Regular Member Andrew Goldfish Posted May 11, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 11, 2014 As I described in my goldfish blog, after growing plants and snails for six weeks in my dirt planted 125 gallon tank, I ordered six small Orandas off Aquabid. I didn't notice until after they shipped that they were only going UPS ground and would spend 48 hours in one bag. They came with ragged tails and fins and white spots and blotches, and all died within three days. On day three I just noticed for the first time a 1/4 inch white worm crazily swimming around the tank -- until I got him anyway. I also got in an order of Anubias and 10 more nerite snails at the same time as the new fish. Is the crazy little worm from the fish? Also, can a swimming worm like that infect my snails? How long can the little nasties live in a fishless tank? I have a SunSun 13W UV Sterilizer on the way so that will start running in the next two days. Thanks in advance for your help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member GoldenSpoiledRotten Posted May 11, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 11, 2014 Could you please provide photos so we can ID? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Andrew Goldfish Posted May 12, 2014 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 I squashed the one I found. It was like a 1/4 inch piece of white thread wriggling real fast to move around. None of the pics I tried to take of the fish are clear enough to show the white dots and batches. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fantailfan1 Posted May 12, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Probably planaria . . . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member shakaho Posted May 12, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Probably a nematode. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TikiLola Posted May 12, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Probably disgusting. Sorry you are going through this, your tank is awesome, I hope you can get rid of whatever this is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Andrew Goldfish Posted May 12, 2014 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Probably a nematode. Ah I think that's it. I found what looks just like it on a YouTube video: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted May 12, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Hi Andrew, I'm sorry that your fish didn't make it. That's really terrible, and I hope you have much better luck next time, perhaps with a different supplier? Goldfish are somewhat routinely shipped with 2 day shipments, and if they are packaged correctly, should be just fine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted May 12, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Nematodes are generally very harmless. They are commonly found in planted and dirted tanks, living off of debris in the substrate or filter. Most tanks have a certain number of those and they are nothing to worry about, unless you see masses of them. Sorry though about the loss of your fish, that is really awful 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Andrew Goldfish Posted May 12, 2014 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Btw, if my dead goldfish put parasites or disease into the water, how long can different nasties last in a fishless tank? I'll also be running a UV filter for awhile before trying again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member shakaho Posted May 12, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 12, 2014 Anywhere from a few days to months. That's a good reason for keeping new fish in a quarantine tank even if you don't have other fish. You are between a rock and a hard place. Usually, with multiple fish deaths in a tank, one would take it down and disinfect everything. You've put a lot of work into getting this tank set up and would hate to do that. A strong UV will kill whatever microbes flow through it, which is good if whatever infected your fish is floating around in the water rather than settled into the substrate. Killing all planktonic microbes is not the best way of creating a complex stable ecosystem, which I assume is a goal of yours. I think your best choice would be to treat the tank with potassium permanganate. You will lose your cycle, but you will probably get the bad guys, even those that won't go through a UV. You could remove your plants and treat them with a plant-disinfecting dose while you treat the tank with a "kills everything" dose. Then reassemble the tank and cycle it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Flipper Posted May 13, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 13, 2014 I'm sorry Andrew 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tithra Posted May 13, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted May 13, 2014 So sorry to see you lost your fish I think Shakaho's suggestion of treating the tank with PP and QTing any new fish in a separate tank is a good one. Did you contact the seller and let them know what happened? I would think you should at least get a partial refund. If nothing else they should know that their fish have some issues 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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