Help! Tiny Red and Green Worms in Wood!!

[whitewaves]

Help! I collected submerged wood from a local river. When I took it out of water to measure, tiny (under 1 cm) red worms and a few plumper pale green worms began to crawl out of crevices! Are these dangerous to my fish? If not, will anything eat them to keep them under control in my tank??? PLEASE HELP!

[Bas Pels]

whether the worms are dangerous or not, will mostly depend on:

- did the wood come out of the water or not? I would assume - you soak the wood and the wormds come out, it was dry. Animals living dry normally don't survive being submerged in water

- how large are your fishes (who will eat who). Theoretically, worms can be parasites, but than, what were thy doing in the wood?? Therefore I would not be afraid of this potential risk

[whitewaves]

The worms came out after I took the wood out of my soaking tubs. They are living in the wood... eating it?
Currently, I only have 4 fish: 1 Pleco Gibby, 1 Pleco Multiraidius (sp?) and 2 corys. They are moving to a tall, larger tank. Can you suggest any fish that will eat these tiny worms? I notice a few crawling on the outside of the wood most of the time... Shrimp?? Will they go above the first few inches of the tank bottom?

Thank you AGAIN!!!

[Barbie]

If you keep wood wet that has been submerged in lakes and streams, you run the risk of introducing all sorts of nasties to your aquarium. I would recommend baking it for an hour or so before adding it to your existing tank, if it was mine. I just buy an aluminum roasting pan, put a couple inches of water in, add the wood, cap it well with tinfoil and set it on the bbq on low. You can do it in the house but if you have housemates it will most likely make you less than popular with the smell!

Once you've boiled it, leaving it submerged in a tote full of water for a week is also a good idea, to allow anything that's going to decay a chance to do so before added to your tank.

Barbie

[Mike_Noren]

In all probability most of the worms are non-biting midge (chironomid) larvae - only the species which live in oxygen-poor environments have the familiar blood-red color, and a large number of species live by burrowing in rotten wood. If so, then they're harmless. You probably got some snails too, also harmless.

The probability of introducing diseases with wild-collected wood or plants is very small, BUT on the other hand the risk of introducing predatory invertebrates is very great.

Having a leech or dragonfly larva or water beetle larva get in to the tank isn't necessarily disastrous, but they can and occasionally do kill and eat even fairly large fish, so a bit of care is advisable.

[Bas Pels]

That is preciecely why I like to put pieces I doubt about in my biggest tank: Anything larger than 1 inch will be eaten there

[Mike_Noren]

Sounds perfect.

Also, not every hitch-hiker is unwanted. This guy hitch-hiked into one of my aquria with wild-collected roots and plants.

[whitewaves]

Newt Larva?? Now that I wouldn't mind! But I'd need another tank... Since I won't have any large carnovores in my tank, I will have to pass on this treasure trove. I am using the most of the wood I gathered - pressure washed but not cooked. I am a softie though - I still have the worm-infested log soaking and I'll be taking it back to the river when I look for rock. My boyfriend is just groaning over the tank set up/cycling, etc. He keeps groaning that water is water and telling me he will just throw my fish in and they'll be fine! Oh well, I'm happy! Thank you for the input!!

[Richard B]

Sounds perfect.

Also, not every hitch-hiker is unwanted. This guy hitch-hiked into one of my aquria with wild-collected roots and plants.

Interesting! I have a soft spot for amphibians - any ideas what it is, (in terms of specie?)

[Mike_Noren]

Yes, it's a Triturus vulgaris, common newt. I'd guestimate it was about 1" long.
Still was an interesting find, as I didn't spot it until two months after having introduced the roots & plants.

[apistomaster]

I have been collecting water logged wood for years from local streams and I have never had any problems. Most wood that I find is softer than the dry commercial wood you find a fish shop and many fish like Panaque spp seem to enjoy munching on it.
The worms description sounds like Chironomid midge larvae, blood worms in aquarium speak(some spp are green not red), and so a welcome treat for most fish.
Surrounded by some of the largest National Forests in the lower 48 USA States, I am more than glad to harvest this free driftwood for my aquariums.
The list of potential dangers that may be encountered from wood collected from reasonably clean running waters is very short.
Pressure washing with clean water should be more than adequate preparation for its use in an aquarium.
One wants to avoid wood that comes from waters polluted by industrial or agricultural chemicals.