Tiny stringy worms

Levinson

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
May 5, 2020
Messages
611
Reaction score
449
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've found these super tiny stringy worms wiggling about inside a saltwater glass jar I have by the window.
Does anyone have any idea what they are?



A couple of months ago (not so sure when exactly), I've decided to set up a glass jar with saltwater, like an ecosphere, just to see what happens, just for fun.
So I had it filled up with some waste saltwater from the water change. It's only about 2 litres or less. I've put some dead and live Ulva in it and left it by the window. No water change, no electric light. I had a small air pump on sometimes but it was mostly without aeration. Big temp swing between night and day too.

I wonder if these guys can be used as live food.
 
I can see the first videos -If you are that hungry I would still cook these first. :)

I don't know what kind of worms these are, but I have seen them as hitchhikers on frags. I thought they might be feather duster worms, but if they were I would expect them to make some kind of tube to hide in. All that to say, I don't know but it is very interesting that these can survive in the window. Does the water look green? I wonder what they have been feeding on in the ecosphere?
 
Does the water look green? I wonder what they have been feeding on in the ecosphere?
Did the worms do any harm to your tank? or did anything eat it?
The water is not green but it does have algae, live and dead.
My guess would be the worms are eating the algae growing on the glass since that's where I find them. Or maybe it could be bacteria form dead algae.

You can see the algae producing oxygen bubbles when the sun is up.
Some days I get to see pods, other days I don't see them no matter how hard I look.

I've put in some (only a little) newly hatched brine shrimps and had aeration going from yesterday.
 
IMG_20201227_194943.jpg
 
My guess, based on the way they move, would be that they're some sort of nematode - roundworm. Nematodes are almost unbelievably common, in a vast diversity of habitats, and there're a vast diversity of species to go along with.

~B.
 
Detritus worms and not uncommon but a sign of lack of water changes and maintenance.
 
My guess, based on the way they move, would be that they're some sort of nematode - roundworm. Nematodes are almost unbelievably common, in a vast diversity of habitats, and there're a vast diversity of species to go along with.

~B.

Detritus worms and not uncommon but a sign of lack of water changes and maintenance.

Thanks! It looks like they are nematodes and/or detritus worms. Well they were left alone in a jar without any water change so I guess it makes sense.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%

New Posts

Back
Top