Worms in my DSM?!?

[csmith]

So last night my DSM tank's lights had just turned off, and as I always do I went to open the lids to let some air in/out. When I closed them I noticed a white, straight line on the front glass, maybe an inch above the substrate. As I stared at this thing, thinking it was a scratch..it moved! I have a worm/worms of some kind in my tank and I have no idea where they came from. It couldn't have been any longer than a pinky nail is wide. Is this an issue, and more importantly where did these things come from?
I've also discovered these tiny, bushy green "plants" in the back of the tank. I didn't plant anything there, and they certaintly don't resemble what I've planted in this tank. Does algae have an emergent form? That's all I can come up with as it's in an area I didn't even get close to planting in.

 

[Biollante]

Round Worms!

So last night my DSM tank's lights had just turned off, and as I always do I went to open the lids to let some air in/out. When I closed them I noticed a white, straight line on the front glass, maybe an inch above the substrate. As I stared at this thing, thinking it was a scratch..it moved! I have a worm/worms of some kind in my tank and I have no idea where they came from. It couldn't have been any longer than a pinky nail is wide. Is this an issue, and more importantly where did these things come from?
I've also discovered these tiny, bushy green "plants" in the back of the tank. I didn't plant anything there, and they certaintly don't resemble what I've planted in this tank. Does algae have an emergent form? That's all I can come up with as it's in an area I didn't even get close to planting in.

Hi,

Can you say “Nematodes,” round worms?
http://www.entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/nematode/soil_nematode.htm and http://nematode.unl.edu/wormgen.htm and http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/phyla/ecdysozoa/nematoda.html is a good start.

Yes, algae grow most everywhere.

Some plants grown emergent look very different from their submerged forms.

Spores travel through the air. Spores hitch rides everywhere. We plants are very sneaky, not to mention opportunistic.

Have fun!

Biollante

 

[jonny_ftm]

I also had some worms recently in my DSM in signature. But, I saw them 2 months after immersion. Not sure same bugs as yours. They were very small, about 1/3 of a finger nail in length, white, moving slowly like a slug

They went away by them self

About the strange vegetation, some photos could help, but at 99% it is some mosses. I also had many of them growing in tank

I'll just remove them before immersion as they will die and form an organic layer where BGA can grow after immersion. Also, keep soil the driest possible on surface. Despite my success, if I have to redo things, soil will be much drier and atmosphere less moist: 70-80% rather than +90%

 

[csmith]

Now that you mention it, they do resemble a moss of some sort. Good call. I wasn't even thinking along those lines. I'll see if I can get a picture here in a bit.

My worm-thing looked like what you describe. I've also seen tiny bugs with actually legs walking across the glass since I've been paying attention. I recall the same little bugs falling out of the rock wool when I was unwrapping the plants prior to placing them in the tank. Tiny, tiny creatures.

 

[csmith]

jonny_ftm,

Moss?

 

[Philosophos]

DSM always brings up neat little surprises; I got a patch of riccia growing and I don't own any. Must've been on some of the plants I had shipped to me months ago.

Moss would be a common hitchhiker, and I've found its hard to get out of other foreground plants while emersed. They get spores everywhere in the tank.

If the worms hang around after immersing the tank you could try potassium permanganate followed by some intense water changes, or perhaps assasin snails. You could also try what this guy did with his terrarium:
http://www.orchidboard.com/eliminate-terrarium-pests-with-co2

 

[jonny_ftm]

Yes, I think they are kind of some moss or ferns. Got exactely the same ones in my emersed setup. Just forget them and remove them before immersion

 

[Biollante]

Hitchhikers

Hi,

I think it interesting, to see what hitchhiked with our ‘real’ plants.

Often the little surprises that come with them are fun and interesting, sometimes not.

It also demonstrates why I think, quarantine, sanitize or sterilize is a good policy. I quarantine plants for a couple of weeks for this reason; I just like being the one who decides what ends up in my tanks. (After quarantine, I usually sanitize my plants prior to placement.)

Biollante

 

[csmith]

Sanitize as in the bleach dip I've seen used?

 

[Biollante]

KMnO4

Hi,

Bleach is one way, I tend to prefer Potassium permanganate ( KMnO4) or Alum, after observing the plants for a while.

Biollante

 

[deucebiggss]

I had those in to my tank during DSM but I pulled them all out before I filled the tank. I was hoping for cannibis to hitchhike with my shippment of plants, but I couldn't be so lucky. I had tiny bugs, spiders, and little worms. The minute I filled the tank up all those little bugs came to the top. As for the spiders they are still in the tank. I find and kill em when I see em.

 

[Biollante]

I love The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning...

Hi,

Oh, such hostility!

Little spiders are just trying to make a living. If they are there, there must be something for them to eat. I wonder what other creatures live, when spiders die.

Some of the best plants and a few critters came to me as hitchhikers. :gw That it is why I take some time, before deciding to ‘cleanse’ things.

Biollante

 

[Philosophos]

Hitchikers are definitely a mixed bag.

Most recently though, they've been great for me. I've got a fresh new patch of riccia out of the deal, and the opportunity at one point for an unID'ed bladderwort that I just couldn't match the conditions for.