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My wife discovered these on her swordtail tank, and water parameters are all within normal range, temp's at 77 degrees - are these detritus worms?

Need a clearer photo for proper identification.

They resemble copepods to me.

matti wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:39 pm They resemble copepods to me.

I'm at work right now, can't grab a better pic just yet. They do resemble those copepods, and also kinda like tiny tadpoles. Super small, like I said.

Yeah, detritus worms are a possibility too, those "C" shaped things are all over the place.

connie wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:21 pm My wife discovered these on her swordtail tank, and water parameters are all within normal range, temp's at 77 degrees - are these detritus worms?

I agree with Matti, a better photo would be ideal but based on what we have, I'm leaning towards copepods too. They seem to be on the glass, which is a common spot for them. Detritus worms, on the other hand, are generally longer and have a uniform width throughout their body. They usually stick to the substrate, only venturing out when they're severely overpopulated.

kokomo said:

There's detritus worms too the "C" shaped thingies everywhere.

Those "C" shaped things are unlikely to be detritus worms. If I had to guess, I'd say they're probably rhabdocoel flatworms, or maybe something else entirely.