Aquarium HeadquartersBEST Aquarium Information Supply on the Web

Houston, we have a problem? RED ALERT!!?

I was putting my fish to bed right after i fed them, i was checking the temp, filter media, signs of sickness and so on, i checked everywhere and saw the angelfish and guppies pecking in mid-water, i thought they were picking at little flakes of left over food, i looked closer and they appeared to be worms, less than a CM, the fish seem to love eating them.

They are spawing like crazy because their eggs are all over the glass, i scraped them all off with an algae scraper, i did it several times to make sure they were all removed.

I added melafix because there is a white patch on my angelfish’s lip, i thought it might be fungus but i am not sure, better to be safe than sorry.

I do my water changes every tuesday, the tank is cycled, pH 7.5, heavily planted, in the tank there is:
2 angelfish
3 adult guppies
6 guppy fry in a breeder trap, 5 of the guppy fry will be re-homed in a 5g.

Should i do a premature water change or take any other actions?

Thanks!!

Eggs on the glass are usually from snails, not worms.

There are numerous sorts of worms that can appear in a tank, and I’m not really qualified to tell which is which. However, if your fish are eating them, that’s a good thing. The fact that they’ve showed up at all, on the other hand, is not so good. Usually, worms show up when there’s uneaten food for them to live on. This generally means you’re feeding too much.

Feed more frequently but less at each feeding. Remember, most fish in the wild snack all day instead of having one big meal — they nibble on bugs, plants, or whatever else their particular species eats, whenever they find anything that looks tasty. Especially in a planted tank, any food the fish don’t grab right away will drift off and get lost, providing a good food source for your unintended worm culture.

If you cut back on the over-feeding, do what gravel vacuuming you can (not so easy with the plants, of course), and let the fish eat the worms, that will probably control the problem. There are other ways to deal with them, chemical ways, but I don’t know of any that won’t really hose your filter bacteria along with the worms. Better to deal with some worms than to have to re-cycle the tank!

What size is the tank, by the way? Two angels and a few guppies isn’t a lot of fish, even if the angels are full grown; that can add to the overfeeding problem, because “a pinch” might be more than that few fish can eat at once. You might want to add a small school (3-5) of cory cats to help with the cleanup, though they’ll also need to be fed separately (algae wafers and shrimp pellets) because they can’t, contrary to common belief, live entirely on scraps. Guppies are top feeders and angels are mid-water feeders, so with the cory school down at the bottom, you’ll have the whole tank covered.

ADDENDUM:

With regard to Consular Cichlid’s answer:

First, the OP did not say the angelfish were breeding, they said the worms were.

Second, the OP said that the fish were eating the worms “in mid-water”, which rules out planaria, since they crawl on surfaces rather than swimming. I’d guess one of the innumerable species of roundworms, myself.

Third, two angelfish and three guppies is not an excessive load for a 12-gallon tank, especially a planted tank, except for quite large adult angels (and even then, with the plants and with good filtration, it’s far from impossible).

Fourth and finally, anyone who spews insults and profanity like an ill-bred parrot clearly has nothing worthwhile to contribute. If there is an “embarrassment to the hobby” in this conversation, it’s the person who feels it is appropriate to respond to a legitimate question with foul language and personal abuse. That kind of behavior impresses nobody but the person doing it.

Easy Blade Algae Scraper Review

36″ AquaScraper 4-in-1 Algae Scraper Cleaning Kit – NEW $18.99

TOM Aquarium Maintenance Algae Scraper Multi Tool 34 Length For Glass NEW $26.99

PM Stainless Steel 2 Sizes Algae Scraper Tank Cleaner $8.00

Aquarium Plastic 3 in 1 Algae Scraper Scrubber Cleaner $10.19

Fish Tank Maintenance Black 3 in 1 Algae Scraper Tool $10.10

JAVA Moss + Cleaning brush – water plants Algae scraper $9.99

Cleaning brush + Taiwan Moss water plant Algae scraper $9.99

Easy Blade Algae Scraper Attachment For Magnavore $12.99

Algae Cleaner SCRAPER SAND Flattener Razor Blade stainless steel Glass multi use $14.04

Mag-Float 350 Glass Aquarium Magnet w/Algae Scraper $69.95

BIG Algae scraper blade – Glass Aquarium Razor marine S $27.99

31.8CM Stainless Steel Algae Scraper Tank Cleaner $5.88

WIZARD Algae Scraper Pad 4 Acrylic & plastic fish tank $2.79

Kent Marine Algae Scraper Pro Mini For Acrylic Or Glass $3.99

Aquarium Maintenance Algae Scraper Multi Tool 34 Length Fish Supplies New $29.99

Heto Aquarium tank cleaner and Algae Scraper $4.50

Mag-Flip Glass Aquarium Algae Cleaning Magnet/Scraper $22.95

TOM Aquarium Fish Maintenance Algae Scraper Cleaner Multi Tool 22″ Scrubber NEW $23.95

PM Algae Cleaner – Aquarium Razor Tank Fish Scraper Ada $28.49

Mag-Float Scrape 400 Aquarium Magnet Algae Scraper $85.45

Marina Hagen 4in1 Aquarium Deluxe Planter Algae Scraper $6.99

Alage scraper Plastic – Algae Tank Cleaner glass Razor $6.50

12″ Pro Algae Scraper Kent Marine Acrylic Aquarium $15.26

24″ Pro Algae Scraper Kent Marine Acrylic Aquarium $20.36

Hand Algae Scraper Short Kent Marine Acrylic Aquarium $10.16

Xtender 18″ Pro Algae Scraper Extension Kent Marine $14.41

Pro Scraper 1 Nano Aquarium Algae Remover Kent Marine $5.52

Hand Algae Scraper Short Kent Marine Glass Aquarium $11.86

Pro Scraper Wide Acrylic/Glass Aquarium Algae Remover $5.95

35″ Pro Algae Scraper Kent Marine Acrylic Aquarium $25.46

Aqueon Kent Marine 00602 Pro-Scraper with Stainless Steel Blade $8.21 Kent Marine Pro Scraper Stainless Steel Short Scraper The KENT Marine Pro-Scrapers with metal blades are ideal for removing coralline algae and calcified deposits in glass aquariums. The stainless steel blade is rust-resistant and provides for smooth scraping. With handles made from fiber glass and blade attachments from strong ABS plastic, these units will not rust and resist breaking. Features: …

Shopzeus USA zeusd1-EPST-1252912 Algae Scrubber White Glass Pad With handle $19.79 Algae scrubber white glass pad w/handle…

Shopzeus USA zeusd1-EPST-1252911 Algae Scrubber White Acrylic Pad With handle $19.79 Algae scrubber white acrylic pad w/handle…