Have little worms in your pond filter? Find out what they are

It’s natural to be concerned when you see anything in your pond that is out of the ordinary. Fortunately, most of the standard frights I hear about are from harmless worms.

Blood Worms

Blood worms are little brownish-red aquatic worms that are harmless to both plants and animals. You may have seen groups of these small worms all clumped together seemingly appear out of nowhere. Don’t worry, the sudden appearance of these worms means they have recently hatched, and are relatively standard in ponds.

In fact, these little worms serve a purpose. When these worms are in your pond filter, they help break down the organic waste inside. These hungry little worms feed on decaying organic matter that could build up in your filter or break down into toxins.

Another great reason to have blood worms around is that they make lovely treats for your fish. Most pet stores stock supplies of these worms to feed to aquarium fish, reptiles, and amphibians. You can even buy them freeze-dried, but most fish agree that fresh is best.

Anchor Worms

Harmful parasites like Anchor Worms are fortunately not as common in fish ponds as blood worms. These anchor worms are actually not worms, but a parasitic crustacean instead. Either way, in the event that they do infect your fish, it’s important to know how to deal with them.

These parasites attach on to the fish’s skin and burrow their head into the fish’s flesh. You’ll be able to see their tails sticking out of your fish if you look closely. They cause redness and irritation, and the fish will struggle to try and remove them by brushing against sharp objects like rocks.

If you notice this, the parasite can be removed by slowly pulling them out with a pair of tweezers. You should then treat your water with an Anchor Worm Treatment to kill off any eggs still left in the water.

This doesn’t answer your question? email us at faq@azponds.com