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I have an issue, i did a recent water change and now i am seeing worm like things in my tank, im not sure what they are and im worried because all my shrimp were found dead in one corner of my tanm. i have lost 1 harly and there are two or three that look alot fatter than the rest, im worried i have a worm problem but im not sure. I have read the disease on this but not sure what caused it because i havent added any new plants or fish or shrimp. Nothing has changed.

Ammonia - 0
Nitrites .3
nitrates 5
Phosphates 0.25
PH - 7.4
gh - 40ppm
kh 60ppm

I had the canister spray bar in the middle of the tank with no water movement on top. I have since moved the spray bar to the top to add water movement to increase oxygen levels

Tank was overhauled 48 hrs ago and water was completley replaced and the substrate was cleaned. It looks like im going through a mini cycle.. however im more worried about this worm like creatures that are hanging around the rim of my tank. I dont see any comming from the fish like the disease profile states. I have lost one fish that was much smaller than the rest i thought i lost that to shock... but now im not too sure... Any help would be appreciated....I dont want to loose the rest of my 14 or so harlys. Thanks

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Hi,
The worms you are talking about are not harmful. Being that
visible is normal after a complete overhaul such as you
mention. If there is a very large amount that would
indicate that you had been remiss in substrate vacuuming,
and were possibly over feeding as well. Give them time
and they will return into the gravel and you will probably
never even know they are there.

Complete Overhauls generally occur after a death
or deaths of some fish, when the pH plummets, or the
nitrate goes through the roof. This is usually due
to something called Old Tank Syndrome (OTS).
http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html
Take a tank with parameters such as mentioned in that
link, completely drain it, clean it, refill it,
and you are then creating a whole new set of problems.

Complete overhauls can create all sorts of problems
including a "mini cycle." A complete water change can
also create problems as the chemistries are generally
nowhere near what they were an hour earlier before the
change. That sudden change can cause stress and
the stress to the fish will impair their immune
system, and leave them vulnerable to disease and
parasites such as Ich.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_fa005

Shrimp can have some requirements about water quality
that were out of wack in the tank before it was cleaned.
In addition, they need the element, Iodine, in small
quantities to survive. Check out this site for their
requirements;
http://www.petshrimp.com/

With the exception of the Nitrite, all of your published
water chemistries are fine. That as you assume is probably
due to the mini-cycle that is occurring.



Frank


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