I know that I’ve posted a lot of tank/snail/Tadpole etc. videos lately but it’s truly been consuming my daily life lol. I will of course be making more videos as always since I post 3-4 times a week, but for those who have been watching, supporting & rolling with me through my journeys I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH. I’ve been so beyond stressed bc I’m trying so hard, I research so much, I have spent so much money, trying to get this right, I got snails, so I bought & set them up a full tank, now worms lmao it’s been a learning exp. for sure! I’m hanging in there & Patrick has been my rock, helping me lol. I have a video with ALL my pets coming FRIDAY & I’m SO READY. I know you all are too! I just wanted to write this here bc I love you all & it means so much that y’all have been SO supportive with the flow of my channel & the flow I’ve been doing lately & I see y’all! Thanks for watching & supporting! I will see y’all In a couple days!!! 💗💗💗

Thank you. I knew i was still sane. I fed my tank and went to work. Came back the next day and i was thinking i must have badly overfed with all the "muck" on the glass... But for some reason i decided to look closer and realized those things were moving. They definitely came had to of come off a plant i put in my tank.

I don't want to be the one to tell you this, but at 12:07 one of the Planaria went up your wrist and forearm... (';')( ';')... seriously though, these are fascinating composters, and learning more about them may help reduce some of your stress. Or, it could magnify your worm-based anxiety. I enjoyed this video, thank you. They are tiny miracles.

Btw youll be ok, my 20 gal had these worms covering it, literally wayy more than you have here, im talking thousands of them. I started feeding my animals about 1/3 as often and cleaned it every 2 days and within a week or two they were almost all gone.

Omg, there is a bug Why is there bugs? PATRICK **can relate**😂😂

That is what I’m looking at in the glass of my tank thank you.....

😮I didn’t realize you had to cover the tank when fixing the tank!??

I have phobia to all kind of worms so this will do nice when I finally get rid of them !

I stumbled across your video and noticed you have the same problem that I have been dealing with for months. Luckily you actually do not have detritus or planaria worms. What you have are nematodes which are a cause of overfeeding your tank. If your fish do not eat all of the food and some of it falls to the bottom of the tank these worms develop to help eat the rest of the food. I have tried so many things to get rid of them but they are actually beneficial to your tank in small numbers. If the numbers grow larger, then it becomes an issue. I hope this helps answer your problem and I really admire your tank. :)

Hello Lori, some worms are actually beneficial and means your tank is cycling well. Though I do understand the worry of having worms or some alien in your tanks, and I don't know all the types of worms in tanks. Having a leopard gecko I get really worried of the possible parasites and mites, so I know how worried and stressful it can be.

Planaria and nematodes are not uncommon while you are cycling, basically because they have plenty of food and no predators. For this reason they are common in shrimp tanks too. They normally disappear once you introduce fish.

"putting my hands in worm water"......too much. XD

When you do water changes try kinking the hose to drop the gravel 👍🏼

Oh wow! You have had so much trouble with this tank so far. I'm wishing you the best of luck with this journey. Hopefully things will start to get better now!

I'd probably just ignore them. With things like these worms, or even some pest snails, they tend to "explode" and then die off eventually. When I started one of my tanks I had a bunch of bladder snails that hitchhiked on the plants, and then they just disappeared after a while. Same with planaria. I did end up with trumpet snails, and they never disappeared, but I'm not mad about it. I think they're really cool. I always worry about putting things in a tank to kill things, unless its a necessary medication. I'm always afraid that it'll mess something up, whether it be the plants, the fish, or the cycle. lol

I needed this video so bad!! I spent hours a day researching on how to get rid of these worms!! My tank that was still cycling got infested with them. I was about to give up because I just recently had a tank collapse because of planaria and detritus worms. I wish I would of found this sooner. Thanks!!

I did not know worms could exist in a fish tank. But I have had snails.... I’m enjoying your fish tank videos and hope you keep doing them. I am learning from you so I will have knowledge for my next fish tank. Hang in there! You’re doing great. I had frustrations with my past tanks as well. But things will get better and easier over time.👍

Ugh! I found worms in my tank today and freaked out! Your video was so helpful! Thank you!

Did you take the fish out of the tank? Ugh!! I feel you, I found some today for the first time! All I could think was I put my hands in there! Now I feel itchy everywhere!

Ammonia and Nitrite bloom caused the worms to come out. They are in every tank, it is part of the echo system. My Aquarium Store suggested me to do a complete gravel wash in tank water, dump out all dirty water. Leave the same tank filter in, yes it probably has worms, badly needed bacteria is in the filter. Cleaned gravel and tank furniture back in tank and add dechlorinated water. Run at least 15 min before adding all life back into tank. Treatment: Bacteria according to the bottle for a week, bring a sample of Tank Water in for testing. Yes the tank will go through cycle with pets inside, gradual and low enough for them to survive. My neon fish is the indicator something is wrong gasping for air at top of tank. I will keep an eye on him. Other than Chlorine Prime and Healthy Bacteria, I choose not to medicate my tank. Water looks so clean no signs of worms, all pets are moving in harmony no stress.

Most nematodes are harmless. My cichlid fries thrive on these detritus worms. I actually make sure to maximize feeding for the parent cichlids to maximize the poop output to feed the worms, which feed the fries. Much simpler than hatching brine shrimps. I wish for more worms when there are baby fries around. Sometimes I stir up gravel to release worms hiding in the mulm. But as one of the songs from the Greatest Showman soundtrack laments, there is "Never Enough" worms for my fries. (It does take some discipline in maximizing feeding and not overfeed, and make sure you have a well cycled filter that can handle the nitrite.) I do admit my cichlids are hardy though. They are convict cichlids. ( I just heard Jaws theme song being played.). Welcome to the hobby. May it bring you much joy.

I really can feel you. In my case, it is the same, first weeks of cycling and A LOT of problems...

Who told you planarians cling? Planarians aren't parasitic, and while they can be carnivorous, they wouldn't pose a threat to adult fish.

Thank you for this video, I’m currently cycling my tank to get it ready for fish. I put in some live plants and ended up with nuisance snails (which I was prepared for) and then the worms! Even with all the research I’ve done to try to get rid of them it’s helpful to find a video about it.

I just found detritus worms in my tank after a water change, disgusting but I keep them now cause they benificial in a way

Both detrius and planaria are NOT harmful to your fish. They are actually super beneficial and act as clean up crews. They are most likely there most of the time, but if ypu see a lot all of a sudden it usually signals too much leftover waste or poor oxygen. Sooo cycling your tank creates ammonia spikes and nitrate spikes temporarily (which is normal) but ammonia for example means poor oxygen which means the worms may come out of the substrate and then are noticed. A controlled amount (u dont see many) is a good thing. Overcleaning will sometimes re-cycle the tank starting the whole process and worm appearances over again. Hope that helps! Dont stress! also plants are incredibly beneficial in a tank and would not steer away from using them because of worm fears. Good luck!

Daymn, this gal can talk...good luck Patrick

I just wanna say... What a great video! Thank you for this! Im currently cycling a 50g and I just saw these worms everywhere and kinda freaked a little. I live in a hot city inside a hot country (Brazil) and I remembered seeing a mosquito over my tank a few days ago... I thought they were larvae! Thank you!! The only thing that still bugs me, is how resistant they are to ammonia. Im using pure ammonia instead of fish food...

I just had this problem, well... my way is a little bit extreme, firstly... i took all the fish away together with live plants then i pour a hot water (just boiled) into the aquarium, u ll see all the death worm floating, just leave it, let it soak for 1 hour then do 100% water change 🙂

I had this problem (even thousands of them) then I tried checking for solutions online when I came across your video. I was about to medicate my tank but I wanted to do it as naturally as possible. Medicine will be my last option. I wondered why I didn't have any worm with my previous smaller tank when I only had a betta and 2 Corydorys. Unfortunately, my Corys died in the process of transfering/transplanting them to a bigger tank without isolating my fishes (big mistake!!!). Only the betta fish survived. Long story short, I tried maturing/cycling my new tank for a month with just 1 female betta. That's because I also wanted to wait and grow my plants from seeds and a couple of plants bought from the pet shop, etc before I iintroduce more fishes. To my surprise three weeks after, there were thousands of them all over the glass and like you said, they were very disgusting it bothers me knowing there are worms on my tank! So I went to the pet shop, bought me 6 guppies, 12 tetras, 3 corydorys. After 1 day, problem solved! I couldn't see a single worm on the glass! I have a 25 gallons tank. 80cmx40cmx30cm dimension. Just incase someone out there has the same problem and looking for a better solution. Enjoy your Tank!

Omg, this is such a plague in my life. You are so relatable with your hate speech about these worms, I hope everything goes right for us

Hi Lori how are you doing today fine I hope. Well not so fine because I see you have worms. I really don't like worms to. I'm so sorry you are having so much trouble with your 🎏 tank. It would be worth it in the end. I really was thinking about getting some 🎏 to but I didn't realise how much hard work it is. I'm redecorating my home and I've had lots of downs and some ups well more downs really. And I really felt like giving up. But I'm carrying on with it because I know it would be worth it in the end. So I can get my 🐈 well I really hope what your doing does the trick. With the worms. You have so many people rooting for you I'm included well take real good care of yourself and your pet's and lots of love from Jackie and Beauty bye for now love Jackie xxxx

you helped alot. its that agitating feeling and grossness of getting those worms out. i HATE changing tank water because of it. i will update you! i have done my research

I do have Detritus Worms & this video helped me a lot.....& honestly i do need to cut back on the feeding😣..... Anywhooo i freaked when i saw worms in my tank while i was siphoning out the water😨🤮🤢🤯

All you have to do to get rid of them is get 4-6 white cloud minnows. They will eat the worms.

Great job sticking with your tank cycling!! These worms sound like a pain.. I'm learning a lot about cycling though!

I just put a small guppy in my tank and let them eat away then moved the guppy out

You’re awesome I just want to say that bcuz I have done a lot of research for my tanks and fish and you always pop up with a video for it 😆 so thank you! Have a great day and please tell bagel bite I said hello ☺️

Yep I have these exact worms all over my tank! They are everywhere! I did a big water change but it didn’t seem to decrease them.

Fry will devour them in 4 days after they hatch. No worries. I saw a lot of my kirin phoenix tail lionchu fry eating detritus, looked so yummy.

When I first saw that nasty things in my gravel I didn't know wth they were .now I'm so sick yuck.

Thank you thank you thank you! I cant stress enough how thankful?i am for this video! You are awesome. I was ready to throw the whole tank out.

I recently purchased a few guppies & noticed they seem to love those worms 🪱😀

Looks like a cycling tank with plenty of natural food🧡

I found your video after finding a couple of these in my 5gal I’m cycling... right after I found a baby snail in it. There’s nothing but plants in there. I am so mad lol.

My worms came from my moss balls! I see you have them too!

Why can't you directly start with the solution

I never had worms in my betta tank until I got a moss ball because I thought it would be good to get on e for the tank... but nope! Now I have ditritius worms

"Oh my God there's a bug. Why are there bugs? ......Patrickkkk-" Haha, that had me chuckling

One thing I've learned about nature is that even when you think you got em all they are never really gone.

11:25 thank the Lord .. Lots of talk more action.. But very informative.. Thank u

really enjoyed watching your video. like you i am in the middle of cycling my new tank and all was ok upto about a week and a half. then i noticed algae everywhere so i did a bit of a clean with the algae and i'm going to do a water change in the morning. then tonight whilst looking in the tank I saw all these tiny worms wriggling everywhere and ended up here so thanks for your advise and video. I have no fish yet but intend getting some when the aquarium is cycled. I'm a first timer so not even sure if i am cycling the tank correctly. Hopefully will get there eventually it's a challange for me and thats what I find appealing. anyways thanks for your video. Phil

Thank you SO much for this video 😭 Im trying to cycle my first tank right now and EVERYTHING is going wrong. Algea outbreak, worm outbreak and im not even sure what kind they are, and i had snails in here at first for a few months before everything started going wrong and it killed one of them. Im starting to get really down over it especially bc this is my first try in this hobby 😭Im about to give up

Holy cow. All of these issues make me not want to do a planted tank 😩 I hope you don’t have anymore issues and can finally get your tank cycled!

Yes, thank you! My Mystery snail eggs haven’t been hatching and I happened to get a good look at a white with black stripes worm living in the egg cluster. This is great information and will hopefully solve my problem!

I love you Lori and your videos. ❤❤❤I'm from the UK and I want to see more videos with blue in. xxx

I tried Panacur C, but I did not know that light deactivated the drug. It did not work with the light on. Tonight I will try again with a blackout and will come back with an update on the worm population in my tank.

I have planaria and detritus worms in my tank. It’s an experimental tank, but, I would rather not have them in with my shrimp and nerites. This was helpful, and a good heads up to remove sensitive animals in the tank before doing these treatments.

Do they effect humans that’s my main question.

Just take care of the detritus worms naturally (it's not bad to have a few anyway)... after introducing 10 Mississippi Grass Shrimp to my 24gal coldwater aquarium... a week later the worms are reduced to just a few here and there hiding in the gravel... and I even those are not safe, as the shrimp pluck them out and devour them regularly.

Put some general cure in my tank wiped them out in a few minutes

It's too bad you don't like worms and other critters. It's a pleasant surprise for me to find a natural ecosystem in my quarantine tank. I had worms, damselfly larvae, mosquito larvae, isopods and a bunch of others, carried over from plants I bought. The feeder guppies made quick work of them though. Good luck with the tank otherwise.

TOO MUCH TALK JUST GO STRAIGHT TO THE POINT GIRL

I've heard that detritus are a good part of the eco system

NO! I'm going nuts. I had started a BEAUTIFUL cherry shrimp tank and I started with 5 and they multiplied up to over 30! I put a damn plant from one of my tanks and now there are everywhere. It was a beautiful start to my 3.4gallon and now I'm buggin out over aquarium bugs!

thank you for all of your hard worth with research!

So sorry your going through all this.Dont give up!It will be worth it in the end.

How worms got in your tank is actually relevant; they are a symptom of another problem if they are breeding out of control. All healthy aquarium ecosystems have worms, snails, plants and fishes coexisting with eachother. Also almost all fishes and snails will eat them naturally and keep their population unnoticeable.

Found some of the short ones and I can't figure out which type. Same as yours. Are the short ones detritus worms?

When will you get to the point of the video?

Thank you!! I just ordered the dewormer. Hope it gets here fast!! GROSS!!!!

i ordered this the other day for my goldfish tank. im going to half dose and see how they react, and then act accordingly. they have no gravel at all. i need these worms GONE

Love your videos!!

You did great. Thanks for doing the vid💯

That's moment she doesn't realize they are good for substrate lol

I wish I was not so tank illerate lol you are very smart .I enjoyed your video and please say a prayer for my oscars and me as well.Ur awesome .this stupid covid 19 is more than enough to deal with.stay safe and I'm now sucribed to your channel.😁

Thank you for this video! I just noticed these worms in my axolotls tank and I got really worried!

I used panacure c in a tank full of shrimp and did not loose one shrimp ! It works !!!🐓 but I don't understand if it's a new tank why not just dump it, Out and start over ? But all you had to do to kill them if there are no fish in the tank, Is raise the temperature as high as you can 90 Fahrenheit is good ! That's how you can kill them !!!

I have the same exact tank and gravel. The issues also started after I stupidly tried growing plants

Did you not worry that the Marimo would act as a sponge for the dewormer and/or peroxide solution? I set a new shrimp tank up today and noticed a single worm, this even after I soaked the plants in salt water. I've never had them before. I don't think I like it. And I'm a vermicomposter.

Detritus and planaria r a good snack for fish,they may help u get rid of them if u trhow 3 guppies in there

You remind me of Elisabeth Moss, thanks for this, had them in my Betta 10 gallon

Good food source for fish.

I just got rid of a pest snail outreak! Now thiss 😭...having a fish tank is getting frustrating

I just run my filter on blast and use a uv sterilizer also large water change afterwards will help

Imagine this happening in a brand new set of tanks that have been cycling water for a month. Just added 6 silver dollars in my connected tank setup and the water that came with them from Petco had these worms in it. Put in some salt and Melafix and a UV sterilizer but this might be a long and difficult battle in such a large complicated aquarium.

Usually they come in on plants that you have either bought or ordered because people that just grow plants to sell generally don't take very good care of their tanks obviously what I do is when I buy live plants I have a 10 gallon aquarium set aside that is medicated and I clean the plants thoroughly and then I put them in that tank for about a month before I decide to put them in any of my tanks because I have had both of the worms that you're talking about and they both came in from somebody's plants that I had purchased

You are awesome! I know tanks can be a ton! My first community tank got ick and I lost a fish from it which was so hard :( having fish tanks can be discouraging at times but it gets better I promise!

I couldnt watch all your video you talk way to much I even skipped it a couple times and you were still talking and not about how to kill them

I feel you ,going thru the stringy white poop in my Oscars after I treated for ick that prob didn't exist .omg I'm so grossed out right now I wished I hadn't even started a tank again thank you for sharing.i am supposed to meet up with my fish store today for Pima fix .I wondered about d.e. my mom has some food grade de.

Hi I love your videos

If I have bettas should I remove them from the tanks before doing this? Worms are truly my phobia and I’m glad I found someone as disgusted by them as me 😅 makes my skin crawl and I have 4 aquariums with them!!!